MACHINE HEAD // Heavy Metal Stalwarts Announce Unexpected Split

In a shocking and unexpected announcement, Machine Head revealed today the split of the metal monoliths after 27 years.

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The announcement comes after guitarist Phil Demmel and drummer Dave McClain, members of the band for 15 and 23 years respectively, quit the band in recent days. In a video posted to the bands Facebook page, frontman Robb Flynn made a candid statement beginning, “I’ll get right to the point …

“We have grown apart as people. Musically, we’ve grown apart. I have held on too tight to members of the band and I have suffocated those guys.

“I’ve got some rough edges, I’m kind of a barnacle. Those rough edges have given us the success we’ve had but they’ve also hurt the people around me. I’ve got a lot of drive, but I’ve got a lot of anger and rage. That drive of mine has alienated folks and the band.”

Flynn continues in his video asking fans to respect Demmel and McClain’s decision, stating he is honoured and grateful for their contribution to Machine Head, calling that contribution a lot, discussing each musician’s creative contribution to the Machine Head story.

The remaining North American An Evening With … tour dates have now been dubbed the band’s farewell tour, Flynn saying in his video statement, “We’ve all agreed to make this a celebration of our music and of the band.”

In July of this year, Machine Head toured Australia in support of their latest album, Catharsis, and were well-received, playing ear-splittingly great shows as always. In an interview with Hysteria ahead of that tour, Flynn had seemed confident about the band and the impact they have had on music, saying, “I absolutely know what Machine Head still is.

I absolutely know what Machine Head still is.
[ROBB]

“I think for a long time, especially in the beginning, we didn’t fit in with anything that was going on. Nobody knew where to put us. We were taking metal, and hip hop, and goth, and hardcore and it shouldn’t have worked on paper but it somehow did.”