THE BEAST

MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn was recently interviewed by Italy's "Heavy Demons" radio show. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about how the current political situation has affected the lyrical themes covered on MACHINE HEAD's new album, "Catharsis", Flynn said: "Yeah, it's a pretty crazy time right now. In a lot of ways, there was a couple of moments where it was, like, 'Man, we're saying some shit on this record. Do we need to say this? Is it cool to say this? Are we gonna offend fans by saying this?'

"I think part of being an artist is you've just gotta follow your gut, man, and you can't water it down because this person might not like it or that person might not like it — you've just gotta do what you do and take the consequences if people don't like it, but know that you're following your heart and know that you're following your gut," he continued. "And at the end of the day, that's all you're gonna have to stand on. And I think a lot of people… I don't know how other bands think, but I don't really hear a lot of rock or metal bands standing up and saying anything. And this record was kind of a reaction to that."

One of the songs on "Catharsis", a track called "Bastards", is based on a real-life conversation Flynn had with his sons immediately after the 2016 presidential election in which he explained the state of the country as he saw it.

"Catharsis" will be released on January 26 via Nuclear Blast. The effort will be made available in several formats, including a CD/DVD digipak edition which contains footage of MACHINE HEAD's 2015 concert at San Francisco's Regency Ballroom.

The follow-up to 2014's "Bloodstone & Diamonds", "Catharsis" was produced by MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn and was recorded, mixed, and co-produced by Zack Ohren (FALLUJAH, ALL SHALL PERISH) at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California. Mastering was handled by Ted Jensen (HATEBREED, ALICE IN CHAINS, DEFTONES) at Sterling Sound in New York. Cover photography was created by Seanen Middleton.

The North American tour in support of "Catharsis" will kick off on January 25 in Mesa, Arizona.