Through the Ashes of Empires
| Through the Ashes of Empires | ||||
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| Machine Head studio album | ||||
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Publication |
December 16, 2003 |
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| Label (s) | Roadrunner Records | |||
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
10 |
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running time |
53 min 23 s |
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Robb Flynn |
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Studio (s) |
Sharkbite Studios, Oakland |
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Through the Ashes of Empires is the fifth musical album of American Metal - band Machine Head . It was released on December 16, 2003 via Roadrunner Records . After guitarist Phil Demmel joined the band , it was the first album in today's line-up. With this album, the band returned to their musical roots and made their comeback at the same time .
Emergence
Due to the disappointing sales of their predecessor Supercharger , the band lost their contract with Roadrunner Records. By the end of April 2002, only about 45,000 copies of the album had been sold in the United States. After the split, the band wanted to sign a new contract with Roadrunner. However, this project only succeeded with Roadrunner's European branch, while the US office was not interested in any further cooperation. In June 2002 guitarist Ahrue Luster left the band due to creative differences. After these setbacks, however, the band did not want to give up.
“All of these problems have brought us closer together. We had our backs to the wall and asked ourselves where we wanted to go with our music and what is really important to us. "
After Luster's departure, the band decided to continue as a trio. According to Flynn, the band didn't want to go through the entire audition process to see if the new guitarist would fit or not. The band recorded a demo with which they applied to various record labels in the United States. However, it was not successful and Machine Head received over 30 rejections. In the summer of 2002 Machine Head toured Europe and played at various festivals. The vacant position of the second guitarist was taken by Phil Demmel, who played with Flynn at Vio-lence. Demmel originally wanted to retire from the music business and let his career end.
When writing the new songs, the band went back to their roots. For Flynn, listening to old Led Zeppelin and Rush records was a key influencing factor during songwriting . These albums encouraged the band to dare to do more progressive things. In April 2003 Phil Demmel was officially accepted into the band.
Was produced Through the Ashes of Empires by Robb Flynn, who for the first time produced an album. The album was mixed and mastered by the British Colin Richardson , who was unable to produce the album due to time constraints. Mark Keaton was a sound engineer , and Andy Sneap was also involved in the studio recordings. The band spent a total of four weeks at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland . Drummer Dave McClain recorded eight of the ten songs in one day. Video clips were shot for Imperium and Days Turn Blue to Gray . Imperium in particular was broadcast frequently on VIVA Plus .
Robb Flynn sees the album Machine Heads as the answer to the “American-style radio metal” that was popular at the time. In an interview with the German Metal Hammer he mentions a band like Trapt as an example.
background
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According to Flynn, the song "Imperium" stands for all people who defend themselves against social constraints and B. not be influenced by television . "Elegy" takes up the environmental problems of society. The song "Left Unfinished" deals with a trauma from Flynn's childhood. At the age of six months he was given up for adoption by his birth parents . The text is a settlement with his birth parents. Flynn's maiden name Lawrence Matthew Cardine is mentioned in the text.
“I've never felt part of anything in my life because adoption has always made me feel like an outcast. That has often enough had a negative impact on my life. "
"Descend the Shades of Night" deals with the subject of death . The basic riff of the song "Vim" comes from the Forbidden song "Egypt Has Fallen", which was written by Flynn.
In addition to the regular CD version, there was a limited version that included a bonus CD. This contains the songs Bite the Bullet , Left Unfinished , Descend the Shades of Night , All Falls Down and Elegy as demo recordings . There is also the music video of the song The Blood, the Sweat, the Tears and a studio report from the recordings of the album.
The CD version released in the US contains the post-recorded song Seasons Wither . The new song is in eighth position between Vim and All Falls Down . The CDs produced after the release in the USA for the worldwide market also contain the new song. Seasons Wither was also used as the B-side for the single Days Turn Blue to Gray .
reception
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Through the Ashes of Empires received euphoric reviews from the press. Metal Hammer and Rock Hard named the album "Album of the Month". Volkmar Weber from Rock Hard compared the album with a hussar ride, which shows the band “in love with detail and layered like never before” and awarded 9.5 out of ten points. According to Anzo Sadoni from Metal Hammer , Machine Head have managed to “bundle the true essence of the band and distribute it to the individual components of their sound”. Sadoni awarded the highest score of seven.
Through the Ashes of Empires was the second most successful Roadrunner album in 2003 after Nickelback's The Long Road . In Germany, the album sold more often as a supercharger in two years in the first week of sales and reached number 24 on the album charts. The album debuted at number 56 in Austria and at number 80 in Switzerland. In contrast, Through the Ashes of Empires is the only Machine Head album that did not make it into the UK album charts.
With this album, the band was able to win back old fans who had turned their backs on the band after the two previous albums. The band was also able to increase its popularity enormously among younger metal fans. The opening song Imperium became a hit and with many fans it is on par with the song Davidian from the debut album Burn My Eyes . After the great success in Europe and Australia , Roadrunner USA offered the band a new contract. The album was finally released in the USA on April 20, 2004 and reached number 88 on the album charts .
Single "Days Turn Blue to Gray"
The single Days Turn Blue to Gray was released on November 30, 2004. In addition to the title song known from the album, the single contains the newly recorded song Seasons Wither and a live recording of the song The Rage to Overcome . The latter song was recorded on August 8, 2003 in Philadelphia .
Track list
- Days Turn Blue to Gray - 5:24
- Seasons Wither - 6:16
- The Rage to Overcome (Live) - 4:46
Individual evidence
- ↑ blabbermouth.net: Metal / Hard Rock Album Sales In The US As Reported By SoundScan
- ↑ a b c Thomas Kupfer: Liberation of an outcast . In: Rock Hard , October 2003, page 57
- ↑ blabbermouth.net: AHRUE LUSTER: "I Was Creatively Unfulfilled In MACHINE HEAD"
- ↑ a b Thomas Kupfer: The King of Europe . In: Rock Hard, November 2003, page 23
- ^ A b Matthias Weckmann: The empire strikes back . In: Metal Hammer , October 2003, p. 29
- ↑ blabbermouth.net: MACHINE HEAD Officially Recruit PHIL DEMMEL As Second Guitarist
- ↑ lambgoat.com: Machine Head interview
- ↑ a b c Matthias Weckmann: Fighter Heart . In: Metal Hammer, November 2003, page 33ff.
- ↑ blabbermouth.net: MACHINE HEAD: Tales Of Death And Depression
- ↑ officialcharts.de: Machine Head in the German album charts
- ↑ austriancharts.at: Machine Head in the Austrian charts
- ↑ hitparade.ch: Machine Head in the Swiss charts
- ↑ officialcharts.com: Machine Head in the UK charts
- ↑ billboard.com: Machine Head Album & Song Chart History
- ↑ rockhard.de: Machine Head - Through the Ashes of Empires
- ↑ blabbermouth.net: MACHINE HEAD: Storming The European Charts