Not that art is a competition or anything, but just you so know where I stand as a Machine Head fan and how your own tastes may or may not match up with my own, here are my three favorite pre-Unto the Locust MH releases, in descending order of preference:

• The Blackening
• Burn My Eyes
• Through the Ashes of Empires

So.

Machine Head’s The Blackening was some kind of goddamn masterpiece, an album that rightfully met with near-universal acclaim. And that acclaim wasn’t just hype, or critics and fans being swept up in the moment; the four-and-a-half years since its release haven’t diminished The Blackening‘s power any. There are few, if any, bands on earth that could make something that friggin’ good, and then follow it up with a record of equal, or even greater, quality.

And the bad news is, that Machine Head have not achieved this near-impossible task. Unto the Locust is not as good as The Blackening. But it is as good as Through the Ashes of Empires, and totally worth the nearly half-decade fans have had to wait for it — and that ain’t nuthin’ to sneeze at.

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It’s been more than four years since the release of Machine Head’s masterpiece, The Blackening, but it feels like an eternity. Not that the band hasn’t been keeping busy touring and touring and touring and touring and touring and touring…, but OH HOW I ACHE FOR SOME NEW MACHINE HEAD MUSIC. And I know you guys feel the same way — in fact, reader Ray Pecheone just e-mailed us this week to ask, “Any word on how the new Machine Head is coming along?”

Well, now we have word! The band posted the following message on their Facebook page earlier today:

For reasons I don’t really comprehend, said behind-the-scenes clip isn’t embeddable, but you can check it out here. Alas, there’s no samples of new MH music in it, but it’s still really entertaining stuff — I especially enjoyed Robb Flynn’s comments on Zach Galifianakis, who apparently serves as something of an inspiration to the band. The working titles for some of the new material is pretty great, too (sample: “Wharrr Weee Weee Weee”… which pretty much tells you what the song must sound like).

So, I’d be pleasantly surprised if this album actually came out this year, but at least we know it’s in the works. Machine Head are gonna have a helluva time topping The Blackening, but I’m rootin’ for ‘em!!!

-AR

[via Metal Underground]

I think I’ve used the phrase “elephants marching riff” on MetalSucks before, but during a hang sesh with Vince just before the holidays, I realized we don’t use it enough — especially considering how often we actually talk about elephants marching riffs. I don’t remember when Vince and I started using the phrase to describe these lumbering, brutally heavy riffs, but they are absolutely one of my favorite metallic tropes. I fucking LOVE a good elephants marching riff.

Like the taco riff, the elephants marching riff is a little hard to define verbally — but you know it the second you hear it. The easiest explanation is that it sounds MASSIVE and moves at the pace at which you suspect a giant beast of war — say, an elephant — might move. But it can’t just be slow — doom bands and, alas, deathcore bands write slow riffs all the time, but I’d rarely define them as “elephants marching riffs.”

For example, the section of Murder the Frail’s “Disturbia” which begins at roughly the 1:45 mark is leaden — but an elephants marching riff it is not:

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FEATURING MEMBERS OF GOD FORBID, AT THE GATES, DISFEAR, MACHINE HEAD, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, THE OCEAN, JUCIFER, THE BINARY CODE, HULL, DYSRHYTHMIA, INDIAN, AND DARKEST ERA

For 2010, we decided to do something special as part of our regular end-of-year festivities here at MetalSucks — namely, ask musicians from across the vast spectrum of the metalsphere (or, in a few cases, the almost-metalsphere) what their favorite albums of the year were. Death metallers, thrash metallers, black metallers, stoners, grinders, and djenters alike graciously contributed lists to MS, and we’ll be running them in groups of ten to eleven musicians at a time twice a day for the rest of the week.

After the jump, check out the sixth group… we hope you enjoy seeing what some of metal’s heaviest hitters were into this year as much as we have!

(And please note that these are musicians and that they, um, have a lot on their minds. So some of ‘em named albums that actually came out last year. Please don’t freak out.)

Click to read more…

Weird to say about a dude whose most famous tracks are about hate, clenched fists, shotgun blasts, and burning in hell, but Robb Flynn seems like a legitimately good guy, and he’s certainly proven time and time again that he’s a man of the people. And I’m not really a very strong believer in the whole notion of “karma” — remember, Dio is dead but Durst continues to thrive — but Flynn’s life is now making a pretty strong argument that I may be wrong.

So. As you probably know, Flynn’s home was burglarized last month. Among the items stolen were a mini Flying V he had bought his son, Zander, for Christmas, and Zander was so traumatized by the break-in that he was apparently scared the thieves might return again in the middle of the night and murder him. And his younger son, Wyatt, apparently isn’t doing much better. Did you get all that? Are you now openly weeping? I wouldn’t blame you if you were. That’s the kind of lily-white-innocence-ripped-apart story that makes you wanna go all Death Wish on some people’s ass.

But Flynn’s fans are more reasonable than I am, so they didn’t Bronson anyone — instead, a bunch of them from Machine Head’s official message board, “The Frontlines,” chipped in and bought Zander Flynn a new guitar (above, in the most awesomest picture ever)! Here’s an accompanying message from a user who posts under the handle “Desmadre”:

Click to read more…

There was an ebb in excitement levels surrounding Forbidden’s recent return to active status when the Bay Area thrashers unveiled mega-unimpressive cover art for Omega Wave (here), their first record since 1997′s Green. To echo at least one Blabbermouth wiseacre, I’ll ask who smoked up the packaging budget? Cuz despite guitarist Craig Locicero’s endorsement, the art looks cheap and needlessly reminiscent of Forbidden Evil, their debut (here). Imagery is not as huge a deal in the post-interslice age, but this “Where’s the rest of it?”-style art threw at least one fan into a panic (me), causing him or her (me) to wonder if the album’s sound quality would match its unflattering cover. Would Forbidden, once a post-Vio-lence Robb Flynn project and farm system for Testament and Slayer, fail to reclaim its near-fame thanks to penny-pinching and a cover concept that borrows heavily from those sparkly decals you get from gumball machines at the roller rink? Fuck!

I feel foolish now that the band’s Myspace is streaming “Forsaken At The Gates,” the first public taste of Omega Wave. The jam is incredible and its production sounds like a million bucks (even on Myspace). Along with Exhorder and Coroner, Forbidden always had the most deceptively clever (and presciently busy) guitar riffs in thrash metal, and the semi-tangible skill of putting them in order to achieve dynamic, impactful songs — the slapping of the face alternating with the zapping of the nuts, as it were; “Forsaken” is all that! (By the way, is anybody else reminded instantly of “Infinite” at every mention of the word “evil”?) And in retrospect, I should’ve known not to worry cuz the guys in Forbidden all still have good hair (above). That’s the starting point for all good metal.

-ADF

Forbidden’s Omega Wave is slated for an October 22 release on Nuclear Blast.

I’ve been mugged and I’ve been conned, but, luckily, I’ve never had a break-in. I imagine it feels like you’ve been violated; I know that might sound funny, but I don’t mean it to. Maybe it’s not as bad as a mugging in that there’s no threat of violence, but it’s way worse in that someone invaded your most personal space.

And so I feel a lot of sympathy for Machine Head’s Robb Flynn, who recently lost a lot of valuable stuff — including a guitar gifted to him by Dimebag — during a break-in. Here’s a full statement on the matter from Flynn, including an offer of a reward for anyone who can help retrieve the stolen goods:

Click to read more…

Has it really been over three years since Machine Head released their landmark return-to-form The Blackening? It has, and thanks to Machine Head’s non-stop 3-year tour in support of it, it feels like people are still buzzing about how good it was. I spoke with Rob Flynn back in December of ’09 and he told me the touring was going to continue rolling on; finally, in the summer of 2010, the band’s touring cycle for The Blackening is over and all the guys have returned home for some much needed rest.

In Flynn’s case, returning home actually meant packing up his stuff in boxes and hauling it all out to his new abode in Martinez, CA. What inevitably happens with any big move is that you end up unearthing boxes full of old shit you’d long since forgotten about. But unlike those love letters from your high school girlfriend you’ve still got tucked away for some stupid reason, the contents of Robb Flynn’s memento boxes are actually of interest to the public, and lucky for you he’s scanned and uploaded a whole bunch of memorabilia from Machine Head’s early days and posted them to the Machine Head blog. Hand-written lyric sheets, really old photos, flyers (one of a gig opening for Rancid, one of a European headline tour with Meshuggah opening!), ticket stubs, rejected album covers of Burn My Eyes… tons of really cool shit. Check it out — it’s highly worth 2 minutes of your time.

-VN

Thanks: Lewis Clark

Remember that video last year of Machine Head’s Robb Flynn hanging out in the crowd during a Metallica show, screaming along to “Master of Puppets” with some just regular, average, every day Joe Metallica Fans? And how that made it seem like Flynn was just way too cool for someone so successful?

Well, this tops that by a mile.

According to Machine Head fan site Take My Scars (via Blabbermouth), the band let a fan get on stage and play “Aesthetics of Hate” with them at a show earlier this week (video above)… just because he asked to do so:

Click to read more…

As we mentioned earlier today, next Thursday we’ll run the MS staffs’ various year end lists. Of course, that means that the MS staff has to start turning them in now. And as we’ve begun the editing process, we’ve been reassured of what we already knew: opinions are like assholes. Everybody’s got one. But what’s more fun than smoking weed, listening to good music, and engaging in intellectual (or semi-intellectual) debate with good friends? For our money, nothing. That’s why we started MetalSucks in the first place!

Here were some sources of intellectual debate this week:

• We looked at a series of dreadful demos, the last of which was epic (and not dreadful at all).
• We spoke with Eric Peterson of Testament and Robb Flynn of Machine Head.
• Devin Townsend got deep.
• Marduk’s Mortuus body-slammed a would-be hugging fan.
• Mastodon are officially on the radar of mainstream publications like Time.
• We mourned the loss of Dimebag Darrell 5 years ago this week.
• We proclaimed Hate Eternal and System of a Down underappreciated.

Now we challenge you to start guessing which albums which MS writers will name as their favorites. Anyone who guesses correctly wins the knowledge that they probably read this site way too much when they should be working, or fucking, or doing almost anything else.

And then on Thursday we’ll unveil all the lists.

-Vince & Axl

Photo: Michael Singman-Aste, www.PostdiluvianPhoto.com

2009 is an awesome year to be Robb Flynn or anyone in Machine Head. Your band’s been touring non-stop for two and a half years on the well-deserved critical and commercial success of The Blackening, all without doing a single U.S. headline run. You’ve opened arenas for Metallica, huge theaters for Megadeth and Slayer, played on one of the biggest U.S. touring festivals, and quite literally traversed the world several times over. Not bad… not bad at all.

At the start of their U.S. tour with Megadeth, Machine Head’s publicist contacted us about interviewing Robb. The guy’s a character, The Blackening was fantastic, and it’d been almost a year and a half since we last spoke with anyone in the band (guitarist Phil Demmel on the 2008 Rockstar Mayhem Tour), so we figured we may as well. Crazy as it is that the Machine Head machine is still heading on an album released in 2007… it’s true, and they’re not even slowing down.

After the jump, read my full chat with Robb. We spent a whole lot of time talking about things other than Machine Head; the business-like nature of touring with Megadeth (as of interview time, he hadn’t once seen Mustaine in person on the entire tour!), the down-to-earth nature of hanging out with his heroes in Metallica, mentoring the young lads of Suicide Silence, and the always entertaining subject of the constant feuding between Slayer, Metallica and Megadeth. We also chatted about Machine Head’s constant touring — a dream come true for Robb — and about what the future might hold for the band, including their next album (writing has begun). And wouldn’t you know it, Robb reads MetalSucks!

Click to read more…

Okay. So Manfred Nuggets clearly wins the “Tipster of the Day” award.

This is exactly what it looks like: Machine Head’s Robb Flynn. At Wembley Stadium. After his band opened for Metallica. In the crowd. Singing “Master of Puppets” along with the fans.

Regardless of what you think of Machine Head, you need to give the dude props for this. That is very cool.

-AR

In a statement, Machine Head main man Robb Flynn has revealed that he and Machine Head bassist Adam Duce have entered couples’ therapy.

Click to read more…

Even before we were an “industry type” (I think we can safely call ourselves that now), I loved the fact that Roadrunner Records posts their staffers and some of the artists “best of” lists every year; these people work at/with one of the biggest metal labels out there, so it’s pretty interesting to see what they were grooving on from year to year.

The 2008 lists are on Roadrunner’s website now. Here are some highlights:

Click to read more…

Well then, today’s your lucky day!

-VN

[Rock Sound TV via Blabbermouth]

Phil Demmel, who’s been handling guitar duties for Machine Head since ’03, is a real working musician. You could almost excuse him if the success MH have enjoyed over the past two years had gone to his head – the band’s most recent album, The Blackening, was almost universally acclaimed by critics and fans alike, and is most certainly the group’s best work since their debut, Burn My Eyes – but Demmel is clearly interested in little besides making sure that Machine Head is the biggest, best band it can be. The guy just has zero attitude, and it seems as though he’s never even contemplated any potential downsides to being in Machine Head. He just wants to play fuckin’ metal, dude.

But don’t just take our word for it – after the jump, read Demmel’s thoughts on touring as a support act as oppose to being a headliner, the success of The Blackening, and, of course, the all important question of which band on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival would win in an all-out battle royale. Well, okay, maybe not so much that last one.

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FUCK SCOTT WEILAND. I’m glad you’ve been able to get this far based on your limited vocal range and ability to mimic the same style of on-stage dancing that Bowie and Iggy Pop were doing thirty years ago, but seriously, stop trying to compete with Axl Rose for the “Biggest Asshole” award – Axl will beat your ass every time. Calling Slash by his real name in a press release does not make you clever. Claiming the name “Velvet Revolver” was your idea does not make you cool. You’ve always had to suck off the musical talent teat of others, and every time I think about the fact that Layne Staley couldn’t get it together while you go on and on and on I die a little inside. I hope the DeLeo brothers stab you in the eyes with your fucking needles. And fuck your wife Mary, too.

FUCK ROBB FLYNN. I’m a huge Machine Head fan, but telling people that you “once punched some kid in the face for saying that Gary Holt sucked” is moronic. Metal is supposed to be about blowing off steam in a healthy way so as to avoid actual neanderthal behavior. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to fight in this world, but someone insulting the fucking guitar player from Exodus is not one of them. Put more simply: You either a) actually did punch some dude for talking shit about Holt and are therefore a bona fide moron or b) are lying about punching some dude for talking shit about Holt and are therefore a bona fide moron. Also, every Machine Head album in-between Burn My Eyes and Through the Ashes of Empires was a cock sucking trend chasing waste of time. Deal with it.

FUCK MARIA BRINK. Someone told me that if you see her up close she’s not actually hot, but after looking closely at some candid photos (like this one), I realized you don’t really have to be very close to her all to see that she looks like a fucking rodent. Has this bitch had too much plastic surgery (excuse me, “work done”), or does she really just look  like my morning crap? Also, did you know that she sells hand drawn pictures and poems on her MySpace page (I won’t link to it, go find it if you’re so fucking interested)? I haven’t read the poems but the pictures look like they were drawn by a retarded five year old. Stop wearing that stupid blue dress and trying to exploit your non-existent looks to cover up for your lack of talent. I hope Christina Scabbia kicks you in the twat.

Fuck me for writing this, and fuck you for reading it. I’m gonna go kill a fucking bunny that made fun of Alex Skolnick.

-AR