MetalExiles.com recently caught up with MACHINE HEAD drummer Dave McClain to discuss the band's new album, Unto The Locust. An excerpt is available below:

Metal Exiles: Is this record picking up where the Blackening left off and what new ground are you guys trying to plow?

Dave: "We did not have a set plan when we went into writing but we did not want to write The Blackening Part 2. We were not going to write a bunch of 10 minute songs or three minute songs, we just went into it blind. We have this musical freedom that we have enjoyed on the last three records, starting with Through The Ashes as we do not have any outside influences, nobody looking over our shoulder watching what we are doing."

Metal Exiles: I know you’re a proficient drummer so when you guys sit down to write what do you bring to the table?

Dave: "I also play guitar as well so I bring riffs as well. I have been playing drums for about 34 years now but it has been the last 10 years I have finally get it now with songwriting and drum parts and I challenge myself a lot more. I still play what the song needs but I will go back in and do different drum fills, make them crazier."

Metal Exiles: When you say you get it, do you mean in the past you were trying to over step yourself?

Dave: "When I would write on guitar I would just do one riff but now I will write a full song same with drumming, you just get to a point you just learn more things. With life, when you are a kid you think you know everything but the older you get you understand things and come to peace with things."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Metal Hammer are set to release Unto The Locust on September 26th in the UK with a special edition fan-pack.

Complete with 132–page special issue complete with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the making of the new album, extensive interviews with every member, never-before-seen historic shots from the band’s personal collections, a guide to their custom rigs, and a diary of their massive Mayhem tour happening this summer, this is the ultimate companion to the long-awaited follow-up to The Blackening, Metal Hammer’s album of the decade. And that’s not all. This exclusive fanpack also includes a 100% official patch, sticker sheet and poster. This is your chance to be part of Machine Head history!

“This is gonna be fucking awesome! It’s ridiculous,” says Robb Flynn of the venture. “I can’t believe that there’s going to be a magazine about us with a special edition of our new album. It’s pretty mindblowing, really. It’s something really fuckin’ cool for the fans, and it’s something incredible for us too. We’re all really stoked on this new record and we can’t wait for everyone to hear what we’ve been doing in the studio. Releasing it this way on newsstands (not just record stores) makes it way cooler! You guys know how to make magazines, man! People over here in the US need to look at the UK and how you make magazines.

“You guys make people care about this stuff and you’re real music fans. Get your niche and fuckin’ ride it! People want cool shit and cool interviews. We’re pumped about the whole idea”

Pre-order this special edition here.

In the video footage below, Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel talks about the work in progress for the band's new album, Unto The Locust, due in September:

Unto The Locust is due out September 27th via Roadrunner Records. The album is currently being recorded at JingleTown Studios in Oakland, with frontman Robb Flynn producing.

The first single 'Locust' is on sale now via Amazon. Click on icon below to hear a snippet of the song and to order

Musically, the song is the essence of what Machine Head have been doing for nearly two decades.

"It feels like the culmination of what we've been doing for the last 17 years: power grooves, patented Machine Head harmonics, crushing guitars and dark melodies, but taken to a new level," Flynn said. "It's a natural progression from The Blackening, but different than anything on that record. In the past, when we debuted a new song, it was usually the fastest, thrashiest tune. This time we wanted to go with something just straight-up heavy."