Of Kingdom and Crown

Of Kingdom and Crown (stylized as ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN) is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Machine Head, released on August 26, 2022, through Nuclear Blast and Imperium Recordings.[3] It is the band's first album to feature guitarist Wacław Kiełtyka, who joined the band in late 2019.[4] Matt Alston, who joined the band at the same time, does not play on the album; instead, drum duties are handled by Navene Koperweis, who acted as a session drummer for the album.[5][6] The band's first concept album, Of Kingdom and Crown is set in a futuristic wasteland and revolves around two characters, Ares and Eros, who both go on their own respective killing sprees following the death of their loved ones.

Of Kingdom and Crown
Studio album by
Machine Head
ReleasedAugust 26, 2022
RecordedDecember 2019 – January 2022
Studio
Genre
Length
  • 59:22 (standard)
  • 70:00 (digipak)
Label
Producer
Machine Head chronology
Catharsis
(2018)		 Of Kingdom and Crown
(2022)
Singles from Of Kingdom and Crown
  1. "My Hands Are Empty"
    Released: November 13, 2020
  2. "Arrows in Words from the Sky"
    Released: June 11, 2021
  3. "Choke on the Ashes of Your Hate"
    Released: April 12, 2022
  4. "Unhallowed"
    Released: June 21, 2022
  5. "No Gods, No Masters"
    Released: August 26, 2022[2]

Of Kingdom and Crown was positively received by critics, many who called it a return to form for Machine Head following the release of the band's oft-maligned ninth album Catharsis (2018), with praise being directed towards the album's diversity and musicianship, which was described as heavier and more technical than previous efforts.

Concept and lyrics

Of Kingdom and Crown is the band's first concept album. The band's frontman, Robb Flynn, described the general plot of the album's concept to Blabbermouth;[7]

"The concept is set in a futuristic wasteland where the sky is always crimson red, and it's based around two characters. Character number one is named Ares [pronounced Aries], and he loses the love of his life, Amethyst, and goes on a murderous rampage against the people who killed her. Character number two is Eros [pronounced Arrows], who loses his mother to a drug overdose and, in his downward spiral, depression, becomes radicalized by this charismatic leader and goes on his own killing spree and is one of the people who killed Amethyst. And so the lyrics detail how their lives intertwine."

The initial concept of Of Kingdom and Crown was described by Robb Flynn as "a very American story arc" where there was a good guy who won. While Flynn thought the concept was "good", he was unhappy with it when he found he was unable to connect to it emotionally. After watching the anime series Attack on Titan, which Flynn's two sons had got him and his family into during the COVID-19 pandemic, Flynn had a "total lightbulb going off", and rewrote the concept to make both of the protagonists antiheroes. Flynn wrote most of the album's lyrics "in his head", and at 3 a.m. "I just would set a timer for 20 minutes and I would just write anything that came to my mind — dumb shit, killer shit. I would just try and make everything rhyme; I would try and make a sequence out of it. And then I would just go back to bed and then wake up and look at it the next morning and then I would either sing it or try and mess around with it. And I think just doing it, kind of just chipping away at it like that every day, really helped the story come together." While most of the album's lyrics were written solely by Flynn, Jared McEachern and Wacław Kiełtyka also helped contribute to the lyrics and music, with McEachern and Flynn "bouncing" ideas off each other.[7][8][9] Due to logistical problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Matt Alston was unable to perform drum duties for the album, but recorded the album's demo tracks and also contributed some ideas to the album.[10] In his place, Navene Koperweis acted as a session drummer for the album.[5]

Plot summary

Of Kingdom and Crown's first track, "Slaughter the Martyr", introduces the character of Ares. "This is Ares' origin story. He's just lost the love of his life [Amethyst] and now his life is just utter, unfettered revenge. It’s the only thing on his mind."

Eros, the second character of the story, spirals down into a deep depression after his mother has a fatal overdose and dies ("Overdose"/"My Hands are Empty"), eventually slipping into madness ("Unhallowed").[11][12]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Blabbermouth10/10[13]
Kerrang![14]
Metal Hammer[15]
Metal Injection9/10[16]
Sputnikmusic2.9/5[17]

Of Kingdom and Crown received critical acclaim from music critics.

Many publications hailed the album as a return to form for the band. Writing for Kerrang!, Dan Slessor praised the band's musical interplay and wrote "Machine Head have been down before – their nu-metal adventures 20-something years ago – and have come back from it, so maybe counting them out was premature. Regardless, with this version of the band they are back to their best, and that is all that matters."[14] Simultaneously, it was also praised as for its diversity and advancement of the band's sound, which was described as heavier and more technical; Blabbermouth, who awarded the album a perfect 10/10 score, described Of Kingdom and Crown as "the greatest record Machine Head have ever made", writing; "the principle and performance remain the same — tight, brutal, precise — throughout what is easily this band's most vicious and punishing album yet."[13]

Metal Injection gave the album a 9/10, writing "Despite its occasional stumble – it's another long album, with more than a little recognizable fat to be trimmed in tracks like 'No Gods, No Masters' – it's undoubtedly a career high point for the band and one that could be held up against The Blackening in comparison with very little complaint. The storytelling aspect works, and the music is top-notch and as heavy as Machine Head comes in places. What's not to love?"[16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Robb Flynn, except where noted

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Slaughter the Martyr" 
10:25
2."Choke on the Ashes of Your Hate"
  • Flynn
  • MacEachern
  • Flynn
  • MacEachern
4:06
3."Become the Firestorm"  4:59
4."Overdose"  0:58
5."My Hands Are Empty"
  • Flynn
  • MacEachern
5:29
6."Unhallowed"
  • Flynn
  • MacEachern
6:29
7."Assimilate"  0:59
8."Kill Thy Enemies" 
  • Flynn
  • MacEachern
5:40
9."No Gods, No Masters"
  • Flynn
  • MacEachern
  • Flynn
  • MacEachern
4:18
10."Bloodshot"
  • Flynn
  • MacEachern
  • Flynn
  • MacEachern
  • Kiełtyka
4:20
11."Rotten"  4:32
12."Terminus"  1:12
13."Arrows in Words from the Sky"
  • Flynn
  • MacEachern
 5:55
Total length:59:22
Digipak and box set bonus tracks
No.TitleLyricsLength
14."Exteroception" (instrumental) 4:45
15."Arrows in Words from the Sky" (acoustic)
  • Flynn
  • MacEachern
5:53
Total length:70:00

Notes

  • All tracks are stylized in all caps, and all letter O's are stylised as "Ø"

Personnel

Machine Head

Production and additional musicians

Charts
Chart performance for Of Kingdom and Crown
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 27
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20] 6
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 34
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 16
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] 62
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[24] 13
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 6
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[26] 64
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[27] 61
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[28] 11
Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] 7
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[30] 28
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 3
UK Albums (OCC)[32] 27
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[33] 3
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[34] 1

Release history
Release history and formats for Of Kingdom and Crown
Country Format Date Ref.
Various
  • CD
  • digital download
  • streaming
 August 26, 2022 [35]
Vinyl November 25, 2022

References
  1. "Machine Head - Øf Kingdøm And Crøwn Review". metal.de (in German). August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  2. "Machine Head Tease Upcoming "NØ GØDS, NØ MASTERS" Music Video". July 19, 2022.
  3. "MACHINE HEAD – announce colossal 10th Album 'ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN'!". www.nuclearblast.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  4. Childers, Chad (October 2019). "Machine Head Name New Full Time Guitarist + Drummer". Loudwire. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  5. "Machine Head Tap Drummer Navene Koperweis for New Album". MetalSucks. December 13, 2021. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  6. "Machine Head share details for new album "Øf Kingdøm And Crøwn," debut "Chøke Øn The Ashes Øf Yøur Hate" music video". Chaoszine. April 12, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  7. "Machine Head's Robb Flynn On 'Of Kingdom And Crown': 'Most Of This Record Was Written At Three In The Morning'". Blabbermouth.net. July 29, 2022.
  8. "Machine Head Announce Attack on Titan Inspired Album, Share New Song". April 12, 2022.
  9. "Machine Head's Robb Flynn On 'Of Kingdom And Crown': 'It's Really A Very, Very Guitar-Heavy, Ferocious Album'". Blabbermouth.net. August 22, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  10. "SOME THANKS ARE IN ORDER..." Machine Head. August 28, 2022. Archived from the original on August 30, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  11. "Robb Flynn's track by track guide to the new Machine Head album Of Kingdom And Crown". loudersound. August 24, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  12. "Machine Head Shares New Song 'Unhallowed'". Blabbermouth.net. June 21, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  13. Blabbermouth (August 22, 2022). "Of Kingdom and Crown". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  14. "Album review: Machine Head – ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN". Kerrang!. August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  15. Hill, Stephen (August 21, 2022). "Machine Head's Of Kingdom And Crown: Robb Flynn and co return to furious form". loudersound. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  16. McKenna, Shaun (August 23, 2022). "Album Review: Machine Head Of Kingdom And Crown". Metal Injection. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  17. Garland, Robert (August 29, 2022). "Review: Machine Head - Of Kingdom and Crown". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  18. "Machine Head To Release New Studio Album In Summer Of 2022". Blabbermouth.net. November 12, 2021. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  19. "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  20. "Austriancharts.at – Machine Head – Øf Kingdøm and Crøwn" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  21. "Ultratop.be – Machine Head – Øf Kingdøm and Crøwn" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  22. "Ultratop.be – Machine Head – Øf Kingdøm and Crøwn" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Machine Head – Øf Kingdøm and Crøwn" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  24. "Machine Head: Øf Kingdøm and Crøwn" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  25. "Offiziellecharts.de – Machine Head – Of Kingdom and Crown" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  26. "マシーン・ヘッド" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  27. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2022/08/31 公開". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  28. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  29. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  30. "Top 100 Albums Weekly". El portal de Música. Promusicae. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  31. "Swisscharts.com – Machine Head – Øf Kingdøm and Crøwn". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  32. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  33. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  34. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  35. Krol, Charlotte (April 12, 2022). "Machine Head announce new album 'ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN'". NME. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
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