Earlier this year it was announced that guitarisDemmel Dummel and drummer Dave McClain would be leaving Machine Head after the conclusion of their North American tour.
The tour had already been eventful enough with two punters ejected from a recent show after being caught fornicating in the front row to Davidian.
Nevertheless, the final gig with the current line-up was one to remember, with the band closing out proceedings with Halo, the main riff of which was written by McClain.
Fan footage-captured below- shows the band in fine form with Demmel and McClain firing on all levels over frontman Robb Flynn’s constant roar of “headbang motherfucker!”
Check out Demmel and McClain’s final performance with Machine Head
At the end of September frontman Robb Flynn took to social media that McClain and Demmel were quitting the band, with current Bassist Jared MacEachern undecided in regard to his future in the band.
“I have held on too tight to the reins of this band and I have suffocated those guys. I’ve got some rough edges; I’m kind of a barnacle” said Flynn in regards to his influence in their decision.
” Those rough edges have given us the success we have but they’ve also hurt the people around me. I’ve got a lot of drive, but I’ve got a lot of anger and rage, and that drive of mine has alienated folks in the band.”
Love Metal?
Get the latest Metal news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
At the time Flynn said that MacEachern had “kinda quit to”, but wasn’t sure if it was a permanent decision.
Watch Robb Flynn explain the departure of McClain and Demmel
https://www.facebook.com/MachineHead/videos/1858060600973982/
In the wake of the departures, Flynn clarified that the band would be continuing, albeit without McClain and Demmel.
Rather than be a farewell for the band, the recently wrapped US and Canadian tour was a farewell to what “may be the best era of Machine Head ever, and may be the best line-up that this band ever had.”
McClain joined the band in 1995 when things were kicking off for the group, whilst Demmel joined in 2002, just in time to see the band release the now legendary The Blackening LP, a record which elevated them to festival headliners and saw them tour with Metallica.
Machine Head at their prime in 2007
As of yet no replacements or plans have been announced by Flynn.
