Machine Head recently announced the first leg of their 25th anniversary tour for Burn My Eyes. Check out an announcement video below. The dates kick off in Germany on October 5th in Freiburg, and continue across Europe and the UK, wrapping in Dublin, Ireland on the 8th of November. The US leg will be announced in due course; those dates are set for November into December as the tour makes its way around the globe.

Frontman Robb Flynn recently spoke with Kerrang!'s Sam Law about Burn My Eyes and the upcoming tour. Following is an excerpt:

Q: What’s the appeal of doing this tour?

Flynn: "It’s a special moment. It’s a special milestone. I’m completely humbled and blown away by the fact that we're still here 25 years later able to make music – let alone pay tribute to a record that I recorded all that time ago. That anybody still gives two shits about Machine Head is just incredible. That I get to do it with Chris and Logan – those guys who made the record originally – is fucking huge. We’ve been talking about it for a few years now. Obviously, in light of recent developments, the whole thing has come together a little more easily. The whole point of it is really just a huge celebration of the music that we got to make together!"

Q: What are your memories of the original Burn My Eyes cycle? And how have you changed – as a person and as a performer?

Flynn: "Well, we were a club band back then. With Burn My Eyes, it felt like we exploded – over there (in Europe) in particular. We went from playing 500-cap venues to having to headline Brixton Academy. It happened fast. We had to rise to the occasion. Granted, I had been playing onstage for a long time already at that point, in thrash bands and the like, but as a performer I had to take it to the next level. I look back and remember that we were just so fucking angry. We were out of our minds, drinking and drugging, getting into fights and getting arrested. It was a crazy time, a really crazy time. We had this real youthfulness about us. We brought a sort of street vibe to metal that I’m not so sure had really (been present) up to that point. I would never really consider us a hardcore band – or a even thrash band – but we were playing with a lot of hardcore bands at the time and it (brought that attitude) out!”

Read the complete article, posted on the Machine Head facebook page, here.

Building on their wildly popular An Evening With… format, these not-to-be-missed 25th Anniversary shows will be a three-hour musical extravaganza, comprised of two parts:

Part I - will feature a battery of Machine Head’s modern classics, such as "Imperium", "Halo", and "The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears", featuring frontman/guitarist Robb Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern performing alongside two, soon-to-be-announced, ragers on guitar and drums.

Part II - will feature the Bay Area band’s classic debut album, Burn My Eyes played in its entirety for the first time ever. And if somehow this historical event could not be monumental enough, taking the stage for this part of the set will be Burn My Eyes-era alumni and Machine Head’s original drummer Chris Kontos and original guitarist, Logan Mader.

Band founder and visionary, Robb Flynn states: “Having started rehearsals with Chris and Logan several weeks ago, I’m literally giddy with excitement at the prospect of how much fun this is going to be. Both Logan and Chris are in phenomenal playing shape, the vibe between all four of us has been incredibly positive!”

Flynn continues, “Having run through deep cuts like ‘Death Church,’ and ‘I’m Your God Now’ for the first time in well over a decade, has reminded me of how fucking heavy our older songs are! This tour is going to be MASSIVE!! The timing couldn’t have been more perfect to share this milestone with the Head Cases! So just a head’s up, DO NOT sleep on this! Tell your friends, spread the word, because tickets are going to disappear!”

Logan Mader adds, “It’s a huge honor for me to take part in celebrating Burn My Eyes 25th birthday! It’s hard to believe this is actually happening. I feel like I won the guitar player lottery.... again! The fact that BME is still relevant today has a lot to do with the fact that Robb has kept the band alive and strong for two and a half decades. I’m very grateful for this!”

Chris Kontos echoes the sentiment, stating, “This is an absolute mind blower! Playing these songs again after 23 years feels just amazing. The fact that it's 25 years later and the BME record is still relevant and revered is humbling to say the least. Doing a huge world tour in celebration of the record is a great way to acknowledge the legacy of Machine Head’s past and future. I'm so looking forward to sharing these songs with the Machine Head fans around the world. Can't wait to meet all you ‘Head Cases’ out there! You can be sure it is going to be a crushing night! See ya soon!”

Holding down the bass, Jared MacEachearn is equally looking forward to the run, saying “It’s not everyday that you get to pay tribute to a classic like ‘Burn My Eyes’ and with Logan and Chris in the mix, I’m really excited to bring something special to old and new fans alike.”

More details here.

October
5 - Freiburg, Germany - Sick Arena Musikclub
7 - Tilburg, Holland - 013
9 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Amager Bio
11 - Würzburg, Germany - Posthalle
12 - Leipzig, Germany - Haus Auensee
14 - Bochum, Germany - Ruhr Congress
15 - Munich, Germany - Zenith
16 - Vienna, Austria - Gasometer
18 - Gdansk, Poland - B90
19 - Warsaw, Poland - Progressja
20 - Budapest, Hungary - Baba Negra
22 - Zurich, Switzerland - Komplex
23 - Lyon, France - Le Radiant
25 - Milan, Italy - Live Club
26 - Italy, PADOVA Hall
27 - Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Lux Expo
29 - Paris, France - Le Trianon
31 - Brussels, Belgium - Forest National

November
2 - London, England - O2 Academy Brixton
4 - Manchester, England - O2 Victoria Warehouse
5 - Glasgow, Scotland - O2 Academy
7 - Belfast, Ireland - Telegraph Building
8 - Dublin, Ireland - Olympia Theatre