Bloodstone & Diamonds
by Machine Head
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 53 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 53
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 53
  3. Negative: 8 out of 53
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  1. Shady313
    May 2, 2015
    9
    9/10 .................................................................................................................................................
  2. brockcheese
    Jan 25, 2015
    10
    This album is great, and I'm not even a metal fan. There is so much layered in the instrumentals, with interesting solos riff, and a surprising amount of variety from the vocals. Containing both deep meaningly lyrics and kick ass music, Bloodstone & Diamonds does not disappoint and makes my top album of 2014.
  3. semechma
    Dec 21, 2014
    10
    Awesome album! After all of the legal issues surrounding the band, I had all but written these guys off.. I am so glad I didn't.. The band has combined the best elements from their last two records and have made a fantastics blend of the two.
  4. Vreeseek
    Jan 27, 2015
    7
    You can say that the new Machine Head's Bloodstone and Diamonds is a great, good or ok album, but it is not by far the best of them, the quality of The Blackening makes this seem another metal band
  5. bryan101384
    Dec 29, 2014
    10
    This album continues the streak of incredible music that has been consistently created by these modern metal masters. There is a balance present here that not many metal albums have. It is a delicate thing to create a metal album that satisfies that unrelenting demand for audio brutality without becoming a repetitive blur of recycled riffs. Machine Head has achieved this on each ofThis album continues the streak of incredible music that has been consistently created by these modern metal masters. There is a balance present here that not many metal albums have. It is a delicate thing to create a metal album that satisfies that unrelenting demand for audio brutality without becoming a repetitive blur of recycled riffs. Machine Head has achieved this on each of their last 4 releases. This is an astonishing achievement considering the line-up changes and legal issues that the band has been dealing with. Machine Head suffered through an identity crisis in the early 2000's only to reinvent themselves into one of the strongest forces in metal today. They have truely mastered their own sound while continuing to push the boundries and try to new things on each album. The one thing that stands out the most to me is Rob Flynns vocals, I can't really express enough how impressed I am with his own progression vocally. From the very crude vocals on Burn my Eye's, to the cringe worthy rap metal style of Burning Red, Flynn seemed to be finding his own identity as both a musician and vocalist. He has evolved into one of the best vocalists in metal today, and at this point his roar and melodic tone are nothing short of iconic. Machine Heads sound is now iconic, and Bloodstone and Diamonds does not dissapoint on any front.… Expand
  6. The_Cutter
    Dec 28, 2014
    10
    Machine head go from strength to strength. Whilst their music is not to everyone's tastes, they have progressed to a position whereby their songs are expertly crafted and executed. The only "downside" to the album is the "Imaginal Cells". Whilst interesting it really should have been consigned to a B-side. However, it does add to the flavour of the album as a whole. Rob Flynn has a storyMachine head go from strength to strength. Whilst their music is not to everyone's tastes, they have progressed to a position whereby their songs are expertly crafted and executed. The only "downside" to the album is the "Imaginal Cells". Whilst interesting it really should have been consigned to a B-side. However, it does add to the flavour of the album as a whole. Rob Flynn has a story to tell and he is going about it in an imaginative way. Really great album. Stands head and shoulders above anything else out there.… Expand
  7. TheQuietGamer
    Jul 13, 2016
    9
    Machine Head uses this album to deliver an incredible example of the beauty and power that the metal genre can contain in the right hands. The results are fantastic. Bloodstone & Diamonds can serve as a powerful introduction to the genre, as well as a heavy blast of top-notch metal to genre enthusiasts.

    With political themes in the lyrics, the band touches on some meaningful topics. The    Machine Head uses this album to deliver an incredible example of the beauty and power that the metal genre can contain in the right hands. The results are fantastic. Bloodstone & Diamonds can serve as a powerful introduction to the genre, as well as a heavy blast of top-notch metal to genre enthusiasts.

    With political themes in the lyrics, the band touches on some meaningful topics. The sounds doesn't stray too far away from what was offered in their previous album "Unto the Locust." Instead the band takes the sound and expands and improves upon it in important and effective ways.

    Added orchestral sections boost the band's already excellent instrumentals. You won't be hearing the standard metal riffs and solos here. Just about everything in the band's sound is fresh. Frontman Robb Flynn shows even more vocal range from a variety of deep screams and growls and striking clean vocals.

    I have to give special praise to the album's metal ballads. Sail into the Black is a haunting that just does things I wouldn't have thought to expect from the band. Damage Inside comes so very close to rivaling Darkness Within. They are two incredible songs, just like the rest of the album.

    Well, almost the rest of the album. If there's one shortcoming it has it would be the instrumental track Imaginal Cells. For starters it's not totally an instrumental track. Overtop of the band's work are excerpts from the audiobook Spontaneous Evolution. Sorry, but I want to hear the band's music, not some dude rambling on about crap I don't care about with the band's work in the background. I'm okay with the band expressing their political and other views. However this track goes to far by having that take precedent over the music itself. Given how fantastic the band's sound is here, that's almost a darn crime.

    Still, the majority of this album is some of the heaviest and most well-executed metal I've ever heard. A step up from Unto the Locust and probably most of the band's other work. This is a must listen to for fans of the genre, because it shows the genre at some of it's best moments. Machine Head delivered another incredible work. One worth a look for those who just enjoy good music.

    9.8/10    … Expand
  8. CMyers
    Jan 25, 2015
    7
    Yeah, the metascore on this one shows a quirk of the algorithm... If you put out an music that only the most diehard fans of the genre will even listen to, you might only get reviewed by critics that love your style. If none of them rate you less than 80 or so, you get an abnormally high score for music that (for example) only angry young white dudes listen to. Is the D'Angelo releaseYeah, the metascore on this one shows a quirk of the algorithm... If you put out an music that only the most diehard fans of the genre will even listen to, you might only get reviewed by critics that love your style. If none of them rate you less than 80 or so, you get an abnormally high score for music that (for example) only angry young white dudes listen to. Is the D'Angelo release better because more people listen to it? I dunno, that would mean Katy Perry's music is the best... and I can't accept that.

    This new Machinehead album does add some things that improve the overall experience - for example, on tracks 5, 9, and 11, there are long periods where Flynn doesn't constantly scream in your ear. The guitar playing is wicked fast and skillful, although I hear the usual "studio magic" production sound that rounds off all the imperfections, and the fidelity of the sound is nothing special - not that it needs to be for this type of music.

    If you still want to hear an echo of that late 80s to early 90s style metal, this will do the trick. If you're a Machinehead fan, it's surely their best sounding record. Why did I give it a 7? Because at any time in the first 20 minutes of the album, you could sample 10 seconds of it and compare it to any other Machinehead album, and it sounds exactly the same. I guess they're like the 311 of metal - not ever changing the fundamentals much at all. There's no where to go, really, because later metal acts sadly degenerated into unintelligible growling, screeching, and kick drum abuse, causing tinnitus wherever they went, and people stopped listening to it. The end.    … Expand
  9. Xevon
    Jan 23, 2020
    8
    Bloodstone & Diamonds. A well produced, undeniably solid collection of songs performed with gusto. It's no The Blackening or Burn My Eyes, but it's definitely one of the better albums Machine Head has produced. There isn't a single song on here that I dislike, although there is a slight sag from 'Sail into the Black' through 'Beneath the Silt' - not to say these are bad songs, just thatBloodstone & Diamonds. A well produced, undeniably solid collection of songs performed with gusto. It's no The Blackening or Burn My Eyes, but it's definitely one of the better albums Machine Head has produced. There isn't a single song on here that I dislike, although there is a slight sag from 'Sail into the Black' through 'Beneath the Silt' - not to say these are bad songs, just that they fail to stand out among the rest of the albums punchy tracks. From opener 'Now We Die's blend of savage verses and sweeping symphonic chorus to 'Game Over's gradual build to a catchy yet breakneck progression, Bloodstone & Diamonds features a smattering of great tracks, a number of which have become live staples and rightly so.

    Now, this begs the question. If this album is as good as I, and those crazy critics say it is, then why don't we hear about it more? The answer to that is simple. You see, Machine Head has songs like Imperium - It's a god damn monster and Machine Head has a decent collection of songs that are of a comparable quality, taken from a series of different albums throughout their career. So here's the issue: None of those songs come from Bloodstone & Diamonds. Don't get me wrong, there isn't a single bad song on this album, but there isn't an Imperium either. Machine Head went and set the water mark so damn high that a killer album like this couldn't break the surface despite it not inherently doing a single thing wrong. You could say it missed out on that fluke, on that lucky song that would propel the album forward. Now We Die is almost that song, but almost just doesn't cut it.

    So, should you listen to Bloodstone & Diamonds? Absolutely, it's a great album and potentially one somewhat underappreciated by Machine Head fans - all the more reason YOU should appreciate it. There may be no breakout track here, but there's no bad tracks either. This album is an enjoyable listen from beginning to end and I cannot help but recommend it wholeheartedly.    … Expand
  10. parenter
    Oct 8, 2016
    10
    10/10
    Every song sonunds different but still being metal.
    I don't understand all the stupid head. This is just an excelent example of how to make modern metal.
  11. Daudian
    Jun 3, 2021
    10
    An awesome album that can so easily transition between full paced thrash, classical tones, heavy hammered breakdowns and eloquent guitar solos. It just has everything you need as a Machine Head fan drawing elements from throughout their history whilst still managing to be an original style

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
96

Universal acclaim - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Classic Rock Magazine
    Dec 16, 2014
    90
    It's the more textured and dynamic moments that raise this Herculean slab of cutting edge heaviness into the realms of a stone cold classic. [Jan 2015, p.114]
  2. Kerrang!
    Dec 16, 2014
    100
    This is a modern metal classic. [8 Nov 2014, p.52]
  3. AllMusic
    Dec 16, 2014
    80
    This set is a major go; it extends the qualitative trajectory of The Blackening and Unto the Locust.
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