When Oakland (San Francisco, California) thrash/heavy
metal act Machine Head released their fifth album 'Through The Ashes
Of Empires' in 2003 (2004 in the US), it was hailed as one hell of a
comeback for a band that many had given up on following the release
of 2001's less than impressive 'Supercharger'.
Riding high on the success of 'Through The Ashes Of Empires'
(both critically and in a sales sense), the four-piece band (comprising
of vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn, guitarist Phil Demmel, bassist Adam
Duce and drummer Dave McClain) returned to the studio once again with
the aim of recording an album that would stand the test of time and
eventually be considered a classic within the metal scene.
After months of built up hype and speculation surrounding
the group's self-professed daring new sound, Machine Head finally released
their sixth album 'The Blackening' in late March with many hailing the
album as one of the group's strongest in years, and quite possibly one
of the best for 2007.
In a rare day off on the road with Heaven And Hell and
Megadeth, I caught up with Machine Head vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn
in Madison (Wisconsin) to talk about the group's latest effort 'The
Blackening', and their surprise as to how well the album has done immediately
after its release.
"We're pretty stoked man. We're really proud. It
was pretty shocking to hear the chart positions for 'The Blackening'
around the world, particularly in places like in Australia. I mean,
what 'Through The Ashes Of Empires' sold in three years, 'The Blackening'
sold in two weeks. That is pretty f**king insane! (Laughs) I guess people
are feeling 'The Blackening' around the world, but more so than anywhere
down in Australia!"
There's a lot of speculation as to why 'The Blackening'
has been such a huge success, but if looking for an answer from Flynn
as to a specific reason why, you're not going to get one.
"To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure. I can
only speculate at this point. But I do believe the metal scene is really
strong right now. I also believe that the band had a lot of momentum
going into this album from the success of 'Through The Ashes Of Empires'.
By all standards, 'The Blackening' stands against everything that dictates
what should be a successful album. I mean we open the album with a ten
and a half minute long song ('Clenching The Fists Of Dissent')! 'The
Blackening' overall has four songs that are over nine to ten minutes
long on there, features somewhat controversial lyrics and features edgy
artwork. In our heads, it was almost like we were looking at the album
as a piece of art. We definitely weren't expecting it to do the numbers
that it has done throughout the world. All I can say is that we're really
proud. We busted our asses and worked really hard on this album. We
just tried to make a piece of art that would stand the test of time,
whether people got it in 2007, or eventually in 2017. It was a musical
statement that we hoped would change metal and make a lasting legacy
for itself. That was really our only goal. Numbers, success and chart
positions are not the sort of thing we were thinking about when we were
writing this album. Those are only long-term projections you can hope
for. And clearly, I think that shows. A ten-minute song doesn't stand
that much chance of being played on the radio or MTV. In many ways,
it's limiting. But in other ways, it's also quite liberating."
One thing Flynn is quick to point out however is that
although 'The Blackening' is the first studio album that Demmel was
involved with entirely, his part in helping create Machine Head's new
album wasn't all that different from what it was on 'Through The Ashes
Of Empires'.
"Demmel had a big say on 'The Blackening', but he
also had a big say on 'Through The Ashes Of Empires' as well. He was
there for the last third of the writing process for 'Through The Ashes
Of Empires', but he contributed a lot of that third. A lot of people
don't know this but (drummer Dave) McClain writes a lot of the riffs
for this band. I don't think a lot of people realise just how much music
McClain contributes to this band. McClain wrote the main riff in 'Imperium',
'Halo' and 'Descend The Shades Of Night'. He writes a sizeable chunk
of stuff that sometimes gets overlooked. But when you talk about Demmel
being a part of everything from the word go on this album, then yes,
I would agree. Where he really contributes is in all of the detailed
stuff that you hear between him and me. It's where we bounce those ideas
back and forth to come up with all the crazy guitar runs, and all the
shit like that. Having a person like him in the band really opens thing
up. Ultimately, I am still the main songwriter in the band, but having
someone like Demmel in the band who has been with us for like five and
a half years now; it just opens up so many possibilities. Most of that
comes from the team stuff we used to do in our previous band Vio-Lence.
I think a lot more of that stuff is starting to come out more again."
With half of the tracks on 'The Blackening' running well
beyond the nine-minute mark (the album overall features eight tracks,
and runs for just over an hour), it's safe to say that the album is
very much against the grain to what a lot of bands are doing at the
moment, therefore running the risk of having many just not getting it!
"(Laughs) Dude, that was definitely a concern! We
talked about it, but we decided we weren't going to do anything to change
it. That would have been ignorant of us to do that. There was always
going to be a proportion of people scratching their heads going, 'What
the f**k is this all about?' (Laughs) 'The Blackening' was always going
to be one of those albums that took a couple of listens to get into
and to absorb all the information put on there. But for the four of
us being kids brought up on groups like Rush, Merciful Fate and even
early Metallica, it was natural for us. All of those groups had albums
where they had very long song structures and complex arrangements. Those
songs took a few minutes to really absorb, but ultimately they were
also the most rewarding. That was kind of the mindset we were in."
While there's some concern for fans who might not understand
what Machine Head are trying to achieve with 'The Blackening', there's
also those within the promotions department at Roadrunner Records that
are having problems getting the album's singles/promotional videos ('Now
I Lay Thee Down' and 'Aesthetics Of Hate') onto radio and TV.
"Yeah, it's even a challenge with the short songs
on the album! (Laughs) We open up the album with a ten and a half minute
track, but even the songs that follow, which still run between five
to seven minutes long are a challenge to put on radio. The first two
singles from the album had to be edited down because radio dictates
that five and a half minutes is just far too long for a song. We just
let the record company deal with that. That's their problem! (Laughs)
We think the longer versions are cool. That's why we made them the longer
versions in the first place."
Another misconception people have about 'The Blackening'
is that Flynn had clear ideas what he had in mind for the album prior
to starting work on the songs themselves, or that Machine Head were
trying to be the new Metallica.
"I would love to sit here and say that when we started
out writing 'The Blackening' that we had this grand vision, but we really
didn't have any idea of what the hell we were doing! (Laughs) When we're
writing, it's so Beavis And Butthead. When it's just the four of us
in the practice room, we're literally throwing stuff away, and keeping
the good stuff that we think is cool sounding. I kind of guide and shape
the riffs and arrangements, but it is very dumb like that. When we were
writing, we kind of had these broad goals as far as what we wanted to
accomplish, which was essentially to put together a timeless metal album.
We had that goal. We wanted to have a 'Paranoid' (Black Sabbath) or
'Master Of Puppets' (Metallica). That Metallica album in particular
became our goal. That's not to say that we were writing the album that
we think Metallica should be writing, or that we're trying to be the
next Metallica. No one will be the next Metallica. We're just trying
to be the next Machine Head. We wanted to write an album that had the
influence, the power, the epic grandeur and timelessness that Metallica's
'Master Of Puppets' had. That was one of the more wide-ranging goals
that we had with this album. Another goal that we had was to lyrically
have something to say. We were so sick and tired of listening to metal
bands and thrash bands sing about how their girlfriends were leaving
them. When we grew up listening to thrash and listening to metal, no
one even thought to write about that shit. It seems like every f**king
band that has a thrash sound is singing about this non-issue. In our
eyes, and with all the f**ked up shit that's going on in the world today,
the only thing they can find to sing about is their goddamned girlfriend
is something that's really pathetic. They should open their f**king
eyes."
Although tributes to ex-Pantera guitarist Dimebag Abbott
are not uncommon these days, few have taken a stand quite like Flynn
did on 'Aesthetics Of Hate', which is loosely based around William E.
Grim's misguided 'Aesthetics Of Hate: R.I.P. Dimebag Abbott, & Good
Riddance' article following Abbott's untimely death.
"We've been criticised heavily in the conservative
community for being the epitome of what Grim was talking about. He calls
us Neanderthal, dumb and immature. Many people have criticised the lyrics
to that song as immature. My response to that is that yes, they're completely
immature. That song is a f**king gigantic burst of Neanderthal anger.
And I'll tell you this much, it felt really f**king good! (Laughs)"
Tying in perfectly with Machine Head's edgy lyrical content
is the title and artwork for 'The Blackening'.
"'The Blackening' partially reflects my vision of
the world. Often music is a reflection of the times, and during the
writing of this album, that's what it felt like. I felt the world was
literally blackening. The name itself summed up my feelings perfectly,
and I think the artwork that we chose reflects the title. The cover
is a very crude metal carving from the 1600's. Essentially images like
the church as propaganda issued these. It was sort of saying that these
are the consequences for crimes against the church. They were sort of
a deterrent from allowing people from doing these certain things. The
particular image that we chose is one of a skeleton king. He's sitting
on top of a throne, and his throne is on a bed of skulls. One of his
feet is on top of the world, and his other foot is on top of a sand
timer. But the most telling part is the mirror that he holds up. Written
on the mirror is 'The Mirror Which Flatters Not'. For all of us when
we saw that, it was a huge revelation. Here was this four hundred year
old image that captured exactly what we all felt. This album lyrically,
musically and phonetically is about holding up a mirror to myself, and
not liking what I saw. It's also about holding up a mirror to you, along
with society, and also not liking what I see."
As mentioned earlier, Machine Head are currently winding
up their tour alongside Heaven And Hell and Megadeth, which according
to Flynn has been a welcoming challenge on the one hand…
"It's f**king awesome. I mean come on, it's f**king
Black Sabbath! They f**king rule. But having said that, it's been a
strange tour for us. The crowds have been receptive sometimes. It's
definitely an older crowd that what we're used to playing to. We kind
of have our ten percent that are upfront for us going nuts. They're
the younger crowd. And then we have a lot of older dads with younger
kids that are rocking out to us, even if they have never heard of us.
But overall, there's definitely a proportion of the crowd that's going,
'What the f**k?' So it's been awesome. It's been a challenge for us
because we're playing to a crowd that is completely unfamiliar with
us. I wouldn't be surprised if sixty percent of the crowd had never
even heard of us before. And that's a cool thing. We're playing to people
that have never heard us before, and we're winning them over. That's
the best part. Within the first song, you can hear them thinking to
themselves, 'Well who the f**k are these guys?' During the second song,
they're starting to think it's cool, but by the third song, you can
start to see people standing up on the chairs and head banging and totally
rocking out. It's cool. Plus we're playing twelve to fifteen thousand
seater arenas. That's pretty sweet in itself."
…And a dream come true on the other hand.
"From a fan's standpoint, to be on tour with Megadeth
and Black Sabbath is beyond words. To be on tour with the two bands
that are the very reason there is a Machine Head today is an unbelievable
honour for us. You catch yourself all the time. You're sitting down
to the dressing room, and all of a sudden Ronnie James Dio pops in to
talk sports to you! (Laughs) Or you could be walking around past the
drum riser, and who do I bump into? Tony Iommi! (Laughs) I feel like
we're in some alternate universe. Every night our dressing room is right
next to Megadeth's, and we'll just sit there and talk to the Megadeth
dudes all night. We're all like the fans who made it into the club.
It's kind of funny, because the Megadeth dudes are kind of older. We
have a lot of friends come in, and we party a lot. So they have a security
line for us night after night between their dressing room and ours!
(Laughs) A couple of our drunk assed friends will see Dio and be like
'Ah! Dio!' So we've been given the green room permanently!"
As we wind up the conversation, I ask Flynn if there's
any possibility of seeing Machine Head down under anytime in the near
future?
"I think there's a possibility. We're talking with
some bands right now in regards to a package deal, and it's looking
really good. I really can't wait to get back down there. The last time
we were there, it was f**king unbelievable. We had a really good time.
We met a ton of cool people, and made a bunch of new friends. There
was nothing bad about the whole trip. The fact that we played all the
capital cities was f**king cool too. It was all raging, and we hope
to get down there again as soon as possible."
I would like to thank Robert Flynn for his generous
time, and Janine Morcos at Roadrunner Records for making the interview
possible.
For more information on Machine Head, check out - http://www.machinehead1.com
© Justin Donnelly - justindonnelly@ozemail.com.au
