MACHINE HEAD’S “LOCUST” HAS ARRIVED

So, hey, remember last week when Machine Head announced that they were releasing an advance mix of a new song, “Locust,” today? Well, guess what? It’s today, so the song is out! Funny how time works that way. You can stream the track below.

I’ll be curious to see how the metal community reacts to the tune. Machine Head are coming off of two AWESOME records (Through the Ashes of Empires and The Blackening, duh), and, clearly, they’d like to pull off a hat trick of excellence. And even though it’s a not-final-mix of one single song, “Locust” will go a long way towards building hype that, OMG, they’ve pulled it off!, or, FML, they have not.

Personally, I was actually not that into the song the first time I heard it… but now I’ve listened to it five or six times, and it’s grown on me with each successive spin. Is it up to snuff with the material from The Blackening, an album I thought was pretty much a goddamned masterpiece? I don’t quite think so… but I’m also not sure right now if I’m reacting to the song, or my incredibly high expectations for the new MH offering. I’ll have to listen a bunch more (and, of course, hear the song in the context of the entire album) before really being able to make up my mind. But I will say that even if it’s not quite as good as that Blackening material, it’s still really rockin’, and certainly in no way qualifies as a letdown.

You can download “Locust” here for all of ninety-nine cents. Machine Head will be part of this year’s Mayhem Fest, along with Megadeth, In Flames, Trivium, Unearth, Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish, Kingdom of Sorrow, and Red Fang. You can get dates here.

-AR