MACHINE HEAD: 'The Blackening' Artwork Revealed

The cover artwork for MACHINE HEAD's upcoming sixth studio album, "The Blackening", has been posted online at this location. The artwork was created by longtime MACHINE HEAD artist Paul Brown (MARILYN MANSON).

Regarding the cover image, MACHINE HEAD frontman Robert Flynn previously told The Gauntlet, "It's a metal carving from the 1500s. Back then they used a lot of crude metal carving images… almost as propaganda. It was kind of like scaring people about going to hell or whatever. A lot of it had to do with devils and death and stuff like that. They were eventually banned for a while.

"The cover right now is like a skeleton sitting on a throne with his foot on top of the world and he's holding up a mirror and the mirror says 'The mirror which flatters not.'

"The reason we chose that image is that this whole record is like holding up a mirror to ourselves. It's talking about things that are going on now, but it's not necessarily specific to this time.

"There are two songs that have a pretty strong anti-war sentiment, but it's not the type of thing that's just about this war, you know what I mean? It's not necessarily a concept record in that sense, because the songs don't all tie together thematically. There isn't a story being told. I probably would have lost my mind if I would have had to tie all the lyrics together (laughs). It is about holding up a mirror to society."

Tentatively due on March 27 via Roadrunner Records (one day earlier internationally),"The Blackening" was recorded at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, CA, with MACHINE HEAD frontman Robert Flynn returning to the producer's chair, and Mark Keaton once again handling engineering duties. Longtime MACHINE HEAD collaborator Colin Richardson (CANNIBAL CORPSE, TRIVIUM, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) mixed the record alongside Flynn in London.

"The Blackening" final track listing:

01. Clenching the Fists of Dissent
02. Beautiful Mourning
03. Aesthetics of Hate
04. Now I Lay Thee Down
05. Slanderous
06. Halo
07. Wolves
08. A Farewell to Arms

MACHINE HEAD frontman Robert Flynn will be the featured guest on next week's (January 15/16) installment of BBC Radio 1's "Rock Show". The program, which is hosted by Daniel P. Carter, airs Monday nights/Tuesday mornings between 12:00 midnight and 2:00 a.m. local U.K. time (7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. EST). You can listen to the show live on the Internet at this location.

As previously reported, MACHINE HEAD will be IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson's guests on Saturday, January 13 during Bruce's weekly BBC 6 Music radio show, aptly named "Rock Show". Listen to the program live via the Internet between 9:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. (midnight) U.K. time (between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. EST) at BBC.co.uk.