MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn (second from left) recently spoke with Aidin Vaziri at the San Francisco Chronicle. An excerpt from the interview is available below:

Q: You're recording your seventh album at GREEN DAY's studio. Does Billie Joe Armstrong ever drop by and offer advice?

Flynn: "I think he's got better things to do than offer us advice. It's a good studio. We've been in a bunch of corporate spaces with Art Deco couches you can't really sit in. It's cool to be in a place that's world-class but has punk rock posters on the walls and pictures of the Avengers and the Clash and the Beatles. It's also got Martin Luther King's mug shot in the bathroom."

Q: I'm sure Billie Joe would have told you that, at eight minutes, "Locust" is probably six minutes too long to get on the radio.

Flynn: "Yeah, we're not exactly trying to reach the Alice crowd with this one. It's got a solo section that's over two minutes long - most pop songs now aren't even that long. We're conditioned that everything needs to be three minutes or it's not going to connect. I think music should take you on a journey. Riding a train is cool, but riding a roller coaster is more fun."

Q: Is the rest of the album stacked with epics?

Flynn: "I think we've really taken our music to next level with this. We feel super excited about it. I started taking some singing lessons with the guy who worked with MICK JAGGER and LADY GAGA. And then I took some classical guitar. I wanted to feel like a beginner again and not be comfortable and see what that brought out. There's definitely a big neoclassical vibe on the record between all the brutality."

Click here for the complete interview.

As a warm-up for their upcoming dates on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival 2011, Machine Head have announced a show with special guests DIMENSION 13 and openers KRYTERIUM, on July 7th at Knitting Factory Concert House in Reno, NV.

Ticketfly.com is selling GA tickets for $20, also available are reserved box seats for $35.

Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival's 2011 line-up also includes DISTURBED, GODSMACK, MEGADETH, IN FLAMES, TRIVIUM, and many more of today’s most electrifying artists.

The tour will make a 26 date trek across the country beginning on July 9th at the San Manuel Amphitheater in San Bernardino, California.

Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival Tour dates:

July

9 - San Manuel Amphitheater - San Bernardino, CA
10 - Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, CA
12 - White River Amphitheatre - Auburn, WA
13 - Idaho Center Amphitheater - Nampa, ID
15 - Desert Sky Pavilion - Phoenix, AZ
16 - Hard Rock Casino Albuquerque Presents The Pavilion - Albuquerque, NM
17 - Comfort Dental Amphitheater - Englewood, CO
19 - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - Maryland Heights, MO
20 - Riverbend Music Center - Cincinnati, OH
22 - Comcast Center - Mansfield, MA
23 - Parc Jean-Drapeau - (Heavy MTL) - Montreal, QC
24 - Comcast Theater - Hartford, CT
27 - PNC Bank Arts Center - Holmdel, NJ
29 - First Niagara Pavilion - Burgettstown, PA
30 - Jiffy Lube Live - Bristow, VA
31 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ

August

2 - Virginia Beach Amphitheater - Virginia Beach, VA
3 - Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek - Raleigh, NC
5 - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre - Tinley Park, IL
6 - DTE Energy Music Theatre - Clarkston, MI
7 - Verizon Wireless Music Center - Noblesville, IN
9 - Zoo Amphitheatre - Oklahoma City, OK
10 – Gexa Energy Pavilion - Dallas, TX
12 - Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood - Atlanta, GA
13 - 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre - Tampa, FL
14 - Cruzan Amphitheatre - West Palm Beach, FL

Metal Hammer are set to release Machine Head’s new album, 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.