MACHINE HEAD Drummer Slams Former Guitarist Over 'Dictatorship' Comment

September 11, 2003

MACHINE HEAD drummer Dave McClain has responded to the comments made by his former bandmate, guitarist Ahrue Luster (currently in ILL NINO),regarding the decision-making process in Luster's previous group.

Speaking to Metal Hammer magazine for its current issue, Luster said, "I've known [the ILL NINO] guys a long time. MACHINE HEAD did two tours with them, and I actually had more fun hanging out with them than any other band I've toured with. I feel more comfortable now than I did being MACHINE HEAD for a year. ILL NINO's more of a group effort where everybody puts in. MACHINE HEAD was kind of like a third-world democracy — where it's actually a Robb Flynn dictatorship."

In a posting to MACHINE HEAD's official forum, McClain addressed Ahrue's remarks, saying, "Is this the same Ahrue that called me a month ago asking me if I thought it would be cool for him to call [MACHINE HEAD guitarist/vocalist] Robb [Flynn] & [bassist] Adam [Duce] 'cause he didn't want there to be any bad feelings? Fact: Ahrue usually got out voted on most stuff 3 to 1, yes we do vote on things! Fact: When it came time to talk about writing for the new album, Ahrue wanted it to be about 50% mellower stuff. Ahrue is wishy-washy at best, I mean come on, one minute he's making a supergroup Then he joins a Sacramento band and has to get a 'real' job. Needless to say, ILL NINO is the best thing that could've happened for him. That's just fuckin lame to say one thing in front of me about him not wanting any bad feelings between everyone and then going and saying this stupid bullshit!"

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).