Although never achieving full blown mainstream success, Machine Head are a band who have definitely influenced a great deal of current artists with the material they put forth on their earlier releases. However, their past '99 outing, the Ross Robinson produced "The Burning Red", found them stepping out into new territories, straying away from the near trademark Bay Area metalcore grooves they established in their younger years to instead adopt some of the tactics of the then current new metal arsenal. This was unfortunately a move that for the most part, created a serious rift with the bands diehard fans. So, with such a mixed reaction, it would be expected that this near seminal five piece would attempt to go back to their old haunts for their follow-up, however, this is not the case as "Supercharger" finds the band using "The Burning Red" as groundwork and expanding upon it, employing looser structures and more experimental effects than ever before, along with an increased dosage of melody and modern metal influenced song writing.

Band vocalist/guitarist Robert Flynn is hardly one who needs introduction, as his throaty barks have become quite well known throughout the past few years. But present here is not the same old Flynn most have come to know and love. Instead, here we find him blindly treading into new territory and generally letting loose with a style that is a lot less intense, at times even sounding a bit playful, though it is still fairly aggressive and all the more dynamic. There is little of the rap oriented structures he toyed with before, but there also aren't many of his menacing screams either, rather there's a wealth of fairly vitriolic rants and screams and on occasion even some repetitious buildups that feel heavily influenced by modern metal with their emphatic almost maniacal delivery. The lyrical content of the album also deserves mention as well, as it finds Flynn regaling personal experiences and accounts of his past in a very direct nature with little creative wordplay, giving the material a very personal and digestible air. In the meantime, the guitar work as expected has also taken the same dynamic mindset as the vocals and enlists a very raw and loosely assembled array of downtuned riffery, complete with screeching outlandish effects and driving rhythms to keep the music as colorfully in your face as possible. On the other hand, the bass playing is a bit more restrained and seems to prefer following the guitars lead, providing density, while the percussion is vibrantly dished out and usually dwells upon a series of skilled, fast paced rolls and dulled snare hits, mixed with the thud of deep, roomy kick drums that enlist a surprisingly sparse incorporation of double kick technique to keep the tracks buzzing along.

For any other band, "Supercharger" would most likely be a fairly respected outing, but unfortunately for a band like Machine Head, it is one that will almost assuredly turn away more of their diehard fanbase than their last. The songs are catchy and there are a few like "Bulldozer", which really show promise and link back to the bands earlier efforts, but aside from that, its really hard to take this album seriously, as Machine Head once had the ability to deliver an album as crushingly heavy as Slipknot any day of the week. Perhaps its the sign of a band in decline or perhaps its just a band caught in the quagmire of recklessly trying to push themselves into dynamic new ground, but in truth, "Supercharger" is a solid outing and little more. There's a lot left to be desired in terms of depth, song writing and intensity overall and when coupled with the fact that its Machine Head, those expectations and desires are raised even more. Its a shame really, as no matter what most say, "The Burning Red" definitely had a number of enjoyable moments, but even moments of that quality are far and few between here; Painting up a pretty dull picture of complacent modern metal served up with little soul. Admittedly, this review may be a bit harsh, but given the talent and potential of Machine Head, its truly hard to see them put out an album of this kind of half assed caliber. It just sounds as if things were rushed and they didn't push themselves, prefering to write music for the sake of writing music rather than completely feeling it. Ultimately, "Supercharger" is still an enjoyable listen at times, and its still a fair album by all means, but it is nowhere near being super and pretty much represents a turning point in the bands career as the next album they release will either blow everyone away, or seal their fate with their older fans once and for all.