Your Machine Head Black Procession reviews

MACHINE Head open reviews was the first attempt by this site to 'crowd source' - that is to see if the wider community could 'source' content from our faithful readers in the form of reviews. Much thanks to the ever popular Anonymous, Bill 'Redskull', Wayne and Tara posting comments on the page that contained the request for the crowd sourcing reviews. You can read them here.

Before reading them what do y'all think about the idea of allowing more people to provide reviews to this blogs? We're not talking about just plain comments and discussions - the likes of the Metal Ireland gig discussion pages are better suited to that, and we'd never want to usurp that wonderful resource and source of views, news and opinions.

What we're talking about is opening up the potential for readers to review gigs. We've had some guest reviewers before and their posts have proven popular. Basically the idea would be to email the review and we'll post it, with byline to the blog?

Views please...

In the meantime below are two other reviews from Matthew and Conor.


By Conor McCormick:

GOT in just in time for Bleeding Through, absolutely raging that I missed Man Must Die, doors at 7? Dont think so!


Bleeding Through were really powerful, sound for them was immense! Even though the keyboards weren't that high in the mix (Possibly a good thing!) Played a blinder of a set, although I may be slightly biased as a bleeding through fan.

Hatebreed were awesome. Not really a thinking man's band, but I think thats a big reason as to why there so good live. You can switch off your brain and just mosh. Suprised Jasta took getting hit with a bottle so calmly, was good to see though, any further attention to it may have antagonised the situation. Also suprised by the lack of bro-dudes present, last two times I've seen Hatebreed its been full of macho brodudery. The energy that band create is fantastic. Perfect opening band for a headliner in a venue such as the Ulster Hall.

Finally there was Machine Head Must admit im not their biggest fan and after the fiasco at the Kings Hall a few years back I wasnt overly keen on seeing them again. In saying that, the sound in the Nugent Hall was a key factor in the muddiness of their sound, they would have sounded clearer playing a cave!

The Ulster Hall is a good venue and the sound for the support bands was tight and cohesive which is why I know it can't be blamed on the venue or the PA they had with them.

It was simply too loud, they sacraficed clarity for volume. From what could be made out it did sound like the on stage sound was good but that was hard to make out. Stood everywhere, from front of stage, to the sides to the middle of the venue, even beside the sound desk and for a few minutes upstairs we managed to sneak up onto the balcony. Pretty much everywhere it was uncomfortably loud. Worst gig for that I've ever been to. Will be investing in a set of plugs incase this happens again. Machine Head's sound man has been with them for many years so he knows what he's doing, he looked to be pissed off at times. Not sure whether this was to do with the sheer volume or for alternate reason. Sound issues aside they did appear to be playing a sweet set and I know those up the front had no issues as the fans were going mad. Although it did them no favours in gaining myself as a new fan, it didn't seem to do any harm to current fans.

All round it was a pretty good show by all bands and maybe now people will refer to Machine Head as the loudest band to play Ireland as opposed to the messiest.

ENDS
 
By Matt Dougherty



THE Ulster Hall is a venue renowned for its great sound across Ireland, but on Monday night Machine Head weren’t quite so clear. Indeed, it’d be easy to argue the support bands benefited more from the acoustics than the headliners.

Unfortunately, we missed all but the last two songs of Man Must Die, but the two songs left a lasting impression. The first was that they were heavy as fuck. The second was, somewhat ironically in hindsight, that the sound was pretty good. Unfortunately the latter would not join the first to become a recurring theme through the night.

Bleeding Through had a relatively short time slot, and were much like the first group to perform in that they were brutally heavy. For many, the female keyboardist was a memorable highlight, even if her input on songs was questionable, if present at all. Certainly, with their death metal stylings, keyboards wouldn’t be the first instrument to jump to mind, but towards the end of their set she proved her presence was more than one purely for aesthetics.

Not long after Hatebreed took to the stage, a stray cup filled with water landed on frontman Jamey Jasta’s head, who didn’t react to it at all. This seemed to echo the attitude of the band – if you don’t like it, that’s your problem. Meanwhile, Hatebreed were here to perform for both dedicated fans and curious newcomers alike, and boy were they were out to impress. Their impressive setlist comprised of 15 songs – albeit short ones – won them many fans, with a particular highlight being the anthem In Ashes They Shall Reap. Simple lyrics which are no doubt relevant to everyone meant most of the crowd could appreciate them, even some of the more sceptical punters towards the back, with a great deal of headbanging and moshing happening throughout the hall. Thanks from the stage were genuinely heartfelt, and it was apparent that the band were enjoying themselves as much as the near capacity crowd in the Hall.

And then came Machine Fuckin’ Head. Opening with Clenching the Fists of Dissent from the new album before taking things back with older tracks like Imperium and Ten Ton Hammer, it was clear that if the Machine Head boys have learned anything from their support of Metallica, it’s that the crowd wants to hear a mixture of material old and new. Five tracks from the new album were played, including the tribute to Dimebag Aesthetics of Hate and the nine minute masterpiece Halo, with a mixture of many older songs, including Exhale The Vile and the recently premiered Vim padding out the setlist. Indeed, Machine Head played a great mixture of material that both dedicated fans and new recruits could enjoy. The operative word being could. By this time, the sound had unfortunately decayed to a muddy, murky mess, with any sound from the guitars or the vocals being drowned out by the thunderous drums and the rumbling bass. It’s a pity too, because somewhere under the sound it was evident the band were on top form, performing their songs flawlessly and genuinely thankful for the support of the people gathered to see them. It’s pretty clear why they’ve cemented a reputation as being immense live – but in Belfast it just didn’t go their way.