MACHINE HEAD Drummer: 'We've Got Another Kick-Ass Album On Our Hands'

Jo Schüftan of Horns Up Rocks! conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Robb Flynn and drummer Dave McClain of San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD at the third annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards, which was held on Wednesday, April 20 at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, California. The six-minute chat can now be viewed below.

When asked about the progress of the recording sessions for MACHINE HEAD's as-yet-untitled seventh album, Flynn said, "We've been in there for three days. Dave McClain's been laying down the drums, killing it, and we're getting going on the journey. In July we're out on the [Rockstar Energy Drink] Mayhem [Festival] tour, and then the record drops in September."

Regarding what new things MACHINE HEAD fans can expect to hear on the band's forthcoming CD, McClain said, "For the past two records [as well as] this one, we've really been writing for ourselves. And we don't really have a set plan; we didn't really sit down and even go, like, 'We had a bunch of long songs on the last record, we've gotta do a bunch of short ones.' We had some time off and we started itching to get back in and start writing — just whatever was flowing out. And it's killer, man; it's super-exciting. We're all really, really excited about what happened, what came out. We feel like we've got another kick-ass album on our hands and we can't wait for everybody to hear it."

MACHINE HEAD is recording its new album at GREEN DAY's Jingletown Studios in Oakland, California.

A six-minute video clip in which the four members of MACHINE HEAD talk about the forthcoming CD can be viewed below.

Flynn previously stated about the band's new album, "I wasn't really raised with religion. And in a lot of ways, that's what this record seems to be symbolizing for me — music as religion, music as the thing that's carried me through the darkest chapters in my life. It's carried me through the brightest, highest highs of my life, and everything in between. It's always been there for me."

Phil Demmel (guitar): "Expectations? There's always high expectations. I mean, we don't just put a record out that often, so there's a lot that goes into this. We expect a lot out of ourselves; we expect everything that we can possibly put into a record. So we're reaching deep, but we've grown a lot in the past five years as well — as musicians, as friends, as bandmates, and just as people in general. So I think there's a lot of emotion getting poured into this, and a lot of creativity, too. So don't expect 'The Blackening 2'. It's gonna be... We're putting everything that we have into this one, but we do that on every record. 'It's gonna be heavy, but melodic, too. It's gonna be the heaviest thing we've ever done.' I'm gonna stay away from all the quotes you see all the time. It's gonna be our best effort, though — for sure."

Adam Duce (bass): "Putting out music for as many years as we have, we always have to kind of make it new and fresh and interesting for us, and we always look for that thing that makes it MACHINE HEAD, that gives you that feeling.

"The feeling that you get from a MACHINE HEAD record is nothing if not motivating. I mean, that's what we do; that's our niche. So that's enough motivation. Just to be in here making music, when that finally gets there, it's so epic and huge and fulfilling when you get it right. I mean, you jam it sometimes for nine months without it being right, but the time that you play it and it comes out right and the one little twist that you didn't have in there gets put into it, and it makes it. It's like magic. I mean, that's what the magic of music is right there."

Working songtitles for next MACHINE HEAD album:

* This Is The End
* Who We Are
* Pearls Before Swine
* Under The August Moon
* I Am Hell
* Darkness Within
* Locust

Interview:

Studio webisode: