The Machine Head "Split" - What the Band Needs, Or the Beginning of the End?

So at the end of last month, Robb Flynn revealed that longtime members of Machine Head Dave McClain and Phil Demmel were to leave the band after the coming tour. The reasons for the split weren’t fully disclosed, but what is clear is that aside from Jared MacEachearn, Robb has to completely rebuild the band he has fronted since 1992. After such a lacklustre album in Catharsis (read my review here), could this shake-up be just what Machine Head needs to re-invent itself, or is this the beginning of the end for the groove metal giants?

Let’s start with Dave, shall we? After earning his striped in Sacred Reich, he joined Machine Head in 1995 after Chris Kontos and Tony Costanza had filled the role in the 3 years previously. He had been with the band through all their lineup and stylistic changes; from Logan Mader and Ahrue Luster’s departures and the “nu-metal” era of the band, to the “classic” era of the band that released Through the Ashes of Empires and The Blackening. While he was hardly one of the most aggressive or most technical drummers in the world (it wasn’t until Unto the Locust that he started including blastbeats, for example), his groove and songwriting input were vital to the band’s renaissance in the mid-2000s, penning tracks such as “Darkness Within” for good measure. His input will be sorely missed in that regard.

Nevertheless, some bands have a habit of going through drummers like other people go through tissues. This is not a sleight on the importance of drummers, because a good drummer can easily become the foundation of a good band, and great drummers are really hard to find. But a band of the calibre of Machine Head should be able to attract a lot of potential suitors who could open a whole new dimension to the band.

Now we’ll look at Phil Demmel. The signs that something wasn’t right with Phil first emerged during the summer, when MetalSucks reported that Demmel claimed he wasn’t allowed to do PR for the band or speak to journalists. It was a clue that he wasn’t entirely happy with the band, and fans’ suspicions were confirmed with Robb’s announcement in September. Demmel’s importance in the band was palpable though, with him joining in 2003 during the sessions for Through the Ashes of Empires. Machine Head were at a low point at that time, too, having been dropped by Roadrunner Records in the US due to lacklustre sales of Supercharger which also saw Ahrue Luster leave the band to join Ill Niño. Demmel’s arrival re-energized (or, you could say, Supercharged) the band once again and led to 3 prolific albums since. But after Adam Duce’s departure the guys failed to recapture that energy.

I think Demmel will be a lot harder to replace, as he had a long lasting chemistry with Robb Flynn that stretched back all the way to the 80s, when the two were in Bay Area thrash band Vio-Lence. His playing opened up all sorts of new avenues for the band to explore, and finding another lead guitarist that can match his playing and songwriting ability will be a big challenge, especially if they can’t find the sort of chemistry with Robb that made the past 15 years so successful.

The question now, though, is this: can Machine Head survive this, and if so, will the new lineup work? To find out, we should look at other bands who have experienced major lineup upheavals in the past. To start with, let’s look at Soulfly. The brainchild of Max Cavalera has experienced a series of lineup changes right from its inception, with Lucio Maia leaving shortly after the completion of their debut album. Considering Max has always been the creative force of the band, he’s always been able to find replacements, even after his previously settled lineup of Marc Rizzo, Bobby Burns and Joe Nunez got shaken up in 2011, and again when replacement drummer and bassist Dave Kinkade and Tony Campos left within a few years. Their new album, Ritual, just dropped and shows that Max is living proof that if you can keep churning out the music, you can survive huge lineup changes. That could bode well for Robb and Jared in the new era of Machine Head.

On the other hand, though, you could look at bands like The HAARP Machine, The Faceless and Abigail Williams to see that lineup changes aren’t always helpful if the sole constant member can’t find new members he can work with. These three bands have created an unpleasant reputation for endless lineup changes that have greatly disrupted their progress – The HAARP Machine went from being potential big-hitters in the then growing djent scene to being just another also-ran within months due to internal conflicts and their inability to keep a lineup together. Robb Flynn seems aware that he was at fault for Phil and Dave leaving, but whether or not he can change himself to ensure this doesn’t happen again is another story.

Only time will tell if Machine Head can bounce back from this. If Robb can find new musicians he can consistently work with, or ensure he retains the gravitas to push through regardless like Max Cavalera can, then we could see the band continue for a while, hopefully with a return to form following. But, if he can’t fix his own issues or find musicians who can match the standard set by their predecessors, then the next few years can be quite turbulent, or even fatal, for Machine Head’s future.

Machine Head are currently touring North America in support of Catharsis. It will be the final tour to feature the current lineup.