Machine Head is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Robb Flynn, who remains the only original member of the band. Machine Head's aggressive musicianship made it one of the pioneering bands in the new wave of American heavy metal. Its current lineup comprises Flynn, bassist Jared MacEachern, lead guitarist Wacław Kiełtyka and drummer Matt Alston. Bassist Adam Duce, lead guitarists Logan Mader, Ahrue Luster and Phil Demmel, and drummers Tony Costanza, Chris Kontos and Dave McClain are former members of the band; Mader and Kontos toured with the band in 2019 and 2020 as part of the 25th anniversary tour for its first album, Burn My Eyes (1994).
Through the Ashes of Empires is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Machine Head. The band moved away from the nu metal genre featured on their previous two albums, and towards the style of their debut Burn My Eyes and their second album The More Things Change... It was released in the UK, Europe and Australia on the Roadrunner Records International label on October 31, 2003. At this stage, Machine Head still did not have an American record deal, having parted ways with Roadrunner Records US after the Supercharger album was released. Through The Ashes of Empires was such a success that Roadrunner Records US, in an unprecedented move, quickly offered Machine Head a new contract and the album finally reached North America on April 20, 2004. This album was also the first album to feature guitarist Phil Demmel, who would stay with the band until his departure in 2018.
Vio-lence is an American thrash metal band formed in 1985 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Throughout its existence, they released demo tapes, one EP and three studio albums. Vio-lence is best-known for their association with the 1980s Bay Area thrash metal scene, and often credited as one of the leading lights of the second wave of the genre, along with Pantera, Sepultura, Sacred Reich, Dark Angel, Annihilator and Flotsam and Jetsam as well as their Bay Area counterparts Testament, Death Angel and Forbidden. The band has also been referred to as one of the so-called "Big Six of Bay Area thrash metal", alongside Exodus, Testament, Death Angel, Lååz Rockit and Forbidden.
Robert ConradFlynn is an American musician who is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for heavy metal band Machine Head. Flynn formed the band along with Adam Duce, Logan Mader and Tony Costanza after leaving Bay Area thrash band Vio-lence.
The Burning Red is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Machine Head. It is the band's second best selling album in the US, selling as many copies in three years as their debut album, Burn My Eyes, sold in almost eight years (1994–2002). The album has sold over 134,000 copies in the US and it was certified silver in 2011 by the BPI for sales of 60,000 in the UK. The Burning Red was Machine Head's first album with guitarist Ahrue Luster, as well as their first venture into nu metal.
Supercharger is the fourth album by the heavy metal band Machine Head. The release was ill-timed, and, as a result of little promotion, fell far short of the success of The Burning Red, which has sold about 134,000 copies in the US to date. Supercharger has sold about 45,000 copies in the US to date, making it a commercial failure. It is the band's last release to feature lead guitarist Ahrue Luster.
Eternal Nightmare is the debut album by the San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band Vio-lence. It was released on June 27, 1988 through MCA Records' Mechanic sublabel. A limited 10" promo single was released, with two tracks "Eternal Nightmare" and "Phobophobia"; the release was quite unique, as it came in a sealed plastic cover, containing (fake) vomit. Shortly after, thrash metal innovators Slayer released a single in a similar format but with fake blood, and rock band The Revolting Cocks released a single with fake semen.
Ahrue Ilustre, commonly known as Ahrue Luster, is an American heavy metal guitarist. He is a current guitarist of American heavy metal band Lions at the Gate, and was the lead guitarist for the heavy metal band Ill Niño. He is also a former guitarist for Machine Head, as well as Manmade God and a Bay Area thrash metal act called The Horde of Torment who were originally called "Pestilence" but had to change their name because another Pestilence had signed to Roadrunner Records.
"Days Turn Blue to Gray" is a song by American heavy metal band Machine Head from the album Through the Ashes of Empires. It was released as a single in 2004.
Oppressing the Masses is the second album by San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band Vio-lence. It was originally released in July 13, 1990 via Megaforce Records. The original print (20,000) contained the song "Torture Tactics" but all copies were destroyed because of Atlantic Records' objection to the lyrical content. However, that song can be found on the Japanese version of the album. The re-release version contains the tracks from Torture Tactics EP.
The Blackening is the sixth album by American heavy metal band Machine Head. Released on March 27, 2007, in the United States, The Blackening sold 16,000 units in its first week, and became Machine Head's third highest charting release at number 54 on the Billboard 200, and charted in the Top 20 throughout many countries in the rest of the world. The Blackening has been certified silver by the BPI for sales in the UK in excess of 60,000 copies.
"Aesthetics of Hate" is a song by American heavy metal band Machine Head from their sixth studio album, The Blackening. Written by vocalist and guitarist Robb Flynn, the song is a retaliation to an article written by William Grim. Grim wrote that late guitarist Dimebag Darrell was "an ignorant, barbaric, untalented possessor of a guitar", among other comments, which angered Flynn deeply enough to write the song. "Aesthetics of Hate" was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards.
Nothing to Gain is the third and most recent full-length studio album by San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band Vio-lence. The album was recorded in August 1990 but was not released until 1993, and is the last to feature guitarist Robb Flynn and bassist Deen Dell. This was also their last work as a band to contain new material for 29 years, until the release of Let the World Burn in March 2022. Nothing to Gain was re-released in 1997 with a different cover.
Phil Demmel is an American musician who played lead guitar in the heavy metal band Machine Head between 2002 and 2018, making him their longest running member in that position. He has also performed in other bands such as Vio-lence, Torque Metal Allegiance and BPMD, and briefly played with Slayer, Nonpoint, Overkill and Lamb of God as a fill-in guitarist.
Machine Fucking Head Live is the third live album from the American heavy metal band Machine Head. And it is the final release to include bassist Adam Duce who was fired, due to ongoing differences on February 11, 2013. The album was released on November 13, 2012, under Roadrunner Records. It was recorded at Central, Manchester on December 6, 2011. "The Head Cases [Machine Head's nickname for their fans] have been so intense on this tour cycle that we had to start capturing the shows, especially with technology making it so much easier to record," said frontman Robb Flynn. "We culled some of the best nights where the band and crowd were on fire and made a badass, nearly two-hour, double live album, which is a great documentation of where the band is at, 18 years deep."
"Darkness Within" is a single by American heavy metal band Machine Head. The track is taken from the 2011 album Unto the Locust. It peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, the band's first entry on the chart and highest position on the chart.
Bloodstone & Diamonds is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Machine Head, released via Nuclear Blast on November 7, 2014. It is the first album to feature Jared MacEachern who replaced founding bassist Adam Duce in 2013. Although the album does not have a title track, the album gets its name from a lyric from the opening track and second single, "Now We Die".
Catharsis is the ninth studio album by American heavy metal band Machine Head, released on January 26, 2018. The album is the first to be credited as completely co-written by all of the band's members since The More Things Change... (1997). Catharsis saw the band stylistically returning to the nu metal-inspired sound of their previous albums The Burning Red (1999) and Supercharger (2001). Catharsis is the final Machine Head studio album to feature drummer Dave McClain and guitarist Phil Demmel, who both left the band in late September 2018 over their dislike with the album's direction and conflicts with Robb Flynn.
Let the World Burn is an EP by the American thrash metal band Vio-Lence, released on March 4, 2022, by Metal Blade Records. It is the band's first material of any kind since their initial disbandment in 1994, and their first EP since Torture Tactics (1991). The EP is also Vio-lence's first studio recording to feature a different lineup, with bassist Christian Olde Wolbers and rhythm guitarist Bobby Gustafson replacing Deen Dell and Robb Flynn respectively, and three-fifths of the Eternal Nightmare lineup – lead guitarist Phil Demmel, vocalist Sean Killian and drummer Perry Strickland – remaining. This is also the only recording to feature Gustafson, whom the band parted ways with in 2022.
Of Kingdom and Crown is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Machine Head, released on August 26, 2022, through Nuclear Blast and Imperium Recordings. It is the band's first album to feature guitarist Wacław Kiełtyka, who joined the band in late 2019. Matt Alston, who joined the band at the same time, does not play on the album; instead, drum duties are handled by Navene Koperweis, who acted as a session drummer for the album. The band's first concept album, Of Kingdom and Crown is set in a futuristic wasteland and revolves around two characters, Ares and Eros, who both go on their own respective killing sprees following the death of their loved ones.
