Machine Head News

UNATØNED REVIEW - DestroyerOfHarmony

By Machine Head

DESTROYEROFHARMONY has written a thoroughly in-depth review or our latest album "UNATØNED"

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Machine Head’s ‘Unatoned’ Is a 41-Minute Punch in the Soul – Brutally Honest Review (Track-by-Track)


Landscape of Thorns

A 31-second instrumental opener that is like walking into a post-apocalyptic cathedral made of rust and bad decisions. No lyrics, just vibe.


The vibe?


You’re screwed.


Atomic Revelations

You know that moment when you realize humanity might’ve peaked with sliced bread and everything since is just radioactive garbage?

Yeah, that’s this song.

“Atomic revelations / These cryptic devastations…”

In other words, the future’s here, and it’s wearing a hazmat suit. Think less “technological utopia” and more “Oops, all fallout.”

It’s a poetic bitch slap to our blind optimism. A warning, framing the future not as a bright evolution but as a terrifying construct built from our short-sighted and immoral decisions.


Unbound

This is the sonic equivalent of breaking out of a mental straitjacket while screaming into a hurricane.

Lead single for a reason, it’s the sound of someone clawing their way to freedom, with bloody nails and existential panic.

It’s not about being free. It’s about realizing you’ve been your own prison warden the whole damn time.


Outsider

A love letter to being done. Betrayal, bitterness, burn-it-to-the-ground energy.

"All the lying, all the cheating
All you left me was defeated
There could never be forgiveness in the end"


No redemption arc. Just someone standing over the wreckage of trust and lighting a cigarette off the flames.

It’s beautiful.

In the way that watching your ex trip over karma is beautiful.


Not Long for This World

Here’s your death anxiety, set to music. Haunting, lyrical, and bleakly gorgeous. The kind of track that makes you text your therapist and also maybe your mom.

"Through the struggles life hurls
Behold the heavens unfurl
Not long for this world"


You’re gonna die. Everyone you love will die. And this track whispers: “Yup. And?” It’s oddly comforting, like being hugged by a ghost.


These Scars Won’t Define Us

A motivational anthem for people who’ve seen some serious crap and didn’t get a cheesy Instagram quote tattoo about it.

"Head to the grindstone, power forward through the endless dark
Focus, determination, on this world I’ll leave a mark
It took so long for any confidence to get in here
And now the question that I need to know, I cannot hear"


It’s not saying “you’re special.” It’s saying “you survived, now do something with it.” Less “self-love,” more “self-discipline.”


Dustmaker

“Dustmaker” is a little musical intermission.

A breather.

Kind of. It’s the metal equivalent of a weird dream sequence in a war movie. You’re not dying yet, but your brain’s doing weird crap.

Sip some water. You’ll need it.


Bonescraper

It’s a head banger with themes of self-destruction and a side of guilt.

"We scrape our bones to numb the pain"

If you’ve ever tried to drink your problems away, punch your trauma into silence, or sleep with someone just to feel something, this one’s your anthem. Congrats, you’re the problem and the solution.


Addicted to Pain

This one goes out to everyone who keeps dancing with the same demons and calling it “growth.” Spoiler: it’s not.

"We’ll never know what could’ve been
Cravings pulled you deep within
Thrown into the hit machine
Feed the beast, start the routine
You gave it all just to chase this flame
The dotted line, a puppet in the game now
Twisted and cheating
The fame we chase is bleating
Turned against brother for acclaim that is fleeting"


The fame-chasing, dopamine-looping, clout-sucking treadmill of modern life, and how it turns people into hollowed-out achievement junkies.

No wonder you’re tired.


Bleeding Me Dry

This one’s a gut-punch, a slow-motion collapse of a relationship that started with dreams and ended with pill bottles and silence.

"There’s no pain without living life
This liquor helps cope with the strife
We talked of you being my wife
Picket fences, some kids, and two bikes
But all that was a fantasy lost in our haze
Through all of the weed smoke and piles of cocaine
A pharmacy of Vicodin, Percs, refillers
You and I were worst friend’s best painkillers"


Jesus.

That line alone deserves a Pulitzer in “Emotional Damage”.

It’s not a love song, it’s a eulogy for what could’ve been. And it hurts because it’s true.

They’re not lovers, not saviors, just each other’s favorite painkillers in a life too painful to face sober.


Shards of Shattered Dreams

More heartbreak. More poetic destruction. Think of it like picking glitter out of a crime scene.

"It’s raining
Shards of shattered dreams
This love divine
Ruins everything
Left to pick up the pieces
Of my dejected heart
I’m breaking and I’m ripping at the seams
These shards of shattered dreams"


When hope becomes a weapon. When dreams cut deeper than knives. This one will haunt you at 3 a.m., probably while scrolling through old texts you should’ve deleted.



Scorn

Dom Lawson, in Metal Hammer, called it “ostensibly a dark, crestfallen ballad” that builds through synth-drenched haze and emotional swells before erupting in a syncopated, spine-tingling finale. 


He’s not wrong.

In fact, “Scorn” might be the most hauntingly beautiful track Robb Flynn has ever penned.

Machine Head is no stranger to monumental album closers, think “The Burning Red,” “Descend the Shades of Night,” “A Farewell to Arms,” “Who We Are,” or “Arrows in Words from the Sky.” 

Now, add “Scorn” to that list, lifted from their new record “Unatoned” a fitting name for what feels like both an indictment and a lament.

The opening verse says it all:

“I’m putting you under my spell / ‘Cause I’ve got a Bible to sell
Let go your convictions, restrictions will cost you / Your fiction and all that is well
Distrust all the fable they sell…”


This isn’t subtle. It’s manipulation disguised as salvation. The “Bible to sell” is a loaded metaphor, suggesting the commodification of belief, the weaponization of faith. Convictions and moral boundaries are liabilities here, illusions sold to the weak, while the puppeteers profit.

“I look to the sky / As it won’t be the first / And it won’t be the worst
‘Cause there’s still yet to come / With a nation undone by their Scorn”


Hope?

Maybe.

But not without cynicism. The sky becomes a metaphorical void, once a symbol of transcendence, now indifferent or complicit. The “nation undone” is a clear nod to societal collapse, a warning about the corrosion eating away at public trust, autonomy, and truth.


The chorus drives the point home with venom:

“Scorn / Paranoia seeps through every pore
Scorn / Envenomated eyes emit their scorn”


Yes, “envenomated.”

A rare, brutal word choice. It means poisoned. But more than that, it implies a kind of psychological venom, gazes that don’t just judge but infect. Surveillance becomes psychotropic. The “eyes” don’t just watch; they erode.

“The eye in the sky never rests
Watching to form our arrest
They’re chasing us out of our nests
Keeping tabs as they play us like masters of chess…”


There’s Orwell here, but also something more, this is modern paranoia woven through algorithmic control, deep-state tactics, and manufactured chaos. The image of being driven from nests evokes exile from comfort, from truth, from home.

“I look to the sky / As they give us new rifles / To stifle our words
With a Bible and bulletproof vests / As we suffer their Scorn…”


Weaponized religion. Militarized faith. Truth gets smothered in the name of protection. Resistance becomes treason. Free thought becomes a target.


Thematically, “Scorn” stands shoulder-to-shoulder with:

– Rage Against the Machine’s political fire
– Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” and its suffocating institutional critique
– Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited”, where biblical imagery twists through cultural critique
– Metallica’s “…And Justice for All”, where justice is just another rigged game


But “Scorn” isn’t derivative, it’s a culmination. It distills our present-day fears: media manipulation, mass surveillance, the erosion of belief systems, and a creeping spiritual void. It’s a bitter elegy dressed as an anthem.

You don’t just listen to “Scorn”. You endure it, absorb it, and then see the world a little more clearly and perhaps a little more grimly.


The Wrap Up

It’s short, sharp, and swinging a sledgehammer. Less an album, more a therapy session set to blast beats. It’s a bleak, beautiful middle finger to false hope and a mosh pit for your emotional baggage. If you’re looking for easy answers, you’re in the wrong pit, buddy.

Joining Robb Flynn and Jared MacEachern is drummer Matt Alston and guitarist Reece Scruggs, injecting fresh energy into their sound, making “Unatoned” a noteworthy entry in their discography.


Final Score:
5 existential crises out of 5
🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅

Now go scream into the void or your pillow, whichever’s closer.

\::/

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FESTIVAL SEASON IS HERE

By Machine Head

💥MACHINE HEAD FESTIVALS & OFF-DATES DATES💥
MAY 2025

🇲🇽 31st • Nu Metal Revolution Festival , Mexico City

EU SUMMER SHOWS
JUNE 2025
🇳🇴 28th • Tons Of Rock - Norway

JULY 2025
🇫🇮 1st • Finland, Helsinki, Black Box, Icehall
🇬🇷 3rd • Greece, Athens, The Floyd
🇹🇷 5th • Turkey, Istanbul, Life Park, Headbangers' Weekend

🇦🇹 22nd • Austria, Linz, Posthof *SOLD-OUT*
🇭🇺 24th • Hungary, Budapest, Barba Negra
🇧🇬 26th • Bulgaria, Plovdiv, Hills Of Rock
🇬🇷 28th • Greece, Thessaloniki, Soul
🇷🇴 30th • Romania, Transylvania, Rockstadt Extreme

AUGUST 2025
🇩🇪 1st  • Full Rewind - Germany
🇩🇪 2nd • Wacken Open Air - Germany *SOLD-OUT*
🇵🇱 4th • Poland, Katowice, MCK                         
🇨🇭 6th • Switzerland, Zurich, Volkshaus
🇬🇧 9th • Bloodstock Open Air - UK  *SOLD-OUT*
🇧🇪 10th • Alcatraz - Belgium
🇱🇺 12th • Luxembourg, Lux City, Den Atelier  *SOLD-OUT*
🇳🇱 13th • Netherlands, Arnhem, Musis *LOW TICKETS*
🇩🇪 15th • Reload - Germany
🇩🇪 16th • Summer Breeze - Germany
🇫🇷 17th • Motocultor - France

TICKETS:

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Metal Hammer's Monumental "UNATØNED" Review

By Machine Head


It is amusing to recall how many people were willing to write Machine Head off only a few years ago. After the release of the supposedly polarising (but, in reality, perfectly successful) Catharsis in 2018, and the unexpected departure of half the band later that year, Robb Flynn’s relentless forward march at least seemed to be experiencing a hiccup or two, and critical vultures were circling.

Satisfyingly, the near-immediate turnaround was enough to give us all whiplash. Since returning with a revitalised line-up in 2019, Machine Head have been on fucking fire. 2022’s Of Kingdom And Crown was a blistering return to top form. The band’s first concept piece, it was tighter, heavier and more ferocious than anything they’d released since Burn My Eyes in 1994, but with some of the catchiest melodies and most irresistible choruses that Robb had ever penned.

In many respects, Machine Head’s 11th studio album continues where its predecessor left off, but there are no artful concepts or overarching narratives this time around. Instead, Unatoned is stripped down, fat-free and mercilessly to-the-point, with 10 lean, mean and ruthlessly succinct songs (and one eerie, instrumental interlude) that are frequently as brutal as Machine Head have ever been.

Two pre-release singles have given Head Cases a flavor of what is in store here. These Scars Won’t Define Us is an explosive, modern thrash beat ’em up, while Unbound is built around a fabulously knuckleheaded riff and a roar- along refrain clearly designed to have a deleterious effect on our neck muscles. Both are executed with precision and swagger, and will have circle- pits swirling this summer.

Every one of these songs has the potential to become a live favorite. Atomic Revelations is a punishing opener proper, with several life-threatening riffs and an elegantly lethal chorus; Outsider is a wildly accessible, groove metal masterclass; Bonescraper is part thuggish, 90s throwback, part euphoric, hands-in-the-air singalong; and the grandiose, doom-laden Bleeding Me Dry creeps in on spaced-out trip hop beats, before unleashing one of the ugliest riffs in Machine Head history.

Conversely, the closing Scorn could be the most beautiful song that Robb Flynn has ever written. Ostensibly a dark, crestfallen ballad, it drifts through hazy, synth-shrouded verses and angst-ridden chorus crescendos, before a scintillating, syncopated riff shatters the calm, and Machine Head surge towards a spine-tingling finale.

Unatoned is Machine Head’s shortest album: 42 minutes, non-stop action, and absolutely no fucking around. There is an urgency to it that harks back to the feral days of Burn My Eyes, and an imperious sophistication that comes from more than 30 years of experience. It has so many crushing riffs that it should come with a health and safety certificate.

New guitarist Reece Scruggs is the perfect fit, and drummer Matt Alston finally makes his album debut, and wallops it out of the park. Meanwhile, Robb Flynn has never sung with more authority, and his vocal partnership with Jared MacEachern continues to dazzle. 

In 2025, Machine Head are in peak condition: the bulldozer that crushes all, ferociously fit for the future.

Never in doubt.

4.5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Dom Lawson ( Metal Hammer )


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"UNATØNED" IS OUT NOW!!

By Machine Head

MACHINE HEAD'S MONUMENTAL 11TH ALBUM "UNATØNED" IS OUT EVERYWHERE

🎥 We've also unleashed a RAGER of a music video for the track "ØUTSIDER" which was filmed at the historical landmark The Aztec Theatre in San Antonio, TX on our current headlining North American tour with In Flames, Lacuna Coil and Unearth.

"ØUTSIDER is an anthem that has kinship with anyone who’s had to cut toxic people loose. These last few years, I’ve had to let go of a lot of relationships, and I know I’m not alone in that. This track is for anyone who’s been there."

Celebrate with us by blasting the new album UNATØNED 🔊 and watching the video below.

Head to our socials and give us your first impressions Head Cases!!

UNATØNED is a testament to momentum, an album honed to its sharpest edge, forged on creative discipline and the hunger to push forward. It drips with melancholy melodies, and yet hammers with bludgeoning riffs, soars with anthemic sing-a-longs of love-lost and sadness, to bellowing power and undeniable confidence. Eleven albums deep, Machine Head remain as fierce, relevant, and unstoppable as ever.



MACHINE HEAD - ØUTSIDER (ØFFICIAL VIDEØ)


MACHINE HEAD - BØNESCRAPER (ØFFICIAL VIDEØ)

MACHINE HEAD - UNBØUND (ØFFICIAL VIDEØ)


"UNATØNED" TRACKLIST:

LANDSCAPE ØF THØRNS
ATØMIC REVELATIØNS
UNBØUND
ØUTSIDER
NØT LØNG FØR THIS WØRLD
THESE SCARS WØN’T DEFINE US
DUSTMAKER
BØNESCRAPER
ADDICTED TØ PAIN
BLEEDING ME DRY
SHARDS ØF SHATTERED DREAMS
SCØRN

Produced by Robb Flynn and Zack Ohren
Mixed by Colin Richardson and Chris Clancy
Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, Nashville, TN


EXCLUSIVE NUCLEAR BLAST UNATØNED "BØNESCRAPER EDITION" RED VINYL WITH MASSIVE 12" X 12" PAGE MATTE FINISH BØØKLET

UNATØNED CLEAR VINYL  WITH MASSIVE 12" X 12" PAGE MATTE FINISH BØØKLET

UNATØNED ULTRA-PREMIUM TEE

UNATØNED CD JEWEL WITH MATTE FINISH 20 PAGE BØØKLET

UNATØNED SUPER-PREMIUM ZIP HØØDIE

 ATØMIC REVELATIØNS LONGSLEEVE TEE

BØNESCRAPER PREMIUM WHITE / BLØØD TEE

 

SCØRN PREMIUM TEE

NØT LØNG FØR THIS WØRLD TEE

 

💥MACHINE HEAD, IN FLAMES, LACUNA COIL, UNEARTH
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR💥


TIX: https://www.machinehead1.com/pages/tour

APRIL 2025
🇺🇸25th • Reading, PA
🇺🇸26th • Boston, MA *LOW TICKETS*
🇨🇦27th • Montreal, QC *SOLD-OUT*
🇨🇦28th • Toronto, ON *LOW TICKETS*
🇺🇸30th • Cincinnati, OH

MAY 2025
🇺🇸 2nd • Detroit, MI
🇺🇸 3rd • Chicago, IL
🇺🇸 4th • Minneapolis, MN
🇨🇦 5th • Winnipeg, MB *LOW TICKETS*
🇨🇦 7th • Calgary, AB *LOW TICKETS*
🇨🇦 8th • Edmonton, AB *SOLD-OUT*
🇨🇦10th • Klowna, BC

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NEW🔥 "BØNESCRAPER" OUT NOW!

By Machine Head

Bay Area icons MACHINE HEAD unveil their crushing new second single, 'BØNESCRAPER'. The release features a new music video as well as the announcement of the special BØNESCRAPER edition LP of UNATØNED (shipping June 17). Watch the music video directed by Mike Sloat.

MACHINE HEAD comments, “This one is for those of us with darkness in our heart, a song about love lost, and a song for those who fail at love... but keep on trying… hence, we scrape our bones to numb the pain”

Pre-order & pre-save UNATØNED:
https://machinehead.bfan.link/unatoned

Stream 'BØNESCRAPER'
https://machinehead.bfan.link/bonescraper

WATCH: 'BØNESCRAPER' Music Video👇🏻

‼️🚨NEW VINYL COLOR ALERT‼️🚨
🛒 A new Bone with Black & Red BØNESCRAPER edition LP of UNATØNED is now available for pre-order. The new vinyl color ships June 17th.

SHOP: 👉🏻TEN TON TRADING CO.

PRE-ORDER "BØNESCRAPER" PREMIUM WHITE / BLØØD TEE

 

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MACHINE HEAD LAUNCH SHOTGUN BLAST WHISKEY

By Machine Head

MACHINE HEAD PROUDLY PRESENT SHOTGUN BLAST WHISKEY

Batch #1 Limited Edition Collector’s Box, comes with 2 (two) Sawed-off Shotgun shaped bottles and 2 (two) Shotgun Shell shot glasses. An ultra-premium blend of 11 year aged and 4 year aged bourbon. 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley. This exceptional mash bill and aging process was handpicked by Robb Flynn himself, coming in at a powerful 94 proof, delivering a shot of rich bourbon flavor straight to your pallet.

Adds guitarsit/vocalist/founder Robb Flynn, “We are beyond stoked to be doing this. As most of you know, Machine Head has always been a drinking band, from our first shows playing kegger parties, to sending out a hearty "cheers" to 70,000 of our friends while headlining Hellfest last year, both Machine Head and the Head Cases like a drink or 3.  So last year when the opportunity presented itself to deliver a premium bourbon whiskey, it was a bit of a no-brainer”

Aged in first use, charred American oak. The nose opens with layers of caramelized vanilla, toasted oak, and dark honey, complemented by notes of leather, baking spices, and a touch of dark cherry. On the pallet waves of rich toffee, brown sugar and toasted pecan, meet nutmeg and clove, balanced by the younger bourbon's bright butterscotch and caramel corn. Hints of dark chocolate, black pepper, and dried orange peel add depth, while a velvety mouth feel leads to a long, warming finish of cinnamon spice, and smoky oak

To Machine Head fans everywhere may these bottles serve as a reminder to stand tall, speak loud and let freedom ring like never before.  This is Shotgun Blast Whiskey, the first round is on us.

“Let freedom ring with a shotgun blast”.


**Does not ship from Ten Ton Trading Co.**

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"UNATØNED" TRACK-BY-TRACK

By Machine Head

ROBB FLYNN BREAKS DOWN MACHINE HEAD'S 11TH ALBUM "UNATONED" OUT APRIL 25TH ON NUCLEAR BLAST

PRE-ORDER HERE:

Words: Jamie Hibbard

Photos: Travis Shinn / Seth Siro Anton

Very few bands make it to their 11th album. Even fewer do so while demonstrating the same fire and fury that defined their early years. But Machine Head isn’t just any band. For over three decades, the personification of determination, Robb Flynn, has led Machine Head to carve its own path—uncompromising, relentless, and ever evolving. Now, with latest album release, UNATØNED (out April 25th on Nuclear Blast/Imperium Recordings), they’ve again cranked up the dial.

With Machine Head, this should come as no surprise: Flynn has been through every high and low that you could possibly imagine a band leader might go through. There’s been controversy, creative differences, and being banned from venues for, amongst other things: fights and riots in the early years, and having ‘undesirable fans’. But there’s something about their rough and tumble Oakland, CA, attitude that has gotten them into (and out of) some tight spots.

As their manager, Joseph Huston, has been fond of saying: “we’re not trouble makers, we’re trouble magnets.”

It’s a Machine Head thing.


There have been points over the years where Flynn has questioned himself. But with UNATØNED all those doubts have been firmly vanquished. This is a band that confidently has the right to know itself and its place in the world – a position well-earned, with 5 million albums sold, and over a billion streams (650 million on Spotify alone).

The album’s lead single, UNBØUND, builds on the swagger and groove of debut album BURN MY EYES while fusing it with the crushing heaviness of Grammy-nominated THE BLACKENING.

“Having two boys from the South in the band – Reece Scruggs and Jared MacEachern – has really brought some groove and swing back into our sound,” Flynn adds.

After single-handedly steering the good ship Machine Head for 30 years, visionary leader Flynn was determined to keep pushing himself creatively this time around. Forever changing the rules – including his own – Flynn set three simple but strict parameters for the songwriting process: every track had to be under four minutes, each song had to feature a key change outside of a typical chord progression, and the final chorus had to differ from the first. The result? A lean, unrelenting, 41-minute onslaught of pure metal—10 razor-sharp anthems and two instrumentals that make this the sharpest, most direct Machine Head album ever.

“After the success of our last record (ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN, 2022), I needed to make sure this one stood apart. I didn’t want it to get swallowed in CRØWN’S shadow,” Flynn explains. “Machine Head fans expect every album to be different, so this time around I put these constraints on myself to force a new approach. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, which was exactly what I needed.”

Much of UNATØNED came together in motion – literally. Written at home and on the road, Flynn carried a guitar wherever he went, pulling inspiration from unexpected places. Riffs were born in Houston, Texas; Asheville, North Carolina; Columbus, Ohio; and even as far as Perth, Australia.

The result? An album with a decidedly American feel, expansive, yet deeply rooted in the band’s signature groove-laden intensity.

Produced by Robb Flynn and Zack Ohren (All Shall Perish, Entheos), with additional production courtesy of decade-long collaborator Jordan Fish (ex-Bring Me The Horizon, Architects) UNATØNED was masterfully mixed by legendary producer Colin Richardson (Burn My Eyes, The Blackening, Bullet For My Valentine) and Chris Clancy, that raw, untamed energy is apparent from the first notes of ATØMIC REVELATIØNS, a Bay Area thrash monster inspired by a real-life, stranger-than-fiction concept: the Atomic Priesthood.

“I read about how scientists in the ’90s created a religion – the Atomic Priesthood – to warn future civilizations about nuclear waste sites,” Flynn says. “It blew my mind. Religion is one of the few things that can carry meaning across thousands of years. The whole concept fascinated me, and the song just poured out.”

Machine Head’s return to the festival circuit after an 11-year hiatus also had a massive influence.

“We spent over a decade doing our own three-hour Evening With shows, which was amazing, but getting back into the festival scene – headlining Hellfest, Download, the Danny Wimmer festivals – it reignited something,” Flynn admits. “Watching tens of thousands of people go off to certain songs really helped shape this record.”

Case in point: second single BØNESCRAPER, is a masterclass in less-is-more songwriting: “We stripped it down to the essentials – groove, impact, and an arena-sized chorus,” Flynn says.

Similarly, NØT LØNG FØR THIS WØRLD marks a first in Machine Head history: a song featuring all clean vocals.

“It felt unnatural to force a heavy part in just for the sake of it. Jared and I were harmonizing, and nothing sounded better. Some of the song even came together live on our Electric Happy Hour stream, so fans got to see it being created in real time.”

Then there’s ØUTSIDER, an anthem that has kinship with anyone who’s had to cut toxic people loose. Being the polarising figure that he is – there’s no middle ground, he’s either loved or hated – Flynn knows more than a thing or two about this subject: “These last few years, I’ve had to let go of a lot of relationships, and I know I’m not alone in that. This track is for anyone who’s been there.”

Flynn’s collaborative spirit shines through ADDICTED TØ PAIN, a co-write with new guitarist Scruggs that evolved after a tongue-in-cheek challenge to “write a nu-metal song,” which resulted in Scruggs coming up with, “a fantastic set of riffs.”

Flynn later brought in longtime collaborator Jordan Fish (ex-Bring Me The Horizon), who helped elevate the track—and the whole album—with his signature touch.

“I’ve worked with Jordan since BLØØDSTØNE & DIAMØNDS, and he always brings ideas that take things to another level. For this album, I really wanted to give him the opportunity to collaborate on most of the tracks, as I felt it would add a consistency that I wanted.”

THESE SCARS WØN’T DEFINE US is an apt allegory for Machine Head itself: they may have been battered and left scarred, but you’ll never keep ‘em down.

There’s a sense of experimentation extending into DUSTMAKER, which – along with intro LANDSCAPE ØF THØRNS – is an instrumental.

“It started as a jam with Jared, but I always imagined it with a trip-hop beat and a sultry female vocal over it,” Flynn reveals. “It’s an unusual break in the album’s chaos, but I can totally see our fans putting this on loop – and having sex to it.”

On the other end of the spectrum is SHARDS ØF SHATTERED DREAMS, which channels the band’s hardcore roots, using a metaphor of love for war.

Then there’s BLEEDING ME DRY, a deeply personal take on love, loss, and the weight of experience. Flynn has always found a catharsis in song writing, with his emotions writ large throughout each album. This time was no different – it was only during the creative process here that Flynn started being able to come to terms with the death of his mother, and begin to work through the emotional scars that he was left with.

“At 57, I’ve been through – and seen so many friends go through – massive life changes. I just connected with it all on this,” Flynn admits.

The storm of closing track SCØRN is a stunning departure for Machine Head, in that it’s a piano-driven ballad—something Flynn has wanted to do for over 15 years, but never quite pulled off before.

“I’m a sucker for an Elton John ballad,” he laughs. “With the help of Joel Wanasek (programming/post-production), we finally got it right. It’s still Machine Head, but with a twist.”

UNATØNED is Machine Head at their most concise and potent. Eleven albums deep, they continue to challenge themselves – and their fans – without losing the fire that has seen them elevated to bonafide legendary status.

Strap in. The next chapter of Machine Head is here, and it's going to put them firmly in the festival headlining hot seat.

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FEAR FACTORY X MACHINE HEAD ELECTRIC HAPPY HOUR

By Machine Head

 

Dino and Milo from Fear Factory join the boyz for an extra special Electric Happy Hour of frankly EPIC proportions! Expect to hear a bevy of Machine Head and Fear Factory classics, killer covers from Korn, Hatebreed and Slayer, all peppered with amazing recollections and tales from the studio and road. Special shout out to Robb's guitar tech Rod (aka: Pot Rod) and Zach Ohren for filling in on guitar.

BEERS UP!🍻

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