WHEN MACHINE HEAD released their ninth album, Catharsis, in 2018, it’s fair to say the reaction from fans was pretty brutal. Then, long-standing members Dave McClain and Phil Demmel quit. You could have forgiven Robb Flynn for picking up his ball and going home, but instead he rallied, toured, and is back with a refreshed line-up and a rager of an album in Of Kingdom And Crown. Oh, and did we mention it’s the band’s first concept record?
Our Dom Lawson sat down with the man himself to get the inside scoop on everything you need to know about Machine Head’s ambitious new chapter. And when they hit the UK with Amon Amarth in September for the epically named Vikings And Lionhearts tour, we’re expecting it to be very special indeed.
Talking of epics, we’re still recovering from the twopart finale of Stranger Things and that Master Of Puppets solo. After we’d finished bowing down and praising Hellfire Club founder and guitar hero Eddie Munson, we got actor Joseph Quinn on the phone to fanboy over it – see p.106 for the results. In short: fuck Vecna, long live Eddie Munson, and long live metal.