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Oakland based alt-metal quartet Machine Head broke ground in the early 1990s, along with musical riffmates Pantera, Biohazard & Testament, and paved the way for later incarnations of metal, all the way from math rock to nu-metal and rap-rock. 

Hellalive, recorded live at London's Brixton Academy during the band's 2001 tour, is the kind of record that will appeal to the band's stalwart fans. Those unfamiliar with the band may not be easily converted, however. The CD contains live versions of merciless aggro tracks from hawkish Machine Head favorites like Burn My Eyes, The More Things Change and Burning Red, as well as their most tepid CD, Supercharger. 

Vocalist Robert Flynn has a command of the genre and doesn't resort to monotone screaming; he's especially strong on Crashing Around You. With its croaking, sinister intro tempered by a lower decibel approach in the rest of the song, it's one of the few Hellalive cuts that remotely leans toward any mainstream metal. 

10 Ton Hammer and Take My Scars , both from The More Things Change, delve into Vulgar Display period Pantera, with Adam Duce's buzzsaw guitar churning ruthlessly.