Machine Head launched their highly anticipated Australian tour on Saturday night, November 29, at the Astor Theatre in Perth, delivering a performance that was historic by necessity. For the first time on a major headline run, the band performed strictly as a three-piece unit, stripping their complex groove-metal sound down to its rawest elements following a personnel emergency.
Despite lacking a second guitarist to harmonize with frontman Robb Flynn, the band—rounded out by bassist Jared MacEachern and drummer Matt Alston—tore through a career-spanning, 20-song setlist. The night opened with the crushing “Imperium” and touched on every era of the band’s discography, from the nu-metal bounce of “From This Day” to the thrash precision of “Aesthetics Of Hate”.
The unique configuration also allowed for an intimate acoustic interlude featuring “Circle The Drain” and “Darkness Within”, before the trio ramped the energy back up for a closing run that included “Davidian” and the anthemic “Halo”.
Machine Head – Perth, Australia (Nov. 29, 2025) Setlist:
- “Imperium”
- “Ten Ton Hammer”
- “Choke On The Ashes Of Your Hate”
- “Now We Die”
- “Is There Anybody Out There?”
- “Not Long For This World”
- “Crashing Around You”
- “Unhallowed”
- “Aesthetics Of Hate”
- “Now I Lay Thee Down”
- “Old”
- “Outsider”
- “Locust”
- “Bonescraper”
- “Circle The Drain” (Acoustic)
- “Darkness Within” (Acoustic)
- “Catharsis”
- “From This Day”
- “Davidian”
- “Halo”
The decision to perform as a trio was made at the eleventh hour. In a video message released just days before the tour kickoff, Flynn revealed that the musician hired to handle second guitar duties for the run was forced to withdraw due to a personal crisis, leaving the band with no time to find a replacement.
“These are gonna be some pretty unique shows that we’re doing for the first three [Good Things festival] side shows in Australia because the guitar player that we had hired to do these six dates ended up having a family emergency,” Flynn explained.
The situation was compounded by the prior unavailability of their usual touring cohorts. Reece Alan Scruggs was unable to make the trip after his father was diagnosed with lung cancer, and producer/fill-in guitarist Zack Ohren was sidelined by his own health issues.
Rather than cancel, Flynn leaned into the challenge, comparing the vibe to the loose, energetic livestreams he and MacEachern popularized during the pandemic.
“It’s gonna be basically ‘Electric Happy Hour’ style, which is how Jared and I have been doing the livestreams for five years now,” Flynn said. “In fact, this isn’t the first time at all that we’ve played as a three-piece. The first time we did a secret show at Bloodstock [Open Air] festival, we played as a three-piece… Reece‘s first tour that he did with us, he had been given a very bizarre setlist, and we ended up playing about six or seven songs a night for the first two weeks as a three-piece, and it worked out cool.”
Flynn framed the logistical nightmare as a rare opportunity for die-hard fans to witness a “once-in-a-lifetime” version of the band.
“So, I’m actually looking forward to it because it’s still gonna be ‘An Evening With‘ show where we’ve got a lot of songs to pull from. We’re gonna do some deep cuts, some fun stuff,” he assured fans.
The trio format will continue for the upcoming headline dates at The Station in Sunshine Coast on December 1 and the UC Refectory in Canberra on December 3. Machine Head is also scheduled to perform at the massive Good Things Festival in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane starting December 5, though the band has not yet clarified who—if anyone—will join them on guitar for those stadium-sized sets.
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