THANK GOD!!! This is the MACHINE HEAD disc I've been waiting to hear since The Burning Red and it is everything I hoped it would be and MORE. This is simply one of the best written and executed albums of this bands career, and I can honestly understand why they have earned such high praise in ALL the European metal markets. The disc never lets up for a second, each track is more furious than the next, but yet retaining a strong melodic presence and terrific hooks. If you aren't bouncing up and down within the first minute of the opening track 'Imperium', I have to question what flows in your veins, because this track alone will make your blood vessels burst. The disc continues with a serious mean streak over the ten track disc, with standout tracks such as 'Bite The Bullet', 'Elegy', 'In The Presence Of My Enemies', 'Days Turn Blue to Grey' and 'At Falls Down'. This is a brooding, heavy, extremely aggressive slab of music and without a doubt a top contender for best metal disc of the early 2000's. Now my only question being is why the folks at Roadrunner USA decided to drop this band from its roster, but keep them on with the European branch, only to release the best disc of their career? I could go on for hours, but I have to return to breaking more furniture in my office because this disc is simply too good to stop spinning.
