Formed: 1993
From:
San Francisco,
CA,
United States
Last Known Status: Active
Background
Machine Head burst onto the 90's metal scene serving up 80's style thrash with a contemporary sound that some would even venture to call nu-metal. With former Vio-lence bandmember Rob Flynn handling guitars and vocals, Logan Mader on lead guitars, Adam Duce on bass and Chris Kontos on drums, the band released 'Burn My Eyes' to much critical acclaim. The album became a landmark release for the band and that decade in metal.
Machine Head's lineup would see a few members come and go, and eventually Vio-lence's Phil Demmel would end up back with bandmate Rob Flynn after filling in on guitar on tour for a while.
The band followed up 'Burn My Eyes' with solid sophomore release of 'The More Things Change'. 'The Burning Red', the band's third release, took on a decidely more nu-metal feel. Their fourth release, 'Supercharger', took it a step further, seemingly trying to make that sound more accessible to the masses with Rob singing on certain songs and the overall tempo slower and less heavy than previous releases.
In 2002, the band split with US label Roadrunner Records. Eventually, Machine Head and Roadrunner US worked out their differences and 'Through The Ashes of Empires' was released in the US in 2004, almost 6 months after the European release. The album still charted at #88 on Billboard's albums chart, moving more than 11,000 copies in its first week. While not neccessarily a return to form per se, TTAOE had a much heavier and aggessive sound, while still incorporating many elements of the band's sound as it had evolved over the years.
Below is a summary of Machine Head coverage and information on Metal Underground.com.