Burn My Eyes

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Burn My Eyes
Studio album by
Machine Head
ReleasedAugust 9, 1994
RecordedNovember 1993
StudioFantasy Studios in Berkeley, California
GenreGroove metal[1]
Length55:34
LabelRoadrunner
ProducerColin Richardson
Machine Head chronology
Burn My Eyes
(1994) 		The More Things Change...
(1997)
Singles from Burn My Eyes
  1. "Davidian"
    Released: 1994
  2. "Old"
    Released: March 1995

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.[2] 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 self-titled debut album.[3] This is Machine Head's only studio album to feature drummer Chris Kontos.

Album information[edit]

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."[4] 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 neither of them officially rejoined the band.[5][6]

The album has since become a lasting success. In 1994, it quickly became a Roadrunner Records best seller and was the label's best-selling debut album for a number of years, until the release of Slipknot's 1999 self-titled debut.

Cancelled re-release[edit]

On October 31, 2006, Roadrunner Records announced that as part of their 25th anniversary, they would be re-releasing Burn My Eyes with a bonus CD, which includes previously unreleased tracks and rarities. It was said to be due out on January 8, 2007, but was then pushed back to September 2007 so it would not interfere with the release of The Blackening. However, the re-release was cancelled. Robb Flynn explained this on his blog, which is posted on Machinehead1.com:

"To the best of our knowledge, the BME re-release that was supposed to have coincided with the 25th anniversary of Roadrunner Records back in 2005 and was then re-scheduled to be released in Oct 2006, has been back-burnered. And as far as we're concerned, that's a good thing. This is the year of The Blackening, and the time frame to re-release it has passed, not to mention that the idea of re-releasing a 13-year old album that we already celebrated with 2 anniversary shows (3 years ago) makes zero sense to us. We were never excited about re-issuing it to begin with, as it was just gonna have a bunch of b-sides, and wouldn't have been nearly as cool some of the other re-issues that had DVDs and all sorts of cool shit... so, as much as some of you may be bummed, know that it's better this way."

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal9/10[7]
Kerrang![citation needed]
Q[8]
  • Kerrang! (p. 21) – "Burn My Eyes took the heaviness and speed of thrash and combined it with the sledgehammer grooves of more left-field acts."
  • Kerrang! (p. 53) – "[O]ne of the most ferocious and groove-laden behemoths the metal world has, and likely will ever see."
  • Q magazine – "A violent, grinding experience, spiked with social comment and spruced up with some brain-tingling guitar solos. Straddling the new '90s metal subject matter of religion, war and injustice, Burn My Eyes is a colossal album, a landmark."[9]

Track listing[edit]

All lyrics are written by Robb Flynn; all music is composed by Machine Head

No.TitleLength
1."Davidian"4:56
2."Old"4:05
3."A Thousand Lies"6:13
4."None But My Own"6:14
5."The Rage to Overcome"4:46
6."Death Church"6:33
7."A Nation on Fire"5:33
8."Blood for Blood"3:40
9."I'm Your God Now"5:50
10."Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies"2:45
11."Block"4:59
Total length:55:34
Digipak edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Alan's on Fire" (Poison Idea cover)4:00
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Alan's on Fire" (Poison Idea cover)4:00
13."Davidian" (live)7:26
14."Hard Times" (live; Cro-Mags cover)2:27

Australian tour edition[edit]

The following songs constitute the entirety of the Burn My Eyes Demo.

No.TitleLength
1."Death Church"6:18
2."Old"4:23
3."The Rage to Overcome"5:04
4."A Nation on Fire"4:46
5."Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies / Fuck It All"6:54

Personnel[edit]

Chart performance[edit]

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Austrian Albumsv(Ö3 Austria)[10] 29
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11] 45
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 35
Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] 38
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 38
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 25
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 164

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[17] Gold 35,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Gold 100,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lawson, Dom (March 25, 2019). "The Memory Remains: Robb Flynn on Burn My Eyes". Metal Hammer. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  2. ^ "MACHINE HEAD's 'Burn My Eyes' Celebrates 20th Birthday!". July 26, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  3. ^ Wiederorn, Jon (May 2007). "Machine Head: Through the Ashes". Revolver Magazine.
  4. ^ a b "Burn My Eyes". AllMusic. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  5. ^ "Three-Fourths Of MACHINE HEAD's 'Burn My Eyes' Lineup to Reunite For 25th-Anniversary Tour". Blabbermouth.net. March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  6. ^ "MACHINE HEAD Announces 'Burn My Eyes' 25th-Anniversary European Tour Dates Feat. CHRIS KONTOS, LOGAN MADER". Blabbermouth.net. March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  7. ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  8. ^ Henderson, Dave (November 1994). "New LPs". Q. No. 98. p. 115.
  9. ^ Henderson, Dave (November 1994). "New LPs". Q. No. 98. p. 115.
  10. ^ "Machine Head – Burn My Eyes" (in German). austriancharts.at.
  11. ^ "Machine Head – Burn My Eyes" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl.
  12. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  13. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  14. ^ "Machine Head – Burn My Eyes". swedishcharts.com.
  15. ^ "Machine Head UK Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  16. ^ "Machine Head – Burn My Eyes" (in French). ultratop.be. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  17. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  18. ^ "British album certifications – Machine Head – Burn My Eyes". British Phonographic Industry.
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