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Given that they’re currently one of the biggest names in modern metal, it’s easy to forget that for a large part of their careers, Machine Head were kind of seen as jokes. With table scratches and semi-rapped lyrics, they fit in more with Limp Bizkit than Metallica. It just speaks volumes to what a good comeback can do. While I don’t mind their nu-metal period, Through the Ashes of Empires was miles better in quality. And even that was nothing compared to its follow up, The Blackening, now considered by most to be their best work, or their most recent effort Unto the Locust which is my personal favourite from them. Now, with the first song off their upcoming album, the question has to be asked; are Machine Head likely to top themselves again?

If “Killers and Kings” is anything to go by, probably not. That’s not to say it’s a bad song, far from it. If I were to place it quality-wise on any of their albums it’d be on Through the Ashes of Empires, so it’s certainly not bad. It’s just not at the same quality that their last two albums were. And that’s hardly surprising, they’re last two releases were two of the best metal albums of the 21st century. Few bands could keep up that level of quality, and this is still better than a large part of their catalogue.

It should be pointed out that “Killers and Kings” is still a demo, so I won’t speculate too much on how it may predict the sound of their next album. I will say however, that at four and a half minutes, it’s noticeably shorter than most of their last two releases. Personally I think this is a good thing, Machine Head have provided some damn good long songs in the past few years, but nowadays I see many metal bands forgetting that they’re able to write short songs. I’d rather a short song that packs a punch than a long one that goes nowhere.

Even if “Killers and Kings” isn’t up to the same quality as their last two albums, it’s far from bad. At the end of the day, it’s Machine Head, and they’re rightfully made a name for themselves for simply delivering solid, quality metal songs. This is one of them, unlikely to blow anybody away, but still a pretty great track.