Machine Head and Fear Factory- Gig Review Melb 14/6/24. Sensational Metal show in everyway.

 

Machine Head and Fear Factory- Gig Review Melb 14/6/24. Sensational Metal show in every way.

First up, cheers to John from Nuclear Blast for the media pass. Secondly, Melbourne had terrible parking in the CBD. Thirdly, AFL game attendees took all the parking spots.

When I finally arrived at the Forum, Fear Factory opened with their sensational opener Shock. If you, for some insane reason, think Fear Factory fans had an issue with the new line-up and Milo as the new singer, you would be wrong. I had friends who went both nights and the same observations were very clear, the mosh pit at times was even crazier than the Machine Head one and the deep love for this band hasn't faded one bit. The energy level was awesome from start to end, tight and engaging with the audience.

The setlist was a brilliant mix of most of their albums, with a heavy quota from Demanufacture-the title track, Zero Signal and the timeless fave, Replica, and Obsolete; with the mighty Edgecrusher(2nd track no less!!), Shock as the opener as mentioned and the magnificent Resurrection to close the set-off. The setlist list flows so well with great representation from Archetype, Digimortal, Genexus, Aggression Continuum and Mechanize.

Milo and Dino were hyping the crowd from the get-go, even taking time to toast their awesome bassist, Tony Campos with some tequila. Pretty much the whole set was a highlight, matching with a stunning light show and brilliant production; something people in Industrial metal bands see rarely, unfortunately. The mix was very front forward with the samples and beats as aggressive as the vocals and guitars. Now on to the new singer and I love Burton's vocals from the band's first release, but live for FF he wasn't cutting it in the last ten or so years, so I am happy to say Milo is more than a worthy replacement. He is younger, more hyper and honestly with the degree of highs and low vocals across the catalogue, he is genuinely a better singer.


Fave tunes of the night: Fuel Injected Suicide Machine which was followed by Linchpin, talk about a 1-2 knockout; Edgecrusher because it is one of my fave tracks by the band, obviously all the Demanufacture tracks and to close with Resurrection was brilliant, because it is moody, emotive and really showcases how fucking amazing Milo is. The new edition of Fear Factory was astonishing.


After that brilliance and a few drinks later the resplendent beast that is Machine Fucking Head, as the banner said, was unleashed. Now this was the first time I have ever seen this band, as no matter what previously the stars never lined up for me to see this legendary band. And they blew my fucking head right off.

Like many others, I was deeply in love with three or so of their key albums and really played the hell out of the latest album. But they brought it in spades, every track was a banger and the sheer level of guitar work and vocal prowess was off the chart. 

I mean obviously, the final band gets the best mix, but they were loud, domineering and crushing.
Imperium has always been a top-class track, but its mix of melody and abrasiveness was awesome to kick things off so confidently. Ten Ton Hammer finished off the early punishment leading into a quickfire hellstorm of Become the Firestorm, Aesthetics of Hate(one of my absolute faves) and Old. That is one hell of a superb way to slaughter the crowd in the first five tracks. I felt exhausted but wanted more. Locust has never been a huge one in my playlist, but they gave it that Nu-metal mixed with hectic heaviness live, a very solid track live.


Now some people love or hate Robb Flynn, but I think he is great be it his quality podcast or his decent attitude to call out Phil from Pantera as a piece of shit racist. But he was encouraging the crowd from the first track and never let up and vocally he is one of the best out there. Live his bass player does incredible backing vocals and this all adds to the perfect balance this band has in every aspect. A perfect example was the fantastic Beautiful Mourning off The Blackening, mixing the harsh tone with awesome clean vocals and then a ripping newie No Gods No Masters, which spotlighted the skill level of this classic band. Then the band gave the crowd a choice of a cover song and we wisely choose Iron Maiden over Metallica and Blink 182, but then they played a snippet of Blink's All The Small Things which was funny as fuck. Then they gave a stellar cover of Maiden's Hallowed Be Thy Name, incredible work MH.

Slaughter the Martyr dazzlingly illustrates both the robust strength of the current line-up and the latest amazing album, Of Kingdom and Crown.
If you haven't given it a solid listen, you need to ASAP!.
This track was one of the absolute highlights along with the classic tracks. And just when you think they may be running low on fuel, the mayhem and hulking weight of Bulldozer will slice off your head. This was always the best track off Supercharger with its stellar mix of Nu-Metal, grunge and sludge, again another track that soars on the live stage. Going from one Nu-Metal banger(and this also sounds super like Slipknot also)to another is the frantic and oppressive catchy gem that is From this Day. All this tension builds up to the song we all want to hear, Davidian which always is the highlight of any live set or playlist and is their greatest track. So of course it equally brings joy, headbanging and tears to hear it live. So as this high-level and amazing performance had blown the whole crowd away, they ended the gig with the blistering harmonic classic, Halo.


As I have said throughout this review, the mix of brilliant vocals, aggression, outstanding guitar work and a band tight as hell delivered in every way and is certainly one of the finest metal gigs I have seen in a decade. A double header of the highest quality and I hope you caught a show on this tour and beg, steal or borrow a chance to see this classic gig.

The last show is tomorrow which has low tickets and awesome fantastic support from the amazing Our Last Enemy.

Don't miss this.

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