Machine Head – Phil Demmel

Metal Obsession: Hey Phil. How’s life been treating you?

Phil Demmel: Life is treating me great, man. Things are really good!

MO: You must be relieved now that the new album ‘Unto The Locust’ is finally complete?

PD: Yeah! It’s been done for sometime now…so very relieved. I’m a little anxious to get it out though.

MO: Well, after listening to the album last night. I really got the sense that Machine Head were pushing to try something new and quite unique. There’s an abundance of musical influence from all over the globe, and not just from heavy metal.

PD: Well, you know. It’s been five years since we wrote ‘The Blackening’ and in that time we have all grown as people, but also as musicians. We’ve been listening to all types of music recently and we now seem to be in a different place than when we wrote ‘The Blackening’.

I guess now we are a band who embraces taking a chance and writing something we really want, which is relevant on all the albums we wrote. No two albums sound the same and we’ve followed that trend with the new album ‘Unto the Locust’. I mean, you’ll hear classic Machine Head elements, of course.

But there is also new elements which we are introducing as well. Essentially we are writing music for ourselves and write music that we love to play.

MO: Is there any significances to the Latin a capella at the start of ‘I Am Hell’?

PD: Absolutely! When Rob first had that intro going in the beginning it was called ‘I Am Hell’ and he was singing the phrase “sangre sani” which means ‘blood saint’ in Latin. Around the time he wrote it,  he didn’t really have a concept for the song, but I actually had a concept for a song based on an arsonist who read through his journal or memoirs and Rob thought it would be good idea if we combined the two together.

I looked up a bunch of Latin words like “murder”, “suicide”, “warrior” and of course “hell”. We were sort of coming up with the concept for Hell’s warrior with the combination of certain Latin phrases and words which came off…kinda creepy. [laughs] So there’s your translation.

MO: Your son plays quite a role on the new album. I take it his royal cheques will be in the mail soon?

PD: Absolutely! [laughs] My son is well taken care of financially. He’s signed off on all his performance rights.

MO: Is your son a music critic when it comes to Machine Head. Is he a fan of his father’s music?

PD: Nah, I don’t think so. My son mainly listens to Lady Gaga and Flo-Rida. Stuff like that.

I think Rob’s kid’s like other metal tunes, other than Machine Head. But I think all of them are just really excited now they are on the album. They really like that song.

My son is only 5 years old, so he doesn’t have a big grasp on music just yet. [laughs]

MO: Speaking of critics. It must bother you that whenever Machine Head (or anyone for that matter) release a new album, you’ll always get people who just like to complain, make noise and don’t appreciate the evolution of a band. Were you or the others hesitate to think how the fans might react towards this new material?

PD: Yeah, I mean any artist wants their art to be appreciated, liked and well received. But at the end of the day we don’t write music to be well received or liked by a specific group of people. We want to be happy and to love playing what we are playing, first and foremost. You know, you’ll always get those people who hate you just for the sake of hating you.

The last song on the album ‘Who We Are’, the song that my son sings on, that’s actually about those types of people who can’t let go of yesterday and says… (Phil impersonates a typical keyboard warrior) “Oh! These guys sounded better on the demo and since they got big I don’t like them any more”…or whatever, shit like that!.

Just closed minded people who just can’t let go and accept things for what they really are. So, there is always going to be those types of people no matter what, but for the fans who embrace our music. I think they’ll like this record and the people new to our sound will surely enjoy it as well. Every song is different and there is something for everyone on this record.

MO: Any chance will be seeing the video clip to ‘Locust’ soon?

PD: Yeah, on an off day from the Mayhem festival we actually shot the video for ‘Locust’, so that should be out soon. Right now there is a lot of computer generated effects and scenes done in front of a green/blue screen. We’re pretty excited to see what our man, Mike Slope can come up with. We’re pretty excited about it!

So yeah, ‘Locust’ should be ready in about a week or so.

MO: Would you say the new album has a political or spiritual concept behind it, or is it merely a form of personal therapy for you guys?

PD: I think its a bit of everything. I mean there is a couple of songs that are based on fictional characters and places. For example, ‘I Am Hell’ is about a fictional arsonist, like I mentioned before…ummm….’Pearls before the Swine’ is about addiction which is kind of generalised, but there is songs like ‘Locust’ which I originally came up with.

Over the course of my life I’ve had many people who have come into my life and under false pretences or under the illusion of being someone else, who have lied or stolen from me and just cheated me. When they’re discovered as these leeches, or these robbers of humanity. They fly off and tend to leech off others and devour and consume their way of life.

Other songs like “Be Still and Know” is essentially a song of hope. You know, you’re right! It is definitely therapy. Taking all the negativity in our life and spewing it out all over these pages and picking the right words to convey our side of the story.

MO: Is this a collective form of expression. Are all these views shared by everyone in the band?

PD: Nah, I don’t think all of us have portrayed a certain feeling in just one song. Rob usually tends to write the lyrics and I help out as much as I can. I mean there is personal feelings shared and if we get into a political discussion, like we did with ‘The Blackening’. It’s usually purposed by Rob and he’ll usually bring it to us and says “Hey. I’m kinda feeling this!”, “Is everybody ok writing about this stuff?”…stuff like that.

There are a couple of anti war songs which we had written, as well as songs regarding anti right wing extremists, which was called ‘Halo’. He came to us and said “Hey! I’m writing about this topic. How do you feel about it?

It’s all on a mutual level.

MO: Do you feel that some fans my misinterpret these lyrics on the new album and take everything that is written completely out of context?

PD: Absolutely! That’s usually the way with any band these days, or any song for that matter. Unless its so black and white that you have to be not to intelligent to understand what it all means. There will be a lot of things which will be misconstrued. I mean if people read the lyrics to ‘Locust’ and think its about a bug. They’re very misinformed. [laughs]

MO: Do you and other delve into a lot of personal motivation or spiritually for guidance?

PD: You know, there is a lot of that. Rob was writing a song just after the tsunami hit Japan. He was writing this song trying to figure out what made him and everyone else get up in the morning, get motivated and figure out what hope really is for some people.

I actually have this tattoo which says “Be Still and Know” which was a bible verse my grandmother keeps close to her heart and she wrote it in all my birthday and Christmas cards and she did that with each of her grand children, but she choose a specific verse for each of her grand children and I was fortunate enough to get that one. This message resonated with Rob and its essentially carried throughout the song in the chorus.

We shared a lot of ideas on motivation and following that light at the end of the tunnel. Knowing that there is a light, not only at the end of the tunnel, but inside ourselves as well which sort of serves as a mirror. It has to be shining inside of you first before you reach the end of the tunnel. So we shared a lot of ideas on hope and all that. It kind of translated into the lyrics of the song. Even now, I go to those lyrics to see through certain hard days, to push the fight back in me. Just knowing that it will be ok by reading those lyrics.

MO: Are there plans for Machine Head to tour Australia this year after the cancellation of Soundwave Revolution?

PD: Definitely in 2012. Sadly we wont be there this year. We are in the process of trying to get on the line up for Soundwave in February next year and have that happen. I mean we haven’t done Big Day Out or Soundwave as of yet, so we’re excited to hopefully get on either, and if not, will most definitely be doing a headline run and get down there for sure. I mean Australia is a high priority for the band and we love it down there, so definitely look out for us in the new calendar year.

Machine Head’s latest offering ‘Unto the Locust’ will be released in Australia via Roadrunner Records on Monday, 26th September. As a special bonus for Australian fans only. If you pre-order your copy now of ‘Unto the Locust’ via Roadrunner Records Australia you will go into the draw to win an official Yamaha drum kit valued at $3000.

For more information, go to: www.machinehead1.com – www.roadrunnerrecords.com.au