Machine Head has officially recruited YouTuber and session musician Ben Eller as their new touring guitarist. Eller, who recently spent time on the road with Mastodon following the departure of Brent Hinds in early 2025, made his full live debut with the band on June 3 at The Fillmore in Detroit, Michigan, marking the opening night of their current tour alongside Killswitch Engage. You can watch the fan-filmed videos down below (courtesy of “FrontRowBobby“).
Just hours before taking the stage in Detroit, Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn shared a video message on the band’s social media accounts to officially welcome Eller into the fold and explain the transition.
”Hanging out in Detroit, opening night of the Killswitch Engage tour. And honestly, it’s a pretty special night for us,” Robb said in the video. “We are going to be bringing out Ben Eller on the guitar to do the whole show with us. The other night [June 1] in Pittsburgh, we brought him out to do the last three songs, but tonight’s gonna be the first full show that he does with the band. So, definitely excited to see how this goes. We’ve been throwing a lot of songs at him, and he’s had a very short amount of time to learn it all. But, yeah, definitely looking forward to tonight. Can’t wait to see the Michigan headcases out there raging. We’ll see you in the pit.”
The addition of Eller follows a series of recent lineup adjustments in the Machine Head live camp. In June 2025, guitarist Reece Alan Scruggs announced he would be sitting out the band’s summer European tour to remain home with his father, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Filling in on that run were Machine Head producer Zack Ohren and Decapitated guitarist Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka.
Kiełtyka originally joined the group ahead of the Burn My Eyes 25th-anniversary tour in late 2019. He officially departed in February 2024 and was replaced by Scruggs, who had already filled in for him on previous dates and made his live debut with the band in November 2022. However, Kiełtyka briefly returned to the Machine Head lineup earlier this year, handling most of the dates on their April and May 2026 European tour.
The band continues to tour in support of their eleventh studio album, Unatoned, which was released in April 2025 via Nuclear Blast and Imperium Recordings.
Machine Head 2026 Tour Dates:
- Jun 5 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore Minneapolis
- Jun 6 – Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee Metal Fest 2026
- Jun 7 – South Bend, IN @ Four Winds Field
- Jun 9 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
- Jun 11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount
- Jun 12 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner
- Jun 13 – Bethlehem, PA @ Wind Creek Event Center
- Jun 14 – Greenway, DC @ Van’s Warped Tour DC 2026
- Jun 16 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live Orlando
- Jun 17 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
- Jun 19 – Dallas, TX @ South Side Ballroom
- Jun 20 – Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
- Jun 21 – San Antonio, TX @ Boeing Center at Tech Port
- Jun 23 – Albuquerque, NM @ Revel Entertainment Center
- Jun 24 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
- Jun 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
- Jun 26 – Fresno, CA @ Strummer’s
- Jun 27 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
- Jul 16 – Cadott, WI @ RockFest WI 2026
- Jul 18 – Mansfield, OH @ Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival 2026
- Aug 5 – Ottawa, ON @ Rideau Carleton Casino
- Aug 7 – Victoriaville, QC @ Rock La Cauze 2026
- Aug 8 – Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
- Aug 9 – London, ON @ Centennial Hall
- Aug 11 – Thunder Bay, ON @ Thunder Bay Community Auditorium
- Aug 13 – Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
- Aug 14 – Saskatoon, SK @ TCU Place
- Aug 15 – Enoch, AB @ River Cree Casino & Resort
- Aug 16 – Dawson Creek, BC @ Ovintiv Events Centre
- Sep 17 – Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life 2026
- Sep 19 – Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion
- Sep 21 – East Moline, IL @ The Rust Belt
- Sep 23 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
- Sep 24 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union Event Center
- Sep 25 – Bonner, MT @ KettleHouse Amphitheater
- Sep 27 – Spokane, WA @ Pavilion at Riverfront
- Sep 28 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
- Sep 29 – Tacoma, WA @ Temple Theatre
