Polish Guitarist VOGG Explains How He Manages To Split His Time Between MACHINE HEAD And DECAPITATED

Polish guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED),who joined MACHINE HEAD's lineup prior to the launch of the band's "Burn My Eyes" 25th-anniversary tour in late 2019, spoke to Oran O'Beirne of Bloodstock TV about how he manages to split his time between the two outfits. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm the guitar player of MACHINE HEAD officially. I'm waiting for the plans, for a tour. There's nothing yet announced for MACHINE HEAD — talking about the next U.S. or European or whatever, about the tours."

He continued: "Well, we inform each other about the plans. If there is something on the way with DECAPITATED, I just tell it to Robb [Flynn, MACHINE HEAD frontman]. And if they have any plans, Robb or Joseph [Huston], the manager of MACHINE HEAD, he's sending me plans, and I'm, like, 'Yeah, let's do it.' So we're trying to deal with the situation all the time. And, of course, if there is the situation that, for example, DECAP announced a tour and then there's some kind of single festival with MACHINE HEAD, then Robb is really cool with the situation that he understands I have DECAPITATED, and if I need to have a replacement for one or two shows, then there's no problem. We deal with that this way; that's the solution for us in this situation."

Vogg added: "The MACHINE HEAD guys and Robb and all [of the] team of MACHINE HEAD, they're treating me so well in this case. They understand about that DECAPITATED is my band, it's my child, so there's no problem if I can't [do] one or two shows. There was a few shows that Reece [Alan Scruggs] from HAVOK replaced me. It's really cool. I love the way he's playing the songs. He's a great guitar player. He's a great replacement."

As for how he goes about deciding which musical ideas to use in DECAPITATED and which to give away to MACHINE HEAD, Vogg said: "I have to say that Robb is the main composer in MACHINE HEAD. He's making 95 percent or 98 percent of the riffs. For the last record ['Of Kingdom And Crown', which came out last August via Nuclear Blast/Imperium Recordings], I delivered ideas for two songs, and I recorded my solo parts for, like, six songs. So, yeah, it was like that. If I have some kind of idea for the riffs that I don't know actually how to use it for DECAPITATED and for me it sounds more familiar for MACHINE HEAD style, then I just send it to Robb [and I say], 'Hey, Robb, I have this riff. I have this idea. Tell me what you think. If you like it, use it. Do something with that. If you don't, then… you know, whatever.'"

Back in November 2019, Flynn said that Vogg's audition for MACHINE HEAD "just fucking blew" his "mind — it was so fucking tight and fucking accurate," Robb said. "He sent over [a recording of] 'Imperium' as his first song just as a test. We always had all the dudes do a sound test, just to make sure the levels are good and stuff. I was, like, 'Oh my God! This dude is playing 'Imperium' better than I can right now.' [Laughs] It was crazy. And we ended up talking. Super-nice guy."

In May 2021, Vogg told Finland's Kaaos TV that his addition to MACHINE HEAD's touring lineup was "a big surprise" for him, because he "didn't plan" to play with the band. "It kind of accidentally happened," he said.

"In 2019, when we started the summer festivals with DECAPITATED, I sent an e-mail to Robb Flynn about congratulations, because I heard about the upcoming 'Burn My Eyes' tour," he explained. "Because I'm still a huge fan of the first album, I just wanted to share my happiness about that with Robb. So I sent a message to him. And he replied, saying, 'Thanks, man.' And, 'Maybe you can play with us one song as a guest in Warsaw,' because they planned a Warsaw show. So we started to talk. And then it became a serious talking about the guitar player they were looking for, and I was sending my proposition that maybe I can help with that. So I did an audition. They sent me song requests for the audition, so I did it. And in a few days, I became a new guitar player of MACHINE HEAD. It was really fast. Because I didn't hear about that they were looking for a guitar player. I heard about Phil Demmel, the issues with Phil and the rest of the guys; they quit the band before. But I thought that the 'Burn My Eyes' anniversary tour was only the 'Burn My Eyes' lineup, and then I found out that it's also a second lineup to play [the other] songs. So, it was cool. It was [such] a positive shock for me."

Vogg went on to say that he was "so happy" to have been part of the "Burn My Eyes" anniversary tour "because I'm a huge fan of MACHINE HEAD since I was a kid. And to have the opportunity to go with them as a guitar player on tour which celebrates my favorite [MACHINE HEAD] album, which is probably one of my [favorite] ten albums ever, it was unbelievable," he said. "And it was such a great experience for me seeing a really big band on tour and seeing the pre-production process and traveling with all this huge crew and a few buses and trucks and all this equipment. It was really something new for me. Even [though] I'm an experienced musician, I had a big lesson from those guys and from the crew. It was such a great experience. It was such a great feeling being on stage in front of thousands of people every night. And then, after I finished my set, which includes the best songs from MACHINE HEAD — it takes two hours — then I go to change my clothes and come back to the side of the stage to see 'Burn My Eyes', the whole album, played by the original lineup. It was amazing. I have to say it was one of the best life experiences I had."

The follow-up to 2018's "Catharsis", "Of Kingdom And Crown" includes the three songs that were featured on 2021's "Arrows In Words From The Sky" single: "Become The Firestorm", "Rotten" and "Arrows In Words From The Sky". Much of the new MACHINE HEAD album was recorded at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California with engineer/producer Zack Ohren.

In November 2020, MACHINE HEAD released a single, "My Hands Are Empty", via Nuclear Blast. The song marked the first musical collaboration between Flynn and original "Burn My Eyes" guitarist Logan Mader in 24 years.

"My Hands Are Empty" was just one in a line of singles to be released by MACHINE HEAD, which issued "Do Or Die" in October 2019, "Circle The Drain" in February 2020, and the two-song digital single "Civil Unrest", consisting of "Stop The Bleeding" and "Bulletproof", in June 2020. "Stop The Bleeding" featured guest vocals from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE frontman Jesse Leach, and was written and recorded just days after the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.