In a new interview with KNAC.COM, former MACHINE HEAD guitarist Logan Mader spoke about what it was like to reunite with the band for the “Burn My Eyes” 25th-anniversary tour in 2019. The trek kicked off a year after the exit of longtime MACHINE HEAD drummer Dave McClain and guitarist Phil Demmel.
“Putting me and [former MACHINE HEAD drummer] Chris [Kontos] back in there and celebrating the 25-year birthday of ‘Burn My Eyes’, that whole thing that was tragic and probably disruptive and whatever — shit happens; you lost a couple of bandmembers — but it was kind of maybe a blessing in disguise,” Logan said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “Doing the ‘Burn My Eyes’ anniversary [tour] was a great way to deal with that and to just move on from it without being, like, ‘Hey, I’ve got a new guitar player and a new drummer. Here’s a new MACHINE HEAD album.’ It’s, like, ‘Wait. Let’s just chill and celebrate what MACHINE HEAD stands for and the legacy that is MACHINE HEAD,’ which really boils down to Robb [Flynn, MACHINE HEAD frontman] — he’s the guy; he is the magic behind it. Everyone else involved is special and important, but we’re all just moving parts, and we are replaceable, as you can see and it’s proven. Not to say that as a diss, ’cause I’m one of those replaceable parts too. I can say that. [Laughs]”
He continued: “That was just a fucking amazing tour, man. It was nothing but positive energy and vibes, and the responses and the crowds — doing up to five-thousand-cap rooms in Europe, just crushing it and selling out everywhere — with full production with pyro, and it was bigger than when I was in the band. ‘Cause when I was in the band, it blew up, but it was still a new band. Now they have refined the way they travel, the way they tour, their criew. It was on a higher level in terms of production and professionalism. I was just stoked ’cause they had me traveling on business class, and we had really nice accommodations, and the days off we would have super-nice hotels in the center of the town where you wanna be. It was a pretty fucking high-end luxury trip all around for me. I guess Robb is used to that because that’s what he does all the time, but for me, it was, like, ‘Hell yeah. This is pretty badass.’ It was a step up from what I remembered. Which what I remembered was amazing. So the fact that I got to relive that, some of the most important, big moments in my life — 25 years later, I get to relive that stuff? That’s something I just was really aware of and I appreciated it and I’m super grateful. I didn’t take it for granted. It’s not something that everyone gets to do. I was really lucky to do that.”
This past June, Flynn revealed that MACHINE HEAD would not resume its “Burn My Eyes” 25th-anniversary tour now that the pandemic is slowing down.
The “Burn My Eyes” 25th-anniversary tour saw Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern play the band’s classic debut album in its entirety for the first time ever, with original “Burn My Eyes”-era members Kontos and Mader joining in.
Flynn also confirmed that MacEachern is still a member of MACHINE HEAD alongside new recruits, guitarist Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED) and British drummer Matt Alston (DEVILMENT, EASTERN FRONT), all of whom also performed on the “Burn My Eyes” 25th-anniversary tour.
Each show on MACHINE HEAD‘s “Burn My Eyes” 25th-anniversary tour consisted of two parts: part one saw Flynn and MacEachern performing alongside Kiełtyka and Alston; while part two featured “Burn My Eyes” played in its entirety.
