They called the album "one of the most significant documents of the European free-jazz underground," praising its "fearsome power," and commenting: "The three saxophonists fire off a ceaseless round of blasting, overblown noise, built on the continuous crescendo managed by Bennink and Johansson and, as chaotic as it sounds, the music is informed by an iron purpose and control...

"[3] In an article for DownBeat, Andrew Jones noted that "Machine Gun's 45-second intro forms one of jazz's most distinctive mission statements," and commented: "In part, the octet achieved its sound by marshaling the expressive possibilities represented by the blues.

While [John] Cage and the European avant-garde made Machine Gun possible, its content owes more to the hot jazz of Louis Armstrong than the obscure theory emanating from academia at the time.

Ultimately, Machine Gun is the blues for a continent ravaged by a century of internecine warfare, unfathomable crimes against humanity and an uncertain future... [its] legacy continues not just as a result of its considerable accomplishments, but because of the volatile period it reflects and refracts, a time when people waited impatiently for an artistic gesture powerful enough to change everything and prevent history from repeating itself.

"[4] Troy Collins, writing for All About Jazz, called the album "essential," and stated: "Machine Gun provided a blueprint for such riotous ensembles as Last Exit, Naked City and Massacre.

He concluded: "Conceiving brief melodies of an almost accessible nature one moment, only to savagely rend them to pieces in the next, the octet offers a revolutionary stance in their execution and intent.

Still challenging after almost forty years, Machine Gun stands tall as a high water mark of European free jazz.

"[5] In an essay for The Guardian, John Fordham called Machine Gun "a trailblazing piece of free jazz," and wrote that, at the time of the album's release, "many thought this it was simply a wall of noise.

But as perceptions changed, the bass clarinet/percussion battles between Breuker and Bennink, the explicit eloquence of a young Evan Parker, the emergence of themes with free-jazz, South African and R&B connections, and the many other fast-shifting conversations between the performers, have come to be recognised in all their influential diversity.

The music that Brötzmann and his comrades were doing in combination with the raw, raaaaaaaaw sounds of the recording and the visuals of the cover made this the ULTIMATE classic of European free jazz!...