The Blackening (reissue) vinyl

Originally released in 2007, The Blackening was the return to form fans had been praying to the metallic gods for since Oakland, California heavy metal legends Machine Head began showing signs of getting their shit together on 2003's Through The Ashes Of Empires. You have to understand, in the mid-nineties the band would bow to peer pressure and commit themselves to a severely ill-advised nu-metal rebranding with 2001's Supercharger, leaving a bad taste in the collective mouths of devout followers, who were timidly led back to the fold as the group rediscovered their primal roots. It was with The Blackening that Rob Flynn and his cohorts finally cracked their internal code, conjuring a lethal concoction of progressive thrash-indebted groove metal, that even garnered ferocious lead single 'Aesthetics Of Hate' a nomination for Best Metal Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards. Commonly regarded as the band's opus and finest display of ability (before another lacklustre period we won't divulge here), with melodious entries such as 'Now I Lay Thee Down' and near ten-minute mind-melting expanses such as 'Halo', it's difficult to argue with the legacy of such a modern classic of American heavy metal.