Jet lag rules... woo-hoo!!!
Just got back from Japan after our "around the world in 15 days tour". Really awesome experience over there in that part of the world, and for the first time, due to the more open schedule, we really got a chance to soak up the culture and check out some of the sights - something I rarely ever get to do, as most of the time it's straight to the venue, interviews, play show, on to next show. So having the extra time was awesome! It's been 3 years since we played the 2nd annual Desert Rock Festival, and the city has literally quadrupled in size... as such the attendance was also a lot higher this year. The show went really well, although humorously, after our fourth song ended and we had a break, I was given a stern warning by our tour manager that went something along the lines of "stop swearing onstage, the secret police are on the way, and they'll arrest you if you swear again!" And he was fucking serious! I promptly stopped, though one or two bad words may have slipped out "accidentally". We were a little bummed that the Killswitch's and the As I Lay Dying's didn't stick around to hang out, or watch our show, especially since we hadn't seen each other in ages (they had to go shower back at the hotel... presumably together) but the Korn dudes hung out, watched the show, and we raged a bit after. Maybe it was because we've played there twice, but to our surprise, according to the promoters, Machine Head had the highest attendance of the day with over 12,000 people checking us out. Fuck yeah!! Thanks to Jackie and all at Center Stage Management!
Had the day off the next day and watched Muse play from the side of the stage, and seriously, I was fucking BLOWN AWAY. I've been a big fan of this band for a few years now, but had never gotten a chance to see them, so I didn't really know what to expect, but MAN, I haven't been moved by a band like that in years. Adam was hanging out in front too, and was equally blown away, he had never even heard them, and it was a literal revelation for him. Start with "Absolution"!
Next up was the satanic flight through the shithole airport of Amman, Jordan, where passport control officers and security alike must certainly suck cock on the side for extra cash. We eventually made it through to Israel and checked out the beach a bit before getting to the club. Show was sold out in advance and having never played in Tel Aviv, we didn't really know what to expect. Playing in a country that has been ravaged by war for the last 60 years, staying in a city that is less than 50 miles away from the Gaza Strip definitely adds a bit of an edge to any show, but man... what a fuckin' incredible experience. Quite literally one of the greatest shows and audiences we have ever played to, it was a near-religious experience. FUCK! People were feeling it so hard, sing-a-longs were unreal, "Descend" made a very real connection with the audience, heavy energy... you could practically see it, it was so real. We basically played until we dropped, sweating every fucking thing we had out. We seriously felt more alive after this show than I think we ever have. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Israel.
Got to give it up to Phil, he soldiered through all of these shows like a champ. After starting off the flight over with the same bronchial infection that I had, he also got the flu, and then caught the pink eye that his son had... by the time we got to Japan he had diarrhea, and next vertigo! Needless to say, he was loving life for that first week and a half of the tour! Christ!?
Anthem Productions were the promoters for Israel, and they really went way above and beyond for us, they and did an incredible job. Me and a couple of the crew guys went to Jerusalem the next day with the promoter, and got a guided tour through the old city. On the highway into the city you pass a place called Hell, which is apparently where the infamous mythological place got its name from, as it was once where they used to burn babies and virgins (I was like, "dudes, we're on the Highway To Hell!"... *ba-dum-pssh*) Starting off at the Jaffa Gate, we got a guided tour down to the Wailing Wall, down Via Dolorosa (the path that Christ apparently walked on his way to the crucifixion), and eventually to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is built atop the area where Christ was crucified, and still has some exposed rock from the area. I'm not a Christian or very religious at all, in fact, I find a whole lot wrong with organized religion, but there was definitely something very moving about it, and there was no doubt a rad energy about the place.
Next up was Bangalore, India, which was another first for us. Bangalore is apparently the Silicon Valley of India and most of the tech support that we Americans receive is based out of there. It was fuckin' crazy though, nothing could have prepared us for the crazy conditions... it went from severe squalor to jaw-dropping opulence over the course of three city blocks, then right back to squalor, it was insane. As Shawn from Megadeth put it "It was like a block of paradise... in the Bronx!" The festival itself was a bit disorganized, and the main promoter Solomon treated our crew like shit, which was a slap in the face considering our long-standing relation with him, but the kids more than made up for it... fuck, the kids were awesome!!! We talked to folks from Mumbai, Delhi, kids drove 2,000 miles just to see Machine Head, we even had the infamous Tharsh of "Tharsh Eats Balls" fame who'd flown in from Bangladesh... it was a rad show!!! Considering the average income is $400 dollars a month (!), the fact that there were so many Machine Head fans there really meant a lot. We'd gladly go back there in a heartbeat.
Next day, me and the crew guys tripped around Bangalore, went to the Bull Temple, went to the Ganesh Temple (where they have an effigy of Ganesh made out of a 400 pound slab of BUTTER?!), the Botanical Gardens, and then went to the Shiva Temple. Again, I don't follow any of these religions closely enough to truly understand the magnitude of it all, but there was again a very tangible vibe. Driving in Bangalore... well, let's just say that it's something everybody should experience. It is complete and utter lawlessness... no stop signs, no speed limits, thousands of small cars, mopeds and bikes just fucking GO! It was better than any roller-coaster I've ever been on, and the fact that cows and oxen are just randomly hanging out in the middle of the street eating garbage only adds to the excitement. Don't even get me started on the glory of straight peeing on public walls whenever you've gotta go. Again, needless to say, Bangalore RULES!!!
Japan was the final show of the run, having not headlined there in 8 years, we again didn't really know how things were gonna go. As I was peeking out at the crowd during the intro, everyone was standing there so polite and quiet, I was like "man... fuck". But GOD DAMN was I fucking wrong. HOLY SHIT!!! The moment we started "Clenching", it was pure fucking insanity, with one of the most brutal pits we've had in a while, and by far the most violent circle pit of the entire '08 run... and that includes the HellYeah tour! Mother fucker!!! What an amazing show. I was really happy with how well we played actually, and though both Phil and Dave had a bad case of the "Hershey Squirts" the whole day leading up to it, they fucking brought the thunder. Thanks to Creative Man Productions for the amazing night! Tokyo kicks ASS!!!
So now that we're back, we're gonna chill at home for a week or so and just decompress... I'm sure this diary sounds about as ragged as I feel. After this week or so we'll begin filming a video for "Halo" which we've developed a really amazing idea for. Really different and kinda "arty" if I may say so. Mike Sloat will be involved again, so as always, we're SUPER excited! After that we gear up for the Metallica dates, then headlining the With Full Force Festival again (woo-hoo!!!). The Mayhem tour starts right after that, which we're super stoked about. And then... more touring!!!
We're fortunate that we're getting offered a lot of support/festival slots for the 1st time in years on this album cycle, and even though it's kind of a bummer to you guys that we're not doing the standard 1 hour and 40 minute set we've spoiled you guys with over the years, we ARE thinking of you fuckers, and at some point on this album we will be doing the monster setlist tour from hell!!! Fuck, we even soundchecked "Blood Of The Zodiac" in Tokyo just to blow out the pipes. It won't be anytime soon, but rest assured my beer-breathed brethren, it'll happen. We've just had so many opportunities to play in front of new people with The Blackening, we'd be foolish not to. Too many new bands have taken this incredible form of music that means so much to me - that has literally saved my life - and watered it down. We need to show the people that there IS music out there that's deeper than that... more vital, more meaningful, and more powerful. If it takes playing the game to get our music into the ears of more people, so be it... because in the end, that support slot, or that edited video, or that opening band you don't think deserves to be on the same stage, it all puts us in front of fans that don't yet know what Machine Head has to offer. And before you know it, those fans are our fans, and before long we will be their gateway drug into a better world... a world that is far more intense, maybe even a little dangerous... but what better drug to be hooked on than metal?
-Flynn
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Yo, yo, yo,
Quick update: Been hanging out in Dubai for the last 24 hours; man, what a crazy, modern, cool, surprisingly American-ized city. Something like 1/5 of the worlds high-rise cranes are currently in Dubai building high rises. I'm tellin' ya, in 15 years this city will look like Blade Runner! We're getting ready to play the Dubai Desert Rock Festival again, which is gonna be awesome!!! We're the first band in the festival's history to play the festival twice, so as Anchorman Ron Burgundy would say, "it's kind of a big deal!!" Once again, they've treated us like fucking royalty, and it's damn cool I must say. I'm looking forward to seeing all the bands on the bill, as we know pretty much all of them, so it should be fun. AND they sell Grey Goose Vodka now, so it's fuckin' ON!!! Next stop, CRUNKVILLE!!!
It's funny though, Dubai being a Middle Eastern country and all, they've sent us a long, LONG list of things we can't do onstage, including, but not limited to: Drink alcohol onstage *cough*, swear onstage *cough, cough, cough*, take our shirts off onstage (not that anyone needs to see my "hate"-handles), take our pants off onstage (they actually could stand to see my well-chiseled buttocks), flirt with local women (uh...), not to mention the fact that a JOINT will get you 20 years!!! But they rock the fuck out like few countries we've been to, so it's a killer time. We of course plan on obeying every rule! These fuckers have even blocked all my favorite porn sites, as the government-controlled internet doesn't allow people to view porn, MySpace, Facebook, etc.!!! Don't they know that the internet is for porn??!! Thankfully, I got some insider info on how to get around the web-block from some local kids here, and was able to finally get to my glorious porn sites. As Dave joked, "dude, you got some tech support for whacking off!!!" Yeah... take THAT, government-controlled internet!!!
I'm gonna give a wrap up of HellYeah soon, and we will post some video of that tour soon as well. Gonna try and get some cool footage from these crazy places too, I was even thinking about interviewing some local kids to talk about their metal scene, and maybe ask them some questions about being a metalhead in the Middle East, where it really is almost dangerous, and the Government can come down and squash you... for real. I don't know if it'll happen, but just something I've been thinking about. If you have any questions you think might be cool, shoot on over to the message board and post them in the thread for this diary.
As-Salamu 'Alaykum, fuckers!!!
-Flynn
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"We're number 2! We're number 2! We're number 2!"...
That’s what us and the Shadows Fall guys were jokingly chanting at the Grammy after-party last night. Yeah it was disappointing, but man, we’ve joined an elite group of Grammy "losers" that might be even more metal than the winners, including 4-time Grammy losers Pantera, Megadeth, Lamb Of God, and Killswitch Engage. Just getting nominated for a Grammy was an incredible highlight for the band, and the Grammys were pretty damn awesome. Tina Turner up there shaking her thing was just amazing, a smokin’ hot Carrie Underwood, Kanye and Daft Punk, the Cirque De Soleil Beatles tribute... jesus, their rendition of "Let It Be" had me on the verge of tears. My Dad and step-mom up there proud as could be... it was a once in a lifetime experience!
5 minutes after the Best Metal Performance nomination was given to Slayer, I got a text from Kerry King (who didn’t attend) that said, "I’ll take the Grammy... but I have no problem telling you that you guys should have won!" Very cool and VERY classy of him. He didn’t have to say that, but he did, and it was a very big thing to do. I give him all the respect in the world for doing it.
Should we have won? Well to listen to the "blogsphere" tell it... controversially, yes! On behalf of the band I want to thank all the kids and people who were on sites like Blabbermouth, MH1, etc. venting their overwhelming support for the band. Would I have rather lost to "Angel Of Death" or "Seasons In The Abyss", or "Disciple" rather than the Bonus Track on the re-release of the same album they won last year for? Sure! But, if any band can carry the torch in representing "pure" metal, it's Slayer. Past "metal" winners included Rage Against The Machine, Soundgarden, and Deftones, who, while great bands in their own right, are NOT metal. We can ALL take pride in the fact that it was Slayer this year and not Avenged Sevenfold or Jethro fucking Tull!!!
If it weren't for Slayer, there would be no Machine Head, and I have no problem saying that. Even before we toured with them, I had seen Slayer more times than any other band in my life. My friends and I lived and breathed Slayer, and Phil, Adam, and I all shared many pre-Machine Head moments worshipping Slayer, whether it was driving across country listening to Seasons on the first Vio-Lence tour, or driving all over California as friends for hours to follow the band around. At this point I can confidently say, that including the over 90 shows Machine Head have played with them, I have seen probably 130 Slayer shows all together, more shows than any other band in existence for me.
So to Kerry, Jeff, Tom, and Dave... congratulations, you've earned it... again.
HellYeah tour is going really cool, playing some crazy places that we've never played before in America like Charlotte, NC and Atlantic City, NJ. It's fun playing to their crowd too, since in a lot of these nooks and crannies of America a lot of kids are seeing Machine Head for the first time ever, and a lot of times have only heard the new stuff. We've had some amazing shows too, not quite the insanity of the U.K. or Europe, or even the last U.S. run, but rad nonetheless. Mudvayne dudes are really cool, Bob to Tomcat and their crew guys are really cool too, but dude, Vinnie Paul is possibly the coolest, smoothest, pimpest motherfucker I know. The motherfucker is like the god damned Pope when he comes out after a show, with people practically tripping over themselves to meet him. And good lord if the dude isn’t the biggest stripper-chick magnet I’ve ever been around in my life, christ almighty!!?? The ladies LOVE to be around Vinnie Paul!
HellYeah are a great rock band, and I gotta give it up to singer Chad Gray, he has an uncanny ability to make a deep and honest connection with the crowd. Not in the rocking / thrashing sense, but in his ability to make every person in the room feel a part of the show, something that sounds a lot easier than it is. Dude is a GREAT frontman. And GOD DAMN do those motherfuckers like to drink... whew!!!!??? I thought WE drank a lot!! I’ve never done more shots in my life. We're definitely having fun out here.
Really looking forward to supporting Korn in Dubai, headlining Israel for the first time ever is gonna be amazing, India for the first time, 1st headlining show in Japan in like 8 years, supporting Metallica in Portugal and Spain... 2008 is looking so killer already!!!
We will be doing a bunch of festivals in Europe and the U.K. come summertime, and we're stoked to be a part of the Mayhem Tour in the U.S., its our first U.S. festival run in a few years. Mayhem is gonna be fuckin' awesome, and we’re really looking forward to jamming with a lot of our friends again! Anyway, until next time...
"We're number 2! We're number 2! We're number 2!"...
-Flynn
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Well,
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's a whole bunch of photos to tell the story of what was one of the most insane 30 days of our touring lives. The highs and the lows, the mundane and the unbelievable, this... was The Black Crusade. All of these photos were taken by our very own Frontliner in arms Henning Gulli who has one of the most unbelievable "eyes" for photography I've ever seen! The dude is friggin' amazing!!
Henning was given unprecedented access to all things Machine Head, from the early morning stage set up, to pre-show warm up rituals, unlimited access to the stage show, including every stage dive, drunken sing-a-long, and even drunker after-party moment. At my request he has also made a page of photos of our very own Frontliners that came out to the shows, including the humongous Frontliner meeting in London. I'll probably do a more in-depth diary soon, but for now, sit back, crack open a beer, make sure you a have a good chunk of time to soak in the enormity of it all, and enjoy the almost 500 photos he captured of the earliest shows in Birmingham and London, to the absurdly drunken last night in Helsinki.
Metal!
-Flynn
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