MACHINE HEAD‘s Robb Flynn and Jared MacEachern held the latest “Electric Happy Hour” on Friday, August 5 during which they performed the band’s debut album, 1994’s “Burn My Eyes”, in its entirety to mark the LP’s 28th birthday. They were joined for the celebration by original “Burn My Eyes” drummer Chris Kontos. In addition to all of the beer drinking, banter and merriment, they also performed a healthy selection of their favorite cover songs like SLAYER‘s “Black Magic”, METALLICA‘s “Motorbreath”, SEPULTURA‘s “Territory” and EXODUS‘s “A Lesson in Violence”.
Released worldwide on August 9, 1994, “Burn My Eyes” was and still is considered to be one of the most important albums of its genre, garnering the band an unprecedented level of recognition and spawning a myriad of imitators — all from just MACHINE HEAD‘s first record.
In 2019, Flynn, Kontos and “Burn My Eyes” guitarist Logan Mader reunited — along with MacEachern — to celebrate the LP’s 25th anniversary on tours in Europe and the U.S.
Asked by Metal Hammer if it bothers him that some fans still regard “Burn My Eyes” as MACHINE HEAD‘s best album, Flynn said: “No. The clincher for me, and this rarely happens, is when someone says, ‘You should write ‘Burn My Eyes’ again,’ but it’d be so phony! I’m not 24, fuckin’ running around on the streets. It was real and that’s why it came out the way it did. If I tried to do it now, it wouldn’t be real. Those times made me who I am and affected me forever and I’m fearless because of them, but I’d like to think that I’ve aged gracefully and I hope to continue to do that. How dumb would it be for some [50]-something dude to be acting like some teenage gangster? It’d be ridiculous.”
Kontos left MACHINE HEAD before the release of the band’s second album, 1997’s “The More Things Change”, and was replaced by Dave McClain.
McClain and guitarist Phil Demmel exited MACHINE HEAD in the fall of 2018.
Adam Duce, who played bass on “Burn My Eyes”, was fired from MACHINE HEAD in February 2013. He was replaced four months later by MacEachern. Adam later sued MACHINE HEAD, claiming that the other bandmembers “simply kicked him out of the band and presumed he would forget about over two decades of hard work, dedication, and effort” he put into the group. Duce also said his likeness was used on the band’s web site and in promotions without his authorization. The lawsuit was settled out of court in July 2014.
MACHINE HEAD will release its tenth studio album, “Of Kingdom And Crown”, on August 26 via Nuclear Blast/Imperium Recordings.
The band’s current lineup is rounded out by Polish guitarist Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED) and British drummer Matt Alston (DEVILMENT, EASTERN FRONT).
