Unto The Locust (15th Anniversary)

Machine Head’s Unto the Locust (15th Anniversary) revisits the Bay Area metal band’s seventh studio album, originally released in 2011, in a September 2026 edition from Nuclear Blast. Following the expansive The Blackening, its seven songs combine thrash-metal precision, crushing grooves, harmonized guitar leads, and increasingly ambitious arrangements. The multipart opener “I Am Hell (Sonata in C#)” establishes that scale, while “Be Still and Know,” “Locust,” and “This Is the End” balance intricate playing with memorable choruses and forceful rhythmic shifts. Strings, choral passages, and acoustic interludes broaden the sound without diminishing its aggression, making contrast central to the album’s impact.

The more reflective “Darkness Within” demonstrates the band’s ability to build emotional weight through restraint, while “Pearls Before the Swine” and the children’s-choir-assisted “Who We Are” carry the record toward a defiant, communal finish. Throughout, Robb Flynn’s melodic singing and harsher vocals connect the elaborate arrangements to a direct sense of struggle and resolve. The anniversary release preserves the original seven-track program rather than adding bonus material; alongside the CD edition, the limited dark green marble double LP includes a 12-page booklet and an etched fourth side. It is a focused celebration of an album that pushed Machine Head’s progressive ambitions forward while retaining the physical force of their groove- and thrash-metal foundations.