Rather than coming down from the apex of their careers after a 20-year ride, Machine Head is still climbing, still pushing for the top.
And still seeing results.
The release of seventh album Unto The Locust last Sept. 27 has produced increasing sales and popularity while their touring options and capabilities grow. They've played festivals all over the world (as they'll do again when they headline the second stage of the annual three-day Download Festival in England's Donington Park this June) and toured with some of metal's biggest acts.
But first, Machine Head (singer/guitarist Robb Flynn, lead guitarist Phil Demmel, bassist Adam Duce and drummer Dave McClain) will settle into the confines of downtown's Backstage Live this Sunday, headlining with Suicide Silence, Darkest Hour and Rise To Remain (details at bottom).
Machine Head has been known to reward their fans, whether it's displaying their hand-held signs on a projection screen behind the stage, or letting a 13-year-old jump up on stage (video link below) to play Flynn's guitar on "Aesthetics of Hate."
Flynn phoned me last week from a tour stop in Philadelphia to discuss all in his band's world:
Q: Besides the obvious such as longer sets and more freedom with equipment, what's the main difference headlining this tour?
A: We've got a full production. We're playing an hour and 50 minutes. We've got projector screens. We don't have anyone breathing down our neck going, "Hey man, you're three minutes over." That's nice. That's the beauty of it. Also, we have seven albums, and we're taking on every record.
Q: With the band's 20-year anniversary coming up this summer, does it feel like it's been that long, or has time flown?
A: It's kind of mind-boggling, that it's the 20-year anniversary of our first show. Yeah, it's pretty amazing to me that we've continued to grow as musicians and from a business standpoint. We've never been on the radio, we've never been on MTV, but especially the last three records have sold more and more. That's cool shit.
Q: Whenever you experiment with different styles or traditionally non-metal complements to songs, such as the "Sangre Sani" intro for "I Am Hell" on Unto The Locust, is it more of a conscious effort to expand the band's sound or simply a case of what you feel the song calls for?
A: In the case of "Sangre Sani" ("Blood Saint), I wrote this guitar riff and thought it was cool. I demoed it as electric and acoustic guitar and vocals, then I thought, "These guitars are getting in the way" (laughs). I heard it in my head. I went for this chant, and it ended up 18 tracks of a capella vocals. It was a very spontaneous thing. I pretty much did everything in one take. You know, I didn't know where I was going with it. But it worked. We actually remixed it for the record. I took the same vocals, fancied it up, and it wasn't as cool. I was like, "This is so lame." So I grabbed the demo version. Sometimes you just have to let it take you in directions; you can't worry about what people think. You just gotta write it out, and when you're done writing all the songs, I think you just go through and put together the ones that sound most together and most alike.
Q: What aspect of Machine Head's sound do you feel makes the band unique and able to last this long?
A: To me, the three biggest influences have always been classical traditional metal and a little groove from hardcore rap like N.W.A., Public Enemy -- the angry political shit. In some ways, it manifests into simplicity, and in others, it manifests into complexities. But those harmonic riffs, those are our patented sounds. My vocal style, when I was starting out, I didn't really know where I was going and started implementing clean vocals 10 years ago when no one was doing it.
Q: Whose idea was it to have your kids sing the intro to "Who We Are"?
A: The kids (laughs). When I wrote that riff, I wrote the beginning of it. The guitar chords were on my acoustic, and the kids were going crazy. They were 4 and 6 at the time. They were wrestling around and stopped what they were doing. And they sang some song that was playing on TV, and I heard it, and I thought, "How cool would it be?" I didn't tell the band. I brought the kids in and recorded it. My older son did it, and my younger one didn't get to at first. Then they learned it, and I brought it to the band, and they thought it was cool.
Q: Speaking of youths, you just had a 13-year-old playing "Aesthetics of Hate" on stage in Buffalo (Jan. 29). That was a cool thing indeed, but you know you may have created a monster with fans at future shows, right?
A: (Laughs) Yeah, all these 13-year-old kids are going to want to come up. He'd been holding up a sign, and I couldn't see it at first. Then I finally saw it, and I was like, "13? Do you have some chops or are you just fucking with me?" And he said he had the chops, and you know what, he fuckin' got up and killed it. I was like, "You little fucker -- 13 years old." I didn't even pick up a guitar till I was 14 (laughs).
Q: I just returned from the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise last weekend and was on last year's inaugural one too. Was Machine Head invited to play either one and if so, how come you didn't?
A: You know what, we were, but we just had a crazy tour schedule. When they invited us last year, we had just finished three years of touring with The Blackening and were like, "We gotta take a break." How long is it?
It's 4-5 days.
And there's indoor swimming pools and stuff?
There's a pool and two jacuzzis on the top deck which is where the main stage is. So you've got perfect weather with the ocean rolling by while bands are playing, and people diving in the pool or headbanging by the stage or in the jacuzzis.
And drinking all the time. Yeah, that sounds pretty rad.
Q: The Grammy nomination (in 2008): very significant and meaningful, or not that big a deal?
A: It was great to be recognized by that aspect of the music business. We all went, and you're watching Tina Turner and Elton John, and you're like, "Fuck! These are legends of music, not just metal." On the other hand, I think it's totally lame . . . when they had (the metal category), they had it on the Internet. It was in a separate building (chuckles). That was like (the Grammys were saying), "You guys are still over here." You know, fuck you!
Q: Is it true you had a guitar stolen that was given to you by Dimebag?
A: (Long pause) Yeah, I had five guitars stolen. I got broken into my house about a year and a half ago. I'll get it back in 10 years (chuckles). It was about $37,000 worth: Five guitars, wife's jewelry, computers. It was tough.
Oh, man, sorry to hear that.
Yeah, thanks.
Q: Of all the bands you've toured with, who did you learn the most from regarding the business and lifestyle?
A: Slayer gave us our big break. Kerry (King) was a fan. They took us on for five months. The first tours we did was grindcore and death metal, then we went into Slayer. That was a trial by fire (laughs). All the grindcore kids hated us, then we went with Slayer during the Seasons In The Abyss time, and there would be 300 people flipping us off and chanting for Slayer before we'd even hit a note. You know what, though, it toughened us up. We cut our teeth, and it made us a better band winning over those crowds. And I think we did win them over most nights. I'd say that, and I'd say Metallica -- just seeing how much bigger things can get and seeing the way they interact with fans. It's amazing to watch how much fan interaction they do still today, even at that level. And I'd say Pantera -- drinking every day and still being able to go out there and kill it every night.
Q: Have you heard feedback from Iron Maiden (Hallowed Be Thy Name), Judas Priest (The Sentinel) or Rush (Witch Hunt) regarding your covers?
A: We heard from Rush recently. They loved it. We actually played a few shows with Maiden after we did that cover. They gave us a shout-out after one of their shows. We were in the audience and were like, "Holy fuck! We just got a shout-out from Iron Maiden!" (laughs). We haven't heard from Priest. But I'm sure they've heard it. KK Downing has been a huge fan and has come to a couple shows. We'd be in the UK doing shows, and Glenn Tipton and Phil (Demmel) were doing Jager shots. Every time Glenn would run off to get another, we were like, "We're doing shots with Glenn Tipton!"
Q: I have a social media question from one of my readers. Franc in Toronto saw and heard your "Die Young" tribute to your former manager Debbie (Abono). He's wondering if you would ever consider doing a solo acoustic tour?
A: Ahh. You know it hasn't really crossed my mind. I don't know. I'll admit, it'd be kind of scary. That doesn't mean I shouldn't do it just because it'd be scary (laughs). But I have no plans to do it in the future.
- WHO: Machine Head with Suicide Silence, Darkest Hour, Rise To Remain
- WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 12 (doors 6 p.m.)
- WHERE: Backstage Live (1305 E. Houston St.)
- TICKETS: $20-$22 here
- OF NOTE: For a review by New York Hard Rock Examiner Elliot Levin of last Friday's show, click here.
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