Archive News Mar 23, 2001 - update 2

MACHINE HEAD have completed all the drums for their upcoming Supercharger effort and are presently laying down bass tracks at Mad Dog Studios in Los Angeles with producer Johnny K (DISTURBED, SOIL, NO ONE). According to guitarist/vocalist Robert Flynn, the recordings are coming along amazingly well, with drummer Dave McClain's performance on the album being described as nothing short of “phenomenal”. Whereas producer Ross Robinson's overbearing, in-your-face approach worked well in the context of the group's last offering, 1999's The Burning Red, Johnny K's more laid-back, easy-going style appears to have inspired the skinsman to come up with some of the strongest ideas he's ever laid down on tape, and according to Flynn, it has enabled the whole band to be much more focused on the recording process than was the case last time around.

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MACHINE HEAD will spend a few more days at Mad Dog finishing up the bass tracks before moving over to Indigo Ranch Studios in Malibu, California to record vocals and guitars. At this time, it appears almost certain that several of the tracks that were demoed for the album will end up getting scrapped or being used as B-side material, with “Little Pig”, “Once You See” and “Rat Race” the most likely candidates to be left off the album's final running order. On the other hand, the projected title track and the last song that the band wrote before entering the studio (and one that consequently didn't make it onto the group's 17-song pre-production demo) has turned out “absolutely sick”, according to the guitarist/vocalist, and by all accounts, will end up being one of the most aggressive, “to-the-point” cuts on the CD.

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Other songs that are all but certain to make it onto the finished album are:

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“Bulldozer”&nbsp

The projected album opener and one of several tracks the band premiered during their West Coast mini-tour last November, this one takes a few sharp twists and turns along the way, but generally cruises along at a quicker pace than anything on The Burning Red, with an all-out aggressive chorus that is sure to go down a storm in a live situation. And as an added bonus, the band throw in a “Davidian”-style heavy breakdown part at the end that comes about as close to Burn My Eyes' primitive brutality as one can get without rehashing it.

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“White Knuckle Blackout”

Another track that was previewed at the aforementioned gigs, this mid-paced number revolves around an infectiously catchy main riff that embeds itself in the listener's brain even before the song's powerful, crushingly-heavy chorus kicks in.

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“Deafening Silence”

One of the most “different” of the new tracks, this one can best be described as a MACHINE HEAD-style “power ballad”, a dark, emotionally-charged epic that allows Flynn's passionately melodic vocals to shine through in a most convincing fashion.

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“All In Your Head”

A distant cousin to The Burning Red's “From This Day”, this song starts out with a SLAYER-esque slow riff and kicks into a heavy groove section under Flynn's rapping-style vocals before climaxing with one of the most memorable, melodic choruses on the album. A soon-to-be MACHINE HEAD classic.

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“Kick You When You're Down”

An up-tempo crusher with a “notey” main riff that is somewhat reminiscent of VIO-LENCE (Flynn's pre-MACHINE HEAD outfit),but with a totally unconventional, laid-back “singing” chorus and a brutally heavy final section that is as powerful as anything the band have ever done.

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“American High”

Featuring one of the most memorable riffs the band have written, this is yet another up-tempo number with a super-catchy chorus that is guaranteed to turn into a live favorite. As with “Bulldozer”, “Supercharger” and “Kick You When You're Down”, this one moves at a quicker pace than most of The Burning Red, but without losing any of the dynamics or taking away from Flynn's much-improved vocal performance, which has grown leaps-and-bounds since the band's earliest days.

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“Crashing Around You”

Possibly the most “radio-friendly” song on the offer, this one revolves around a simple, straight-forward drum beat and an extremely catchy chorus that is about as close to a “single” cut that MACHINE HEAD are ever likely to write.

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At this time, MACHINE HEAD have not yet chosen a mixer for Supercharger, but are said to be considering several well-known names for the sessions, which are likely to take place sometime in May. Supercharger is tentatively scheduled for release during September.

After months of rumors and misleading press statements, C.O.C. have officially parted ways with drummer Reed Mullin. According to guitarist Woody Weatherman, Reed “has decided to separate himself from (bassist) Mike (Dean),(guitarist/vocalist) Pepper (Keenan) and myself and pursue a different musical direction” with BROWN, a band that he plays guitar and sings for (see previous news stories for more information on BROWN). In other C.O.C. news, the band will be recording various live shows during April for inclusion on a live album that the group are planning on releasing later in the year. Furthermore, C.O.C.'s show in Detroit on April 20th will be filmed for the live footage part of the group's new DVD/video that will be coming out during the summer. As was the case during the band's last tour, all of the C.O.C.'s upcoming live shows—including the gigs to be recorded—will feature EYEHATEGOD guitarist / DOWN drummer Jimmy Bower behind the drum kit. Plans also exist for the group to head over to Europe for some live shows later this spring.

According to Allstar, SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor was harassed by security at Detroit's Metropolitan Airport on Wednesday, March 22 evening for wearing a 'Fuck Me I'm Famous' T-shirt during a layover en route to the band's home base of Des Moines, Iowa.

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'We were stuck with this fucking vicious three-hour layover and our gate was four miles from the nearest place to have a cigarette,' explained Taylor. 'So we were walking back and forth in the Detroit airport and we must have done it five times and not got hassled once. All of the sudden, this security lady comes out of nowhere. And I'm sketched out. I've been up all night. I'm hung over. I haven't had any fucking sleep at all. I'm in vicious mode.

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'She runs up to me and says, 'Turn that shirt inside out or take it off,'' he continued. ''There are kids here.' I didn't even say a fucking word. I just kept walking. And she's like, 'Did you hear me?' 'Do you speak English?' And I looked at her and said, 'Are you fucking racist? What kind of a question is that?' And she said, 'Turn it inside out or take it off. There are kids here.' And I said, 'Yeah, kids that can't read the fucking thing in the first place.' And she was like, 'Well, there are women here too.' And I was like, 'Yeah, and they are probably laughing there fucking asses off about it. Chill out.'

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'So my friend was like, 'Freedom of speech, lady! Freedom of speech!' continues Taylor. 'And she's like, 'Not in a public place.' And I was like, 'Oh that's right… we have a layover in Germany!' So we go back to the gate and all of the sudden we see all these security people flying all over the place, just losing their fucking minds and we were sitting right there.

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'I don't know how the fuck they missed us. Finally, they started calling our flight and they looked right at us and I just ripped open my jacket and went, '[laughs hysterically] Ha! Ha!' and ran on the plane. Long story short, don't hire morons to do fucking security. She was probably a detention monitor when she was younger but good God. Have a Cinnabon and calm the fuck down. Everyone in the world can kiss my ass because I'm going to wear my fucking T-shirt whether you like it or not.'

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Commenting on SLIPKNOT's as-yet-untitled new record, tentatively due June 19 on I Am / Roadrunner Records, Taylor stated, 'This album is basically saying to someone, 'Here. Sit down in this chair. Make yourself comfortable because I'm about to punch you as hard as I can in the fucking face.' This album is uncaged, uncensored, unbridled —we don't care—we're gonna destroy you and there's nothing you can fucking do about it.'

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SLIPKNOT will be appearing at this summer's Ozzfest tour, beginning June 8 in Chicago.

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