Machine Head

Machine Head formed in Oakland, California, in 1991, when vocalist and guitarist Robb Flynn left Bay Area thrash act Vio-lence to build something heavier and more rhythmically driven. With bassist Adam Duce, guitarist Logan Mader and drummer Tony Costanza, the band signed to Roadrunner and delivered Burn My Eyes in August 1994. Built on down-tuned, percussive riffing and Flynn's raw shouted delivery, it shipped close to 400,000 copies and became the label's best-selling debut to that point. "Davidian" and "Old" turned the band into standard-bearers for a heavier, groove-driven American metal later labelled the new wave of American heavy metal. After The More Things Change... (1997), the band took a commercially motivated detour. The Burning Red (1999), produced by Ross Robinson, and Supercharger (2001) leaned into nu metal, with rapped vocals and stripped-down arrangements. They sold, but the cost was high: much of the original fan base walked away and the band's credibility collapsed. Through the Ashes of Empires (2003) began the repair work and The Blackening (2007) completed it — an ambitious, thrash-rooted record of long, intricate songs widely called one of the finest metal albums of its era, winner of a Golden Gods award and a Grammy nominee. Unto the Locust (2011) and Bloodstone & Diamonds (2014) held the standard; Catharsis (2018) divided opinion. That year guitarist Phil Demmel and drummer Dave McClain both left, and Flynn rebuilt the group. Of Kingdom and Crown (2022) and UNATØNED (2025) showed a band still very much alive. More than three decades on, with Flynn the sole constant member, Machine Head remains one of modern metal's most durable headline acts.