GHOSTLY BLACK LIMITED EDITION GATEFOLD - 300 COPIES MADE
 
Ahh, The Blackening. An album that has set the benchmark for modern metal for years to come. A decade on and the tour de force of riffs, solos and brutality that explodes from whatever device you’re listening on hasn’t lost any of its potency. The crawling, ominous intro of Clenching the Fists of Dissent building to a headbang-inducing groove is still as infectious as when it first saw the light of day and the decision MACHINE HEAD took to open the album with a track over ten minutes in length is just as bold – how many other bands have done that since? It’s something the band weren’t strangers to – Descend the Shades of Night from Ashes also clocked in round that timeframe but it was right at the end of the record instead. Mind you, that seemed to set a bit of a trend, with epic closer A Farewell to Arms completing a then triumvirate of songs in the ten-minute club.  There’s the raw, unadultered power of Beautiful Mourning, the shout of “Fuck you all!” from frontman Robb Flynn still holding the ability to incite circle pits at every venue they play. The masterful drumming from Dave Maclean on tracks like Wolves and Slanderous continues to pound the ears of all listeners, whilst Demmel’s exquisite guitar work is the absolute pinnacle of Halo, arguably the best song on the whole record and twisting and turning more than the average roller-coaster.