MCB: Were you surprised at the critical acclaim given to the The Blackening record?

PD: To be honest, I wasn’t surprised that people loved the record and it got the reaction it did. What surprised me was the extent of the praise. I mean, Metal Hammer, Kerrang Magazine all named it the album of the year. To receive that sort of accolades was amazing.

MCB: Compared to old Machine Head records, do you feel that The Blackening was a response to the overall tepid response of those records?

PD: When you take a look at an album like The Burning Red (1999) or Supercharger (2001), the band was experimenting and trying different sounds. It came across as more radio friendly and they (Demmel did not join the band officially until 2003) toured with bands like Slipknot. I joined the band at probably the lowest point in the record; (lead singer) Robb Flynn was asked to join Drowning Pool, and it looked like the band would break up. But we decided to forget what radio was playing, and wanted to play like we were kids again.

MCB: Do you think 7 or 8 minute songs like "Imperium” from Through the Ashes Of The Empire laid the groundwork for the lengths of the songs on The Blackening?

PD: I think so. We didn’t go into the record wanting to write 2-minute guitar solos, minute and a half vocal melodies, but that is what ending up coming out. Its been great to see fans getting into the longer songs, because most feel that the songs like “Clenching The Fists of Dissent” and “A Farewell To Arms” don’t feel 9 and 10 minutes long, so that’s good.

MCB: Did Roadrunner Records seemed worried about the lengths of the songs?

PD: I think they were at first; but they saw the passion in the songs and loved them. We are not a radio driven band at this point, so we didn’t feel the need to cut down the songs.

MCB: What do you feel is the best received song off The Blackening?

PD: I want to say it's “Halo.” It came as a surprise to me, because I thought the song was the one song that wouldn’t come off well live on the new record. Songs like “Aesthetics of Hate” are the pit songs, but “Halo” seems to be the one that fans really connect with.

PD: It’s mostly role reversal. In Vio-Lence (the previous band), Robb was the new guy and I wrote and worked on most of the songs. That band was my baby. With Machine Head, Robb is the leader and I am the new guy to the group. But I have been more of a part in the writing process on The Blackening than on Ashes of the Empire.

PD: Oh man, I would have to say Chimaira’s Resurrection. That record definitely stood out.

Machine Head will be kicking off a tour at the Machine Shop in Flint on Wednesday, January 23^rd. Tickets are $20 and are available at www.etix.com. The band will also be touring with Hellyeah and Nonpoint in February and March. Check www.machinehead1.com for additional dates.