As a somewhat lapsed metaller who still tries to keep up, I still get regular pangs of oul’ lad when I hear formative bands touring the classic albums I grew up with. In 2019, Oakland thrash/groove metal veterans Machine Head played Dublin on the 25th anniversary of their debut album Burn My Eyes, tearing up the Olympia with blunt force trauma riffs. But here we are after 52 weeks to flatten the curve, and we’ll have to make do with a live stream.
Still, if any band cam blow your speakers, it’ll be Rob Flynn and co knocking out primal slabs of metal, with enough groove and proggy touches to lighten things up (slightly). There’s a special edition theme of tonight’s gig – their first ever live run-through of their 2006 album The Blackening, a ‘return to form’ of sorts after they took a few Judas lapses into nu-metal in the late-90s. (Can’t go too hard on them, everyone was at it, even Slayer).
There’s no gimmick here — Flynn and various band members and guests have been keeping fans in the loop for a full year since the first lockdown with the weekly Electric Happy Hour, so there’ll be no rusty riffing.
Machine Head are streaming tonight at 10pm, on Twitch, YouTube Live and Facebook Live.
Update: Full YouTube livestream below
Moo Kid 