The Black Procession Tour - Machine Head
The final piece in our 'Black Procession Tour' interview series
Portrait image for Rocklouder © Simon Keitch Photography
A siege of metal fans from the length and breadth of Devon and Cornwall have taken hold of the sleepy southwest city of Plymouth as the megalith of Machine Head’s 'The Black Procession Tour' rolls its mighty wheels into town. Bringing the excellent Bleeding Through and Hatebreed along for the ride, we thought the noisy package tour would be too good an opportunity to miss, so we sent Rocklouder's David Neal to have a chat with each of the bands in turn. Today: Machine Head!
Previously — Bleeding Through / Hatebreed
Phil Demmel (Lead Guitar) – Machine Head
How would you compare your career here to the US? Success came pretty quickly on these shores but America has taken a little longer to succumb to your charm. Why do you think that is?
Well, when the band came out in the early nineties, it was a weird time for metal. There weren’t too many metal bands. Pantera were kind of holding the flag alone but America’s a funny place. It’s a bit trendy, a bit cliquey and you have to be in with certain groups like your ‘Hot Topics’ or MTV and be told what’s cool. There’s a lot of sheep over there for sure and people in the UK are a little more open minded.
What’s it like being in a band many consider the Pantera of today?
Well, I joined the band in 2002 so I joined at its lowest level and I’ve enjoyed nothing but growth. It was a new band when I joined, they were shedding their record label and a lot of ideal’s about how they should write music so when we started to record ‘Through the Ashes of Empires’ it was about writing music for us instead of the image thing, with the clothes and the hair and the rapping, stuff like that.
How would you compare the metal scene today to the nineties when you started out?
It’s different for me because I was so involved in the local scene which was thriving in the Bay area at the time. Metallica had just blown up; Slayer was coming to town with Exodus, Megadeth, Testament and Death Angel. There were all these killer local bands that you could see five days a week and there would be 300 people there. So I’m comparatively out of touch with local scenes today but there are plenty of bands I like although everything is so expensive now, T- shirts are ridiculous but I used to do a lot of tape trading back in the day so there was an underground thing going on and now you have the internet, and it’s just so easy.
‘Blackening’ was released early onto the net, in this case to positive results with great word of mouth spreading like wild fire and boosting initial sales. So how do you feel in general towards illegal downloading?
Well, it worked to our benefit for sure because there was a huge buzz created. It happens with movies, books and TV shows but it all comes down to whether the product is any good or not, and in our case we knew we had written a great record and were really proud of it. We knew it would do well based on the ‘Ashes’ come-back that had put us on people’s radar again, but we could not expect the accolades and success. That album came out almost three years ago and we’re still selling out on tour. A few days ago was our three year anniversary of our first show for this cycle so we’re near the end then we’re shutting it down, so in the beginning of April we’re home, no more shows and we start the next record.
This is the first album you have written fully with the band and it seems to me you have helped Machine Head find their voice again. They were exploring different avenues of sound that were leading to dead ends, so what would you say that you brought to the table?
I think I brought a different style of guitar playing which allowed Robb to do different things like harmony leads and more melodic stuff than before. I think the band had found itself before I joined though, they knew they had to write for themselves but I helped them to go down different avenues. The first two records were the hardest for me to learn. There’s some Logan (Mader) stuff on there that is really difficult. Some of his leads, including the ‘Nation on Fire’ intro is a very cool and unique style. I don’t think I could have been in the band in those days and I don’t think that Logan could be in the band these days. The two guitar players fit their records perfectly.
Is playing Logan’s riffs something you look forward to at the shows?
I’m more familiar with the songs I’ve written and they’re easier for me but I enjoy the hell out of playing ‘A Thousand Lies’ and ‘Take my Scars’, songs like that, just as much as the later stuff.
How was it working with Robb again after so many years since he left Vio-lence, a band that was yours as much as Machine Head is his?
Well yeah, Vio-lence was my band, it was my baby and he was the new guy. He was working with me and as time went on he brought more to the table so we started working together. So, after being apart for so long and him denying the existence of Vio-lence for so long I played a couple shows with them and there’s chemistry. We’re so alike as players and we know if someone’s playing a riff, someone’s going to be doing a harmony and there’s just a kinship between us and it’s undeniable. As people we’ve gone through our ups and downs and had our scraps but we’re in a really good place now personally. I know my role in this band, I know it’s his band and what I do is provide riffs, provide parts and sometimes some structure like ‘Beautiful Morning’, which I structured quite a bit of and brought over half the song to the table, ‘Slanderous’ is the same thing. I call Robb the sandwich maker, I provide the mayonnaise or salami and he knows how to put it all together. He has such a good ear for structure and it’s just a matter of us knowing our roles in the band and I think that’s why we’re so successful right now. There’s no egos and we all play to our strengths.
The new album is very progressive. Is this the future you see Machine Head heading?
Well Dave (McClain, Drums) is the Rush head of the band so he turned Robb onto their records and that opened us up in that sense. We want to try new things but it’s not like we’re being progressive for the sake of being progressive. Every record needs to sound different but the formula stays the same.
‘The Blackening’ has gotten you back to the popularity levels of ‘Burn My Eyes’ so the new album is going to be crucial in carrying on that momentum.
You know what? They’re all crucial, they’re all important. ‘Ashes’ was the most important record by this band to date. We were without a label, no one wanted to sign us, and no one wanted ‘Ashes’. We were about to sign for an independent because we just wanted the record out and it was Roadrunner International that came in at the last minute and put it out. The US passed on the record, they heard it and passed and then when it blew up it finally got out in the States. Everything was against us and ‘Ashes’ saved the band, so ‘The Blackening’ was no pressure, we were writing for ourselves. So with the next record if the accolades come then cool, is it going to be the album of the next decade as ‘The Blackening’ was voted? Chances are no, but who cares? Why do we have to top what in everybody else’s eyes we feel we are topping ourselves? And that’s all we care about.
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