Of Kingdom and Crown

Of Kingdom and Crown is a concept album on which, centered on a near-future story, MACHINE HEAD developed their heavy low end, ferocious riffs and emotion-bared singing in a long-form construction. Rather than pushing through on heaviness alone, they incorporate melody, acoustic space and drama between songs. Made welcoming a new lineup, it is an epic that shows the band’s present standing. On “Slaughter The Martyr,” “Become The Firestorm” and “No Gods, No Masters,” they draw out the clash of the protagonists as sound. Songs like “Choke On The Ashes Of Your Hate” and “Unhallowed” breathe the band’s full playing too. They balance violent drive and lyricism. With an ambitious construction that follows the story of two characters, it is a record showing that the Robb Flynn-led band entered a new period of fullness.