Burn My Eyes by Machine Head
Burn My Eyes is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Machine Head, released on August 9, 1994 by Roadrunner Records. The album's themes generally tie into the social disorder and corresponding inner tension that the band was exposed to in their native Oakland, California, reflected in Robb Flynn's lyrics, such as the Los Angeles Riots of 1992 and the Waco Siege of 1993. The album's title alludes to the third part of the phrase, "Burn my eyes and try to blind me" during the breakdown of "Old". The album shipped over 400,000 copies worldwide, becoming Roadrunner Records's best selling debut album until the release of Slipknot's debut album. This is Machine Head's only studio album to feature drummer Chris Kontos. The songs make references to some certain well-publicized controversies such as the 1992 Los Angeles Riots (heard in dialogue on "Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies") and the Waco Siege of 1993 ("Davidian"). Elsewhere, there are tales of physical and mental abuse ("None But My Own", "The Rage to Overcome"), the condemning of profits from religious soliciting ("Death Church"), succumbing to substance abuse ("I'm Your God Now"), and aforementioned themes of urban decay, social unrest, rebellion, belligerence, or socio-political commentary. Stylistically, the album is credited as having bridged the gap between "second-generation Bay Area thrash (Testament, Death Angel, etc.) and the modern-day Pantera school of hard knocks." Compared to their later releases, it's rawer and more aggressive; after changing their sound on their three subsequent albums, the style was resurrected in modified form—the influences of Gothenburg were evident—on their post-Supercharger output. The release of this album was followed shortly by numerous tours, which eventually led to drummer Chris Kontos leaving the band and being replaced, after careful consideration, by Dave McClain, who would stay with the band until 2018. Kontos, along with guitarist Logan Mader, would return to Machine Head in 2019 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Burn My Eyes's release with a tour, though he never officially rejoined the band.
Colson Baker, the rapper turned pop-punk provocateur known as Machine Gun Kelly, has a somewhat cynical view of fame. At a certain point, he has said in interviews, fans stop rooting <i>for</i> you and start rooting against you. Here, on <i>Tickets to My Downfall</i>, his fifth LP, he attempts to capture—and potentially reclaim—his crash-and-burn moment. To give the people what he thinks they want.<br /> Although the subject matter doesn’t stray too far from Baker’s past releases, musically it’s a sharp left turn. <i>Downfall</i> is his project that trades rapping for early-2000s-era pop punk, and was executive produced by blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. It’s littered with middle-finger-in-the-air moments—proud proclamations of recklessness, like going off his meds and "back on all those drugs I quit"—but they’re delivered with a certain youthful insouciance. “If I’m a painter, I’d be a depressionist,” he sings on “title track”, a frenetic F-U to his ticket buyers. It feels, at times, like he’s framing the album to be a pile-up of self-pity and angst, but that's an undersell; <i>Downfall</i> is also emotionally generous, fiercely hyperactive and ultimately very relatable, full of moments of tenderness and surprising vulnerability.<br /> More often than not, Baker is digging around in his pain. “lonely” finds him missing his father, who passed away a few months before the album’s release. “kiss kiss” and “forget me too” are about struggling to break bad habits, be them toxic relationships, booze or drugs. On the project’s lead single “bloody valentine”, he almost misses a flight because he’s so caught up in love, a tone that calls to mind the boyish romance that underlined many of blink-182’s hits. “There’s a renaissance of guitar-driven music happening in the mainstream,” he tells Apple Music. “This song has been kicking down the door.” The other influence who can be felt throughout these songs is Kurt Cobain, Baker’s childhood idol and rock’s most devoted outsider. Even though <i>Downfall</i> is hardly alienating or inaccessible—there’s a song with Halsey, after all—it doesn’t shy away from insecurity or the uglier sides of life. The closing track, “play this when i’m gone”, is a goodbye letter to his daughter, just in case. “I'm 29, my anxiety's eating me alive/I'm fighting with myself and my sobriety every night/And last time I couldn't barely open my eyes/I apologise.”
