Location: Gasometer, Vienna, Austria
When: Wednesday, 16 October 2019
2018 was a rough year for Machine Head. Robb Flynn was left almost on his own when long-standing members Phil Demmel and Dave McClain walked out. Sure, neither was an original member, but it was hard to picture Machine Head without them — both had contributed massively to the band’s look and feel. Part of the fallout had to do with the reception of the latest album, Catharsis (2018), which got panned by critics. Still, Flynn picked himself back up. He reached out to original members Logan Mader and Chris Kontos, who agreed to come back on board.
For the live shows, Flynn kept the “An Evening With…” format — just Machine Head, long set, no support acts. This time there was a twist: a new guitarist and drummer were brought in for the first set, while the second was reserved for the full Burn My Eyes album, with Mader on guitar and Kontos on drums. In other words, a wet dream for any fan of the debut. Machine Head announced a massive tour that, as usual, swung through the Austrian capital — always a reliable stronghold for the band.
For the regular set, Flynn and Jared MacEachern were joined by Matt Alston and guitarist Vogg from Polish death metal outfit Decapitated. The latter was undeniably a surprise pick. Both new members had massive shoes to fill, so the debate was more than justified.
The show was back at the Gasometer. Machine Head hit the stage around half past eight. Their opener of choice was Imperium from Through the Ashes of Empires — probably the best possible opener out there, the kind that immediately gets necks cracking and the pit churning. Things stayed lively when Machine Head brought back Take My Scars from their second album. The first set was essentially a greatest-hits run, and it mostly landed — though a few more surprises wouldn’t have hurt.
Naturally, Now We Die, Aesthetics of Hate, Locust, Beautiful Morning, Bulldozer, The Blood, The Sweat The Tears and more all got their airing. Flynn wasn’t especially chatty — which, for him, is pretty on-brand. He let the music do the talking, while keeping the crowd in a constant frenzy with a liberal dose of profanity. On that note, the new track Do Or Die cranked the swearing up to eleven. Instrumentally it’s an aggressive thrash metal beast, but lyrically it sounds more like an angry teenager who just discovered Limp Bizkit.
As for Machine Head’s tightness — nothing to complain about. Robb Flynn, now past 50, is in seriously good shape. He and the bassist powered through roughly three and a half hours on stage, which takes a hell of a lot of practice and stamina. That his voice held up that long is equally impressive. Drummer Matt Alston delivered across the board — tight, precise, and you barely noticed Dave McClain’s absence. Vogg turned in a surprisingly strong performance too, proving himself a more than capable lead guitarist. The odd solo had a slightly different flavour in the details, but the core was there. And nobody’s going to question his rhythm work — Vogg’s spent his whole career with Decapitated earning a PhD in right-hand technique.
The first set was packed with the songs that made Machine Head who they are. That said, they could easily have dropped “Is There Anybody Out There?” and Catharsis. What landed hardest were Darkness Within, Ten Ton Hammer, and the closing Halo, which sent the band off stage for the intermission. A solid two-hour set — but the best was still to come.
After a 15-minute break, the Burn My Eyes album cover took over the backdrop, while “Real Eyes Realize Real Lies” — the album’s intermezzo — played over the PA. Then the band was back. Logan Mader took the guitar, and Chris Kontos settled in behind the kit, clearly living his career peak on this tour. Fair enough — Kontos was never a household name before, let alone someone who’d played to thousands of fans showing up specifically for the band he’s in. You could see he was loving every second of it. And despite the sheer physical grind of the set, the guy looked absolutely over the moon.
Kicking off with the legendary Davidian and rolling straight into Old — the crowd went absolutely mental, same as always. But what everyone had been waiting for came with the next few songs: A Thousands Lies, None But My Owen, and Rage To Overcome. Songs that had been MIA live for far too long. This is where the old-school fans got exactly what they came for — the full Burn My Eyes treatment, and they lapped up every second.
Of course, people were wondering how tight Kontos and Logan would be together. No complaints here. Twenty-five years on, Logan is still rock-solid in the rhythm department. And he’s far from stationary — still bouncing around while he plays, so there was no sense of him just showing up for the paycheck. Kontos, though, was the real standout — the amount of power he’s still packing at his age is remarkable. After Rage to Overcome he threw in a short drum solo, and it showcased his charisma in a way that gave the whole show a serious lift.
After the drum solo came the slower Death Church, followed by A Nation On Fire — deceptively calm at first, then erupting in the second half with a furious thrash/hardcore blast. The worn-out crowd went nuts all over again, and Machine Head gave them another excuse with the next track: Blood for Blood. Short, fast, built for chaos and the pit. Things settled slightly with I’m Your God — by that point only one more album track was left. But Machine Head decided to throw in a medley of covers, paying tribute to Alice in Chains, Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden, and Megadeth.
After more than three hours of playing, Machine Head signed off with Block, the “Fuck it all!” chorus bouncing off every wall of the Gasometer. The circle was closed. The band took their time saying goodbye — tossing a pile of drumsticks and picks into the crowd — and Matt Alston and Vogg came back on stage so the whole lineup could take a bow together.
With this tour celebrating 25 years of the legendary Burn My Eyes, Machine Head have made every long-time fan’s dream come true. And if the energy on show is anything to go by, here’s hoping Robb Flynn can get this lineup locked in and get a proper new album out of them.
