It has been some years since Machine Head have released a studio album, their previous record being that of 2018’s Catharsis. That said, the band are currently working on their tenth album, and frontman Rob Flynn shares that the record is being likened to that of their critically beloved 2007 release, The Blackening.
In a conversation with Matt Mills over at Metal Hammer, Flynn said that he shared a few songs off the new album with that of Nuclear Blast’s A&R guy Monte Connor; Connor is a good friend of Flynn and his long-time A&R over at RoadRunner Records. It is Connor who is hyping up Machine Head’s new record as “The Blackening 2.”
“I don’t know if I want to put that concept into people’s heads,” Flynn says in his conversation with Mills, “but those are pretty big words. He’s been my A&R guy for 28 years and to hear him this excited all these years later is a pretty good feeling.”
Flynn has also described the new record as “a roller coaster,” and that, “It’s going to be the type of thing that really hits people emotionally.”
The Blackening is one of the heaviest releases that Machine Head has ever put out. Hands down. From the rampaging opener that is “Clenching The Fists Of Dissent,” to the thrashing madness of “Beautiful Mourning,” and the blistering drumbeat and riffs on “Aesthetics Of Hate” – the album only grows in intensity throughout its runtime. If Machine Head do have such a record in the works that embodies the sonic menace of that 2007 LP, that sounds like a perfect storm of nostalgia and thrash-groove ferocity.
Below you will find a video the band recently shared offering a behind the scenes look into the new album’s process. Machine Head’s tenth studio album is looking to be released summer 2022 via Nuclear Blast.
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Words by: Michael Pementel
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