MACHINE HEAD Frontman: It's Time To Bring Metal To The Masses

MACHINE HEAD frontman Robert Flynn has posted the following message in the "Forum" section of the band's official web site:

"Hey fuckers!

"What is goin' on?! Hope you're doing great. I myself am doing fan-fucking-tastic. In fact, as my Dad would say, 'I'm doing so good... I couldn't stand it if I was doing any better!' And hey... how's about a loud, and hearty 'Happy Birthday Through The Ashes Of Empires!' You're a year old today in the U-S of A.

"Just got back from a packed GOD FORBID, CALIBAN and FULL BLOWN CHAOS show, and holy be-jesus, mother of God... literally, gallons of vodka were flowin'... Christ almighty! Had a blast! Good people, good friends, good times. FULL BLOWN CHAOS had THE sickest 'wall of death' I've ever seen in my life... CALIBAN went down a storm... and GOD FORBID are really just SO fucking good, it's ridiculous.

"The HEAD have been taking some much-needed time off. After ending last year touring for three months straight in Europe, hitting 22 different countries, taking 15 different flights across four different continents, we were, well... ready for some time off. But now, time-off time is over, and it's time to get back to the business at hand. And that business is bringing the metal to the masses! Just played a one-off in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and WOW... that was one amazing show. Those kids out there were awesome! We had metalheads from Iran, Syria, Lebanon... whodathunk? It was CR-A-ZY. All totally normal, just like any metal kid in America... MORBID ANGEL shirts, METALLICA shirts, SLIPKNOT, AFI, chanting MACHINE - Fuckin' - HEAD, jumping, slamming. Jammed 'Creeping Death' with Andreas from SEPULTURA (also on the show),which was a blast, partied with a bunch of the bands and kids after... the next day we S.U.V.d through the sand dunes of the desert and rode camels! It was a great, great experience.

"The excitement level in the band is so high right now, because we are a part of one of the most monster package tours we've ever assembled here in America. MACHINE HEAD, DEVILDRIVER and IT DIES TODAY will be touring across America and Canada for all of May and most of June. Pure titanium, molten-metal hot lava, ready to kick your fuckin' asses. YEAH!!! I still can't believe it's been almost a year since we toured the States!? We're hitting places we haven't hit in five years, like Seattle, Portland, Sacto, and Louisville (Southside Jinx!). Right before that gets underway, we get to tour with one of our favorite bands, LAMB OF GOD, so man, we're fuckin' stoked! On a related note, our thoughts go out to Jensen and the rest of THE HAUNTED during what must be a very difficult time.

"Congratulations to Alex Awn, Grand Prize winner of the States Turn Blue To Gray flyer contest. Great job!

"Seriously man, every one of you has a reason to come to this show. We've got all the bases are covered. We know there are a lot of other summer tours coming around in next few months, and while we're sure the thought of paying buttloads of cash to hang out in your favorite parking lot, in the scorching hot sun, with no shade, and beers for 8 bucks a pop... watching your favorite band play with no lights, a tiny PA, and no vibe, sounds just... awesome! The HEAD will be giving out FREE beer, vicodin and hookers at our air-conditioned, vibe-filled shows, so come on down! OK, so the beer, vicodin and hooker part isn't really true, but, well... we can't actually guarantee the air-conditioning thing either... but still, the vibe will be CRAZY! And free of charge!!! Well, save for the super-reasonable ticket price...

"Been getting a lot of questions about the 'Days Turn Blue To Gray' video lately since it aired on 'Headbanger's Ball' the other night. Thanks for all of your interest. The story of the song is true, though it is not about me, it's about my wife and her brother. My wife's father was a heroin addict / alcoholic. He was only in her life for a total of about a year and a half, and the time he did spend with her wasn't all that great, as you can imagine. When she got older and got past a lot of her anger towards him, she started trying to have a relationship with him again, and he just constantly let her down. He would do things like forget to call her on her birthday, only to call a few weeks later, not say happy birthday, but ask if she had any diabetic friends... so he could get needles.

"After a particularly bad episode a few years ago that left him hospitalized, a doctor told him he had six months to live. He was told to quit drinking and drugging — or die. She and her family rallied around him to no end, but he wouldn't quit. Six months later, he died. For my wife it was very hard... she had put so much effort into trying to mend their relationship, and in the end, they didn't... there was no closure, no happy ending.

"Whew! Not lighthearted stuff, I know, and it's certainly not your dad's heavy metal, but it's real, and it's the type of stuff that a lot of regular folks have to deal with. Hopefully, singing about it might help the kids who are dealing with similar situations, and lets them know that they're not alone.

"I read a great quote by Abraham Lincoln the other day, it said, 'Anyone can overcome adversity. If you really want to test someone's character... give them power.' It's funny, you know? You really get a sense of a person's character when the chips are down. I'm often amazed and disgusted by it, especially being in this business. We knew that getting this record into people's hands was gonna be tough, and there's the sad but true axiom 'You never get a second chance in the music industry'... being label-less for two years, a record out on the Internet and available on import for six months prior, etc.... but even still, the resistance in the mainstream press we have encountered to this record and the band in general, in the U.S. at least, has been pretty darn amazing. It's as if MACHINE HEAD don't fit in. We're the outsiders, we're the band they want to sweep under the rug, we're the band they hope just goes away. We're not as new, and cute, and as fashionable as those other fashion-core bands... 'Why should we give THEM an interview?'

"Maybe they just don't get it, maybe they'll never get it, and frankly, we don't care if they EVER get it... because when the chips were down, we learned something about the character of metal fans and the aggressive music fans of America, and around the world... we learned that you WILL stand behind something, in fact, you'll carry it on your god damned shoulders if you have to.

"You've forgiven us our mistakes, and you've applauded us for the chances we've taken... we have grown, and you've grown along with us. You are the most loyal fans in the entire realm of music. It amazes us. Seriously. It amazes us. Don't think that because we've had some success here over the past 12 months we've forgotten where we were just a year and a half ago. We haven't, AT ALL, and I doubt we ever will.

"Hell, we may not have mainstream metal media on our side, but a crazy, organic, grass-roots support system blossomed, and went out and made a fucking huge statement to the powers that be. The metal fans of the U.S. went out there and stood behind this band. You believed in us, you went to bat for us, and while it may have been off of a lot of people's radars, MACHINE HEAD have quietly managed to out-sell, and out-draw a LOT of these up-and-coming bands that all the mainstream metal magazines are hyping incessantly. It's pretty incredible, man. Literally, it's been an endless stream of good news. This record wasn't supposed to have done what it has to this point. In fact, to be honest, it probably should have only sold HALF of what it has. And you know what? That's why you fuckers rule.

"Let's celebrate that shit when we come to town with some beers, Brown Eyes, and bloody noses.

"Love!

"See you on tour!!!"