Inarguably the most metal of all Copenhell headliners this year, Machine fucking Head took the Helvíti stage in possession late Friday evening. Having not seen them for six years now, we were curious to see what they might bring to the table.

“Copenhell, are you ready to lose your minds with Machine Head tonight?!”
- Robb Flynn (vocals/guitar)

Large Machine Head flags were waiving in the air as the intro played out, and when the band hit the stage, they kicked into gear immediately with the kick-ass Imperium. We were given a hit song, we were given pyrotechnics, we were given fireworks, we were given a band ready to wreck the festival, and all this just over the course of the first song! All they asked in return was that we, the audience, gave them the middle finger, and we were happy to comply - we had after all been trained to do this by Tom Morello the day before.
While one might have feared this was all Machine Head had to offer, that they had put all their eggs in one basket as it were, this soon proved to be far from the truth. In fact, the band managed to keep the energy going throughout, something not even a tricky part such as a guitar solo by Reece Scruggs managed to mess up. Yeah, we’re not usually fans of solos here, as they mostly feel like filler material to pad a show, but Scruggs kept it short and sweet, and we were soon back to the action.

Well, I say action, but as the following song was Darkness Within with only Flynn and an acoustic guitar on stage, we did get a soft re-entry, with the rest of the band showing up later in the song. This particular track was opened with some heartfelt honesty from Flynn about a very dark time in his own life, and a wish that anyone else feeling like this remember to seek help and take care of themselves, a message that sadly can never be overstated.
Snapping us right back from such a heavy topic was the always fun Bulldozer which experience was added to by the band letting huge dice shaped balloons loose on the crowd to play with!
This was actually the second set of balloons Machine Head had provided this evening, as they had large hammer shaped balloons fill the air for Ten Ton Hammer as well, something that clearly was a hit with the audience.

“We’ve got some rowdy motherfuckers here at Copenhell! Cheers, you crazy motherfuckers!”
- Flynn (vocals/guitar)

The audience was absolutely responding to the energy let out by the band, and they were doing their part in making this a very special headlining act as well. From the start, we had the middle fingers up as mentioned, but those soon had to come back down in order to facilitate all the other lively activities going on. Flynn asked for the largest circle pit Copenhell had ever seen for Chøke Øn The Ashes Øf Yøur Hate, but that was hardly necessary as the audience was already a roiling sea of flesh and sweat!
There was of course a lot of singing going on as well. The band invited us to join in the standard “oh oh” parts of songs like Nø Gøds, Nø Masters and Darkness Within, but of course, with a line like “Let freedom ring with a shotgun blast!” coming up, no incentive was needed!

Machine Head truly delivered a spectacular show. They have clearly not slept on their laurels all this time, but really spent some time refining and building upon their already fully functional machine, making it possible for them to deliver a show with a fulfilling setlist and a fully lit performance, all wrapped up in a visually stunning delivery. Top character for this show, no doubt about it.

Setlist:

Imperium
Ten Ton Hammer
Chøke Øn The Ashes Øf Yøur Lies
Locust
Is There Anybody Out There?
Nø Gøds, Nø Masters
Solo (Scruggs)
Darkness Within
Bulldozer
From This Day
Davidian
Halo