In Utah This Week recently caught up with MACHINE HEAD drummer Dave McClain to discuss the band's new album, The Blackening. The following is a brief excerpt from the interview:

Q:It seems like Machine Head prefers to avoid any genre classifications, so how would you describe the type of music that’s on your new album, The Blackening?

McClain: “This is a pretty epic album; we took a lot of time letting these songs take on a life of their own, whether it was adding more parts or making things just more complicated to play. We had a lot of fun writing this album, and I think people are gonna be blown away when they hear it!”

Q: Machine Head keeps it pretty consistent as far as sound goes, with your albums always having elements of brutality, unique rhythmic patterns, as well as frequent experimental elements. Did you guys try anything new on The Blackening that you haven’t done on past albums?

McClain: “We’re writing music for the part of us that is still that kid we were that was running to the front row at the IRON MAIDEN show. And also the musician part of us that wants to be challenged! It’s killer to be able to be in that mind frame and not have to worry about if a certain song is too long or too heavy for a certain radio station.”

Q: What is your No. 1 priority when you’re recording an album? In other words, do you put your utmost focus on musicianship, having a good time, expressing your feelings, or other?

McClain: “I think all that is important, especially in this day and age of recording with ProTools. I think too many bands use technology like that to a disadvantage, making every little thing perfect and taking out any kind of human feel. We’re not a band that records with a click track or puts the drum tracks through a program that makes everything perfect. We’re pretty good at making our mistakes sound like we meant to do them.”

Go to this location to check out the complete interview.

As previously reported, The Blackening has achieved the following chart positions in Europe:

Germany - #12

UK - #16

Netherlands - #29

France - #49