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MACHINE HEAD completes work on new album

04-02-2022

MACHINE HEAD bassist Jared MacEachern has confirmed to Primordial Radio that the band has completed work on its new full-length album. He said: “Mixing and mastering is done. It is ready.”

According to MacEachern, “there is a frontrunner” for the title of the new LP, which is tentatively due this summer. He also said the follow-up to 2018’s “Catharsis” will include the three songs that were featured on last summer’s “Arrows In Words From The Sky” single: “Become The Firestorm”“Rotten” and “Arrows In Words From The Sky”.

Asked about his contributions to the new MACHINE HEAD album, Jared said: “I think that I was very aware from day one that Robb (Flynn, guitar/vocals) is the leader, he’s the creative leader, the musical leader… We all have our inputs but I think it’s always understood that ultimately the decision is up to him for how things go. But, yeah, I definitely made contributions and I feel great about those contributions and I’m asked about my opinion on certain things. But, like I said, I’m following his lead.”

As for the musical direction of the new MACHINE HEAD material, Jared said: “It’s a pretty — to use Robb‘s word… I believe he used the word ‘colossal’ the other day. It’s a pretty big, epic-sounding album. We’ve been toying around with the order, but I’ve been listening, sitting down, taking the time to listen to it all the way through, and the way it goes, it’s a ride — a really great, heavy, beautiful, melodic, raging, thrashing ride.”

Much of the new MACHINE HEAD album was recorded at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California with producer Zack Ohren.

This past December, Flynn offered an update on the album’s progress during an episode of his “No Fuckin’ Regrets With Robb Flynn” podcast. He said: “I’m in the studio right now. In fact, we started yesterday — Zack and I were in the recording studio finishing up the new album, working on the new album. It’s coming along. Right now, they’re setting up in there. They’ve got Navene Koperweis of ENTHEOSANIMALS AS LEADERS and a million other bands — he is setting up drums and he’s gonna be laying down some heat with the drums. Yeah, it’s going really good — it’s been really, really productive. And we’re kind of getting towards the end here, man — we’re getting towards the finish line. The finish line is in sight, and I haven’t been able to say that for a long time.”

He continued: “If you recall, Navene is the dude who played on ‘Become The Firestorm’‘Arrows In Words From The Sky’‘My Hands Are Empty’, he played on ‘Circle The Drain’. Yeah, it’s comfortable. He’s a local guy, which really helps.

“We’re probably gonna be dropping some new songs pretty soon,” Robb added. “Then the record will be dropping probably end of summer. We’ve gotta wait till the vinyl all lines up ’cause the vinyl takes fucking forever now. Nine-month lead time on vinyl. Adele just shifted 130 thousand copies of vinyl first week. Dude, it’s crazy. All these fucking major labels are clogging up all of the vinyl pressing plants now. So, yeah, it’s been a challenge. But we’ll be dropping some songs on the DSPs, digital service providers.”

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