Machine Head Release New Album Unatoned And Single ‘Outsider’

Machine Head have officially unleashed their eleventh studio album, Unatoned, released yesterday (April 25th) through Nuclear Blast/Imperium Recordings. Marking the occasion, the band also unveiled a powerful live music video for the album track “Outsider.”

The video captures the raw energy of the band’s recent live show, filmed during their April 17th performance at The Aztec Theatre in San Antonio, Texas. “Outsider” serves as a potent statement, with frontman Robb Flynn explaining its personal significance.

“‘Outsider‘ is an anthem that has kinship with anyone who’s had to cut toxic people loose,” Flynn stated. “These last few years, I’ve had to let go of a lot of relationships, and I know I’m not alone in that. This track is for anyone who’s been there.”

Unatoned arrives described as “a testament to momentum, an album honed to its sharpest edge, forged on creative discipline and the hunger to push forward.” A press release further elaborates, noting the album “drips with melancholy melodies, and yet hammers with bludgeoning riffs, soars with anthemic sing-alongs of love lost and sadness, to bellowing power and undeniable confidence,” asserting that “Eleven albums deep, Machine Head remain as fierce, relevant, and unstoppable as ever.”

Much of the album was conceived “in motion — on the road, in hotel rooms, and across continents,” reflecting the band’s return to the international festival circuit after an 11-year hiatus. Recording sessions spanned from July 2023 to December 2024, utilizing Flynn’s Jam Room, Sharkbite Studios, and Drop Of Sun Recording.

Production was helmed by Robb Flynn and Zack Ohren, who also handled engineering. The formidable mixing duo of Colin Richardson and Chris Clancy oversaw the mix at Audioworks UK, with mastering by Ted Jensen (assisted by Justin Shturtz) at Sterling Sound in Nashville. An exception was the track “Landscape Of Thorns,” produced by Flynn and Joel Wanasek, with Wanasek and Ohren co-mixing. Renowned artist Seth Siro Anton was once again enlisted for the album’s striking cover artwork.

Speaking recently on The Garza Podcast, Flynn detailed the deliberate approach taken for Unatoned, particularly in following up their highly successful tenth concept album. Resisting calls to simply replicate past glories: “Everybody wants us to write another concept record… And I’m, like, ‘You can’t, because it’s never gonna live up.'”, Flynn imposed specific creative parameters.

These included capping song lengths: “I don’t want any song longer than four minutes on this record”, incorporating deliberate key changes inspired by Slayer‘s arrangements: “Every song has to have a chord change outside of the typical structure”, and ensuring musical variation within choruses: “The music in the last chorus had to be different from the music in the first chorus”.

The result, Flynn explained, was an exercise in “trimming the fat,” leading to the band’s shortest album to date. “In the end what we came up with was 10 songs plus two instrumentals. It’s 41 minutes,” he said. “And I’m really proud of this thing. I really feel like we’ve got a f**king monster on our hands. It’s just really unique.”

Fans attending Machine Head‘s recent North American tour, which included dates with In Flames, Lacuna Coil, and Unearth, already experienced some of the new material live, with the band debuting “These Scars Won’t Define Us” and “Unbound” starting April 1st. The current lineup features guitarist Reece Alan Scruggs (formerly of Havok), stepping in for Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka, who had commitments with his band Decapitated.

The full track listing for Unatoned is as follows:

• “Landscape Of Thorns”
• “Atomic Revelations”
• “Unbound”
• “Outsider”
• “Not Long For This World”
• “These Scars Won’t Define Us”
• “Dustmaker”
• “Bonescraper”
• “Addicted To Pain”
• “Bleeding Me Dry”
• “Shards Of Shattered Dreams”
• “Scorn”