MACHINE HEAD Bassist: 'METALLICA Is A Phenomenon'

Art Scenics recently conducted an interview with bassist Adam Duce of San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD. You can now watch the chat below.

When asked about MACHINE HEAD's former touring mates METALLICA, Duce said, "METALLICA is a phenomenon. So many things have lined up perfectly for those guys, and it just exploded. They are so many miles beyond the closest one in the pack. There's METALLICA way out here and then there's everybody else way back here. We're way back here with everybody else. [Laughs] And they've been pretty bulletproof up until now. They could do whatever they wanted to and it was gonna sell because it had METALLICA's name on it, because METALLICA has consistently put out outstanding quality.

"I'm not a fan of the 'Lulu' thing [referring to METALLICA's collaborative album with Lou Reed. — Ed.], but what I can say about it is that [METALLICA] do whatever they want, and they don't care what you think about it, and I think that's awesome. [Laughs]"

MACHINE HEAD's new album, "Unto The Locust", sold more than 17,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 22 on The Billboard 200 chart — putting MACHINE HEAD in the Top 25 for the first time in the band's 17-year history.

MACHINE HEAD has consistently averaged more than 100,000 copies sold in the U.S. for each of its seven albums and has shifted double that overseas (accruing several silver records in the U.K.),resulting in cumulative worldwide sales of more than 2.4 million.

MACHINE HEAD's previous CD, "The Blackening", opened with just under 15,000 units back in April 2007 to debut at No. 54 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's 2004 effort, "Through The Ashes Of Empires", premiered with less than 12,000 copies to land at No. 88.

MACHINE HEAD will embark on a North American headlining tour in January/February with support from SUICIDE SILENCE and DARKEST HOUR.

Interview:

MACHINE HEAD North American tour trailer: