ROBB FLYNN Says New MACHINE HEAD Songs Are 'Pissed Off As F**k'

In a new interview with Terry "Beez" Bezer of Knotfest.com's "Mosh Talks With Beez", MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn spoke about how the U.S. anti-racist protests and the coronavirus crisis have affected his creativity. He said (see video below): "I walk around in a fury all day. I walk around in a fucking rage all day, and the lyrics that I write, and the music that I've been writing, all of it is very reflective of that. And even if the music isn't super thrash or whatever you wanna call it, the lyrics are pissed off as fuck.

"As you get older in a band, the best option is to just shut your mouth and make middle-of-the-road statements that don't really offend anybody and not really take a stand on anything as opposed to when you're young and full of piss and vinegar and you don't give a fuck," he continued. "I think it becomes the logical choice, because why rock the boat? It's like what happens to you when you become old — people tend to become more conservative; they don't wanna do things that might offend people.

"I'm definitely nowhere near the middle of the road right now," he added. "I am just in a whole other place. And I'm sure I'll lose fans because of it, at least for a little while. I think they'll come back, and if they don't, then thanks for listening for the time you did. But this is what I've gotta say, and this is where we have to go, and this is the place that MACHINE HEAD is at."

Asked if new MACHINE HEAD touring guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED) has contributed to the songwriting process for the band's new material, Flynn said: "I've co-written some stuff with Logan [Mader, guitar], and I'd love to write with Vogg too. We're just kind of hammering out whatever we need to do. But Vogg did play a solo on one of the new songs that we're gonna be dropping pretty soon here. And, yeah, it's angry, and I'm stoked about the direction that it's going. It's heavy. It's modern MACHINE HEAD. I would say it's familiar to the last 10 years. It's not 'Burn My Eyes'; it's still some other thing."

According to Flynn, there is no pressure for MACHINE HEAD to release a full-length album anytime soon. "I'm all about dropping singles right now," he said. "I think an album will definitely show up, and some of these songs may end up on that album, but, to me, it's all about just a constant stream of music dropping all the time.

"We're pretty slow with albums — it's already been two and a half years since our last album [2018's 'Catharsis'] — so I just don't wanna wait another year to get music out. The music's here, the music's done; a lot of the lyrics that I've written are very much now, and they need to be heard now, in this moment.

"I do a podcast, and I can record a podcast and have it up an hour later. That's fucking crazy to me. I can finish a song and have it up six hours later on all the fucking digital service providers," he said. "That's fucking amazing. Never in history have we been able to do something like that. And we need to do more of that, especially with songs that are written about this moment and these times. It's important to put 'em out now, not a year and a half from now."

Asked if MACHINE HEAD fans can expect to new music from the band soon, Robb said: "Very soon. Sooner than you think."

This past February, MACHINE HEAD released a new standalone single called "Circle The Drain". It was the first new MACHINE HEAD song since "Do Or Die", which came out last October and was described by some fans and media outlets as a "diss" track aimed at MACHINE HEAD's detractors, in particular those who have been critical of the band's last album, the aforementioned "Catharsis".

Flynn is the sole remaining original member of MACHINE HEAD, which formed in 1991 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The group recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of its debut album, "Burn My Eyes", by performing the LP in its entirety on European and North American tours, with former members Chris Kontos (drums) and Logan Mader (guitar) temporarily rejoining the band.

Each show on MACHINE HEAD's "Burn My Eyes" 25th-anniversary tour consisted of two parts: part one saw Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern performing alongside new recruits, Vogg and British drummer Matt Alston (DEVILMENT, EASTERN FRONT); while part two featured "Burn My Eyes" played in its entirety for the first time ever, with Kontos and Mader joining in.