MACHINE HEAD : Supercharger heaven...or hell ?

-New LP : Supercharger : you seems a very healthy band : what are for you the main differences with « The burning red » LP ?

-A : I would say that it’s the first time that Machine didn't have to look for a new member between records, so we basically got out of touring for « burning red », we took a couple of weeks off and we immediately started writing « Supercharger », and Machine Head didn’t have to worry about getting a new member or anything like that, but just only worrying about writing a great record and have fun doing it ! This is the same four guys that wrote the last record, we toured together and had good times together, we drink and trouble the world together, and now we’re back in a studio and I think the overall vibe was a more family type of vibe, and we’ve got a good time doing it, the fun element comes out more on «Supercharger » than the other records ; since we started writing the record right after touring, we talked, and then like the title itself, « Supercharger », is like the energy that goes on between us and the fans during the shows, we give up the energy to our fans, and the fans give us back energy and it’s just so much energy when there’s a Machine Head show, it’s just like electricity as analogy to describe it ! And now, we’re really together, we feel it : when we recorded « The burning red », our first record together and plus I was very nervous to be in a band and see many things for the first time, it didn’t allow me to be as creative as I could have been, because I was so nervous, but this time I was very comfortable with a band, recording a record, working with a producer, and I think I have been as creative as I can be !

-You have a new producer, after Ross Robinson and Colin Richardson : Johnny K (producer of Disturbed and No One)...

-A : We had a long list of producers we wanted to work with : Ross and Colin were on the list, but nobody was available at the time, and the only remaining person to stand out was Johnny K : he was totally excited about doing a record more than anybody else, he had a lot of good ideas already, he had already thought about things we could do and more than the others, he had the kind of energy that we felt we had so it was a great combination, and it was, it turned out to be better than we originally even thought would be. Colin Richardson mixed the LP, because we think nobody knows the band as well as Colin : he produced the first record, he knows where the band’s all about, nobody could mix the record as good as he did ; we didn’t want a mix like the other records, we wanted a mix close to how we sound now, and we definitely challenged him to do something different than he was used to, but he came through, it came very strong and we’re very happy with it.

-Is there a central theme for this LP ?

-A : There’s no concept behind it, linking the songs together : I think that the overall feel is high energy !

-Can you tell us about the songs of « Supercharger », one by one ?

-A : In « Declaration » Rob says : in time of peace, we must prepare for war, in times of war, we must prepare for peace. This whole record is like about how we feel live, and when we play live, we consider we’re at war, with the other bands : it’s our job to blow every band we’re playing with away, and so there’s a declaration of war on the other bands when we play live, and those bands in the States don’t even want tour with us, because we’re too good live ! But they try to sell records, they play with us and we’re gonna take their defense ! « Bulldozer » is one of the heaviest songs Machine Head ever written for sure. « White knuckle blackout », is about, you know, when you’re racing a car, a bike, and your knuckles turn white because you’re clinching the wheel, it’s a song for adrenaline junkies, as we are when we’re playing live and when there’s a big rush of adrenaline, and also for Rob and Adam, who like those adrenaline sports like snowboarding, motocross and so. « Crashing around you », the lyrics of this song are very dark, it’s like a conversation Rob is having with himself ; « Kicking when you’re down » is a confident song, like standing up for yourself, because, when you’re down, all the people step on you ; « Only the names » is a song about smoking crack, something to do with the Rob’s past, but not the present ! « All in your head » is another confident song... », »American high » has a double meaning : this is actually the name of the high school that Robin went to, but it’s also about being high and about him being delinquent in school and causing trouble and stuff like this. It’s also a lighter subject, not as dark as other subjects, more fun. « Brown acid » is a little bit in the same way, « Sick of you » says what it says, when you’re sick of somebody ! « Blank generation » is kind of mirror to our society, but not at all the cover of the song by Richard Hell, that we didn’t know before to come to press tour and people telling us that ! it’s like a mirror looking at ourselves and the society and how desensitized we are, and also about the naïvety of being young and innocent and not knowing what the words are about ; « Trephination », is in a lot of tribal cultures, sometime when they think somebody’s possessed, what they do is take a rock and dig it into their skull till their brain explodes to release the demons : basically, the definition of trephination is that, but the song is about some things more personal ; « The deafening silence » is a special song, to me and Rob : it have been written in San Francisco in three or four days, when it was raining all the time and the rain gives you that kind of gloomy, melancholy type of feel, we were practising, and Adam and Dave just went out to take a break and Rob and I sit there, fooling around with guitar riffs, and I came up with the harmonics, like the beginning of the riff, and then Rob came up with this part underneath it, like the chords underneath it, and we looked at each other, we’ve kind came of this part at the same time and we knew it was something special, and the song came out of that. And « Supercharger » is just Machine Head being completely on fire, it’s a kind of tribute to our fans and the energy that goes on between them and us during a show !

-No samples, no machines, no keyboards ?

-A : There’s samples on « Burn my eyes », but we are a very organic band, like this whole record was recorded in analog. 99 per cent of the bands record with ProTools, but ProTools is like recording with a computer, so if you make a mistake, you just have to move your mouse to change the drums, their sounds, slow them, speed them up, and all the same for all the instrument, and I think it removes all the human qualities out of the music, and Machine head is much about that human quality. The human is not perfect, but we want to record us just as we are and not try to make us perfect, which is perfect for us ! Perfectly unperfect !

-How do you share the work within the band, for the music, for the lyrics... ?

-A : Well, for the music itself, Rob and I comes with the majority of the riffs, like the guitar riffs, we bring it to practice, and then we work on it as a band, like everybody else, arranging it and so ; actually, Dave brought a lot of riffs in, borrowing my guitar, as I have a few in the studio, he went home, took a little recorder and recorded all this guitar riffs, brought it in, and some were very good, and Adam contributed too once in a while. All the lyrics, on other Machine Head albums have been written by Rob ; on this one, the majority is, but Adam actually brought a couple of lyrics on this one.

-What did you discover during the two past years since we met?

-A : I think that, since we met two years ago, I have grown more than in ten years before that : being in a band, touring, traveling, meeting all kinds of people and everything that I’ve been through have been more a growing experience than anything that happened previously in my life. I think it’s more important to discover yourself than discover artistic stuff, in every area !

-You're touring in Japan soon with Pantera and Slayer

-A : We’re gonna do Korea, Japan and Australia, then after that we’re gonna do a States tour, and come over to Europe in november / december, maybe a month or more

-So, something to add for the French fans ?

-A : We can’t wait for our fans to discover this new record and we’re excited to see them coming at our shows : we can’t wait to come back here !

Interview made August 17th 2001 in Paris ; photos : JP Coillard (c)