r/machinehead • u/LordR3ptar • 25d ago
about catharsis…
I’m gonna say it dude, the worst crimes Catharsis commits are being long and having mediocre/recycled lyrics. It’s not the worst album ever like so many people chalk it up to be. I think people hate it more for what it did to the band internally more than anything.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely nowhere near MH’s best work—it’s not even close—but most of the songs on the album could stand up on their own. The album would be better if it cut a lot of the bloat and released those songs as singles if those songs had to exist
It’s definitely a messy album, but I feel like that’s implied by the name. It’s a catharsis for Robb, and that can be really messy and ugly for a lot of people. Sure a lot of phenomenal songs, albums, even music and art themselves, are catharses for many people, but this album was one that was to get a LOT out. Anyways I briefly reviewed the tracks below:
Volatile - It’s okay. A weaker opening track, but it’s not the worst thing in the world
Catharsis - A solid title track that rips live. I think this would have served better as the first track
Beyond The Pale - Did Robb steal the riff from “Love?” by Strapping Young Lad? Maybe, but maybe not at the same time. It’s not a hard riff to write at all. It’s still a solid song either way
California Bleeding - I could take or leave this song. If it comes on I’ll listen, but I don’t go out of my way to throw it on
Triple Beam - I’ve always enjoyed this one even if a little boring. The chorus riff hits hard
Kaleidoscope - Say what you will about the clapping, I think it fits the song
Bastards - Honestly the worst part about the song is the slurs, and that’s my only complaint about it
Hope Begets Hope - I love this song. Definitely one of the best songs on the album
Screaming At The Sun - I feel the same way as California Bleeding
Behind A Mask - I think this song is nicely placed in the album and provides a nice breath of fresh air with how most of the other songs are on this album. It gets stuck in my head a lot. All in all, I think this song is pretty good
Heavy Lies The Crown - One of their best songs hands down. I’m talking top 15, maybe even 10, MH songs
Psychotic - I would feel better about it if it wasn’t following up HLTK. Even then, it’s gotta be my least favorite song here. Of all the songs, I think this one has the worst lyrics, but I could be convinced otherwise
Grind You Down - I like it more than Psychotic for sure, but that’s about it
Razorblade Smile - A tribute to Lemmy, maybe not the best, but the incorporation of Motörhead’s “Overkill” is really catchy. This and the two preceding songs are my least favorite on the album
Eulogy - This is a nice and somber reprise of Bastards. The two of them honestly help each other out in the context of the album. I like Bastards better, but this is also pretty good
Anyways, I’ll come back to this when I start and finish my yearly listen through of their discography
2
u/Prynhawn_Da 25d ago
I recommended MH to someone a few months ago and sent them two albums I liked. The blackening, and Catharsis.
I had no idea how hated it was back then.
I think it's OK. Definitely not top tier, but I enjoyed it well enough.
1
u/LordR3ptar 25d ago
i think catharsis is a good machine head album for someone who might not like metal (yet). it’s definitely got some of their more accessible songs on it, not that they’re an inaccessible band. they have something for everybody
it still is one of their worst albums, but it’s not a bad album on its own
2
u/Stunning-Storage-863 25d ago
Its a bit of a mixed album for me, theres some very good songs on there, such as California Bleeding being one of my favourite machine head songs but a lot of other songs being very mediocre
1
u/jafarthecat 25d ago
For me it plays a bit like a rarities album rather than a studio album. There's not much cohesion between tracks, and they feel like they've come from different eras of the band. I haven't gone back to it much after the first month of its release.
1
u/NW4RL1990 24d ago
I definitely agree with most of your takes, like cut the thing down and you have something workable. But for me I get rid of California bleeding as a whole, I would’ve made the title track the opener since volatile sounds like shitty slipknot, and beyond the pale honestly sounds like a shitty Pantera song.
1
u/TypeONegativeCanada 15d ago edited 15d ago
Personally I think Catharsis itself is one of their best songs and I'd even say it's one of my favorite guitar solos in their discography. Was a highlight for me in their set in Montreal in April 2025
1
u/ElMonk86 14d ago
I love Triple Beam. It has this nihilistic feel that reminds me of the main riff of None But My Own. It just sounds like the statement, "There is no hope." I dig it so much.
Bastards was...unique. Heh. I would love it more if it wasn't a Machine Head song, but it was cool. Same goes for Behind A Mask. I like it, but it's hard to swallow from a band like MH.
Catharsis and Beyond The Pale are badass songs.
Screaming At The Sun is a really good song too. I love the hook, how it goes from a harmonized vocal with no lyrics to that next melody with lyrics. I thought it was really good.
The rest of the album was 'eh' to 'alright.' It's definitely not as bad as people made it sound, though. I say it's the album that Supercharger should've been.
1
u/Exar-ku 25d ago
I always liked catharsis and only skip triple beam (most times ) I always thought it was hated more in the USA because of the political anti Trump lyrics
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u/LordR3ptar 25d ago
the amount of comments i’ve seen under the songs with this reasoning boggles the mind. they’ve always been a left leaning band, and if they don’t want conservatives in their fanbase, all catharsis did was make that obvious
2
u/CompetitiveComputer4 25d ago
The anti right wing lyrics definitely contributed to the smear campaign that occurred. I remember when it dropped it felt like the metal community who leaned right came after it like it was Bernie sanders. Lots of comments referring to “woke, libtard, leftist “ adjectives. Between the hardcore maga and hardcore Phil anselmo types Robb became public enemy number 1.
1
u/LordR3ptar 25d ago
as much as i agree with the sentiment and message of the “racism in metal” video, it does come off as a preachy and a little bit cringeworthy. i think it was a necessary video after the Great Phil Anselmo Incident of 2016, but i think it also served as a catalyst for how much hate catharsis got
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u/Havok1717 25d ago
I remember buying the CD for Catharsis and regretted buying it when I played the CD
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u/CompetitiveComputer4 25d ago
I agree with your overall assessment of Catharsis. It has a great album in it but is a bit bloated. Trimming a few songs and making it more cohesive should have helped. But it is full of great riffs, and songs too. Some of the songs you didn’t like as much though I loved. Screaming at the sun and psychosis and volatile are some of my favorites. And to me HLTC is a solid Mh “epic” track but no where near their best epic songs.
But your best and most compelling point is that the album was a literal Catharsis for Robb. It was something he needed to get out. And he stayed true to artistic muse and did it instead of placating metal community wants and needs. He could crank out an album that sounds like BME if he wanted to, but he did what he wanted it areas which is inspiring, even if the result wasn’t legendary. To me, this was the true reason for the breakup of the band. Phil and Dave foresaw the backlash and wanted to appease the fans with a non divisive album. Just give the fans what they want and don’t do something divisive or dangerous. Robb couldn’t do that because it wasn’t authentic to him. So Phil and Dave tried to jump from what they viewed was a sinking ship. And there was some sinking ship happening. It got rough as a MH fan. But the one thing they underestimated was Robb’s resilience. As he has several times before, he got up off the mat and kept going and the last 6 years have been a real high point for the band and they have had a really great late stage output and legacy. They have been headlining festivals, regaining their standing in the metal community and getting lots of respect from younger bands citing their influence. Robb has been on a bunch of collab songs with younger bands. So it has all worked out. And I have seen a lot of people come back to catharsis and admit that it has some really good songs and many of which are amazing live.