Robb Flynn says Machine Head’s new album is being compared to The Blackening
Machine Head’s Robb Flynn says his band’s new material is drawing comparisons to 2007’s acclaimed The Blackening
Select the newsletters you’d like to receive. Then, add your email to sign up.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
Louder
Louder’s weekly newsletter is jam-packed with the team’s personal highlights from the last seven days, including features, breaking news, reviews and tons of juicy exclusives from the world of alternative music.
Every Friday
Classic Rock
The Classic Rock newsletter is an essential read for the discerning rock fan. Every week we bring you the news, reviews and the very best features and interviews from our extensive archive. Written by rock fans for rock fans.
Every Friday
Metal Hammer
For the last four decades Metal Hammer has been the world’s greatest metal magazine. Created by metalheads for metalheads, ‘Hammer takes you behind the scenes, closer to the action, and nearer to the bands that you love the most.
Every Friday
Prog
The Prog newsletter brings you the very best of Prog Magazine and our website, every Friday. We'll deliver you the very latest news from the Prog universe, informative features and archive material from Prog’s impressive vault.
Machine Head are currently in an Oakland, California studio working on what will be their tenth studio album, and band leader Robb Flynn says that the group’s new material is already drawing favourable comparisons with their much-acclaimed 2007 album The Blackening.
Speaking to Metal Hammer’s Matt Mills for a studio report on the progress of the follow-up to 2018’s Catharsis, Flynn reveals that he has played new songs for Nuclear Blast’s A&R supremo Monte Connor, a trusted friend, and Flynn’s long-time A&R man at Roadrunner Records, who is now talking up the album as “The Blackening 2”.
“I don’t know if I want to put that concept into people’s heads,” Flynn admits, “but those are pretty big words. He’s been my A&R guy for 28 years and to hear him this excited all these years later is a pretty good feeling.”
Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern began demoing tracks for the new album with producer Zack Ohren and on-loan drummer Navene Koperweis (Entheos) at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland in June 2021: Flynn has previously suggested that the as-yet-untitled collection could emerge in late summer.
The group recently launched an online video series promising to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the album.
Talking to Matt Mills, Flynn describes the new album as “a roller coaster.”
“It’s going to be the type of thing that really hits people emotionally,” he promises.
Machine Head’s tenth album is due in summer 2022 via Nuclear Blast. You read an exclusive studio report with the band in an upcoming issue of Metal Hammer.
Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.
