10 Metal Albums That Should Have Been Great (But Totally Weren't)
6. Machine Head - The Burning Red
In hindsight, Machine Head's massive left-turn from Pantera-esque groove metal to '90s rap rock on their third album, The Burning Red (1999), really shouldn't have been that surprising.
After all, frontman Robb Flynn notoriously grew up on the rough urban streets of Oakland, California during the '80s and '90s, and when one looks at the way he dressed during Burn My Eyes (1994)-era Machine Head concerts and videos, donning cornrow hair and exceedingly baggy shirts and pants, he definitely had what would become the archetypal nu metal fashion sense down to a tee.
However, when he infamously showed up rapping with dyed, spiky hair and a red jumpsuit in the "From This Day" video, hardcore metal fans felt betrayed and ravenous, even despite the single's parent album, The Burning Red, going onto do moderately well with critics.
Sure, its follow-up in Supercharger (2001) is undeniably far worse but, all the same, The Burning Red started Machine Head's three-year-long nu metal venture, which disappointed and angered enough fans for it to earn its place here.
Especially when, up to that point, the band had been practically flawless: their debut, Burn My Eyes, was, at the time, the best-selling debut in Roadrunner Records' history and its successor The More Things Change... (1997) remains an adored follow-up as well.