Machine Head
I love this album! Now I'm waiting for my Special Edition Machine Head "The Blackening" to arrive in the mail. Can't wait.
But I've got a feeling that Phil Demmel might not last long in MH... The guy seems to be plagued with illness and collapsing onstage lately. I hope all goes well for the band. It will be a shame if they break the momentum.
Machine Head's sixth studio album, titled The Blackening, was released in North America on March 27, 2007. It entered the Billboard 200 at number 53, the highest charting position for the band, with first-week sales of 15,000. [21] It also made the top 20 in several European countries.
The album received positive reviews from music critics, with some labeling it the best metal album of 2007. Blabbermouth.net reviewer Don Kaye awarded the album a 9.5 out of 10, saying The Blackening is "one of the purest, finest, most powerful expressions of modern heavy metal released" and compared it to the 1986 Metallica album Master of Puppets,[22] while Allmusic editor Thom Jurek described the album as "an over the top rage and pummelfest with all the qualities that earned the group its enormous fan base by touring and recording", praising the songs "Beautiful Mourning", "Halo", and "Now I Lay Thee Down".[1] Rolling Stone reviewer Andy Greene, however, responded negatively as he was displeased with the songs running over ten minutes.[23]
Machine Head toured North America with Lamb of God, Trivium and Gojira in early 2007 to promote The Blackening, and opened for Megadeth and Heaven and Hell in April 2007. A European tour saw the band make an appearance at the Download Festival in Donington Park.[24] Shortly after, the band announced a co-headlining tour of Japan, Europe, and Australia titled The Black Crusade from October to December. Other bands on the bill included Trivium, Arch Enemy, DragonForce (Europe only) and Shadows Fall (Europe only).[25] On June 12, 2007, at the Metal Hammer awards, the band won the award for "Best Album", and Flynn won the "Golden God" award.[26] Machine Head also won "Album of the Year" at Kerrang's annual ceremony. The band replaced Bullet For My Valentine supporting Metallica's Wembley Stadium show on Sunday July 8, 2007, as Bullet For My Valentine's vocalist Matt Tuck required a tonsillectomy.[27] Machine Head also toured North America with Hellyeah, Nonpoint and Bury Your Dead in early 2008.[28] Machine Head recently completed a world tour where they hit even Tel Aviv, Israel and Dubai, U.A.E. in March of 2008 [29] (photos available at reference[30]).
In October they will be heading to Australia with Slipknot. [31]The band will be touring Europe with Slipknot and Children of Bodom in November and December.[32] The band have recorded a version of Iron Maiden's classic, "Hallowed Be Thy Name" for a Kerrang! tribute compilation album, entitled "Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden". Also appearing on the CD are label mates, Dream Theater and Trivium.
It was announced on August 10 that Machine Head and Austin, Texas based band The Sword will be opening for Metallica at ten shows in January 2009. In a recent interview conducted with Phil Demmel, he revealed that with Machine Head's upcoming touring commitments, the band would not have chance to write a follow up album until at least 2010, for an expected 2011 release date
For shock rock/metal, i think Lizzy Borden is not too bad as well.
crusher ~ the haunted . 
