Through the Ashes of Empires

Through the Ashes of Empires
Studio album by
Machine Head
ReleasedOctober 27, 2003
RecordedJune 16 – July 21, 2003
Genre
Length59:57
LabelRoadrunner
ProducerRobb Flynn
Machine Head chronology
Hellalive
(2003) 		Through the Ashes of Empires
(2003) 		Elegies
(2005)
Singles from Through the Ashes of Empires
  1. "Imperium"
    Released: December 16, 2003
  2. "Days Turn Blue to Gray"
    Released: 2004
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blabbermouth.net8/10[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal7/10[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Kerrang![5]
Metal.de10/10[6]
Rock Hard9.5/10[7]

Through the Ashes of Empires is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Machine Head. On this album, the band returned to their groove/thrash metal sound that was featured on their debut album Burn My Eyes (1994) and their second album The More Things Change... (1997) after experimenting with the nu metal genre featured on their previous two albums. It was released in the UK, Europe and Australia on the Roadrunner Records International label on October 27, 2003. At this stage, Machine Head still did not have an American record deal, having parted ways with Roadrunner Records US after the Supercharger album was released. Through The Ashes of Empires was such a success that Roadrunner Records US, in an unprecedented move, quickly offered Machine Head a new contract and the album finally reached North America on April 20, 2004. This album was also the first album to feature guitarist Phil Demmel, who would stay with the band until his departure in 2018.

On December 9, 2011, the album was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry[8] and it has sold just under 80,000 copies in the UK.[9]

  1. ^ "Through the Ashes of Empires - Machine Head". AllMusic.
  2. ^ Blabbermouth (November 29, 2003). "Through The Ashes Of Empires". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  3. ^ Popoff, Martin; Perri, David (2011). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 4: The '00s. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 300. ISBN 9781-926592-20-6.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). "Machine Head". Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5 (4th ed.). MUZE. p. 408. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  5. ^ Blabbermouth (October 29, 2003). "MACHINE HEAD Express 'Shock' And 'Disappointment' Over Album Review". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  6. ^ "Machine Head - Through The Ashes Of Empires Review • metal.de". metal.de. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  7. ^ Weber, Volkmar. "Rock Hard review". issue 199. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  8. ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET - MACHINE HEAD's 'Through The Ashes Of Empires' Cert…". archive.vn. September 8, 2012. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012.
  9. ^ Blabbermouth (July 23, 2012). "MACHINE HEAD: 'Inside The Machine' Book Cover Unveiled". BLABBERMOUTH.NET.