Chris Kontos

Chris Kontos — born in the United States in 1963 — was the drummer of the line-up that recorded Burn My Eyes (1994), Machine Head's debut and one of the founding documents of groove metal. His contribution on that album is structural. Machine Head does not work through speed: the riffs are mid-tempo, in low tuning, and the weight comes from rhythmic displacement — accents falling off the expected beat, creating a sense of drag rather than drive. The drums are what establish that logic, and Kontos plays with a dry attack and exact marking, leaving spaces that make each following stroke sound heavier. It is the opposite of what Bay Area thrash — where Robb Flynn came from — had practised for a decade. That repertoire depended on constant speed; this one depends on restraint. Burn My Eyes became one of the biggest debut successes in 1990s metal, and Kontos left the band shortly after its release, having taken part in that record alone. He remained active in other projects of the Californian scene.