In celebration of the 25th anniversary of their sophomore album, The More Things Change..., Machine Head reunited with founding lead guitarist Logan Mader on Friday (March 18) for a full livestreamed playthrough of the album.
Appearing at Machine Head's practice space as part of their Electric Happy Hour Facebook series, Mader joined frontman Robb Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern to play live set staples Ten Ton Hammer and Take My Scars, before tackling Struck a Nerve, Bay of Pigs, Blistering and more.
After concluding the playthrough of The More Things Change..., the band moved on to perform six tracks from their 1994 debut, Burn My Eyes, wrapping up with a savage rendition of album opener and Machine Head classic, Davidian.
The More Things Change... – released in 1997 – was Machine Head's last album to feature Logan Mader. He quit the band following substance abuse-related struggles in 1998.
“I was self-destructive – that was part of my DNA,” he told Guitar World last month. “I'm sober now and have been for a while. I learned that I don't know how to do moderation – it's all or nothing. It took me time to realize that and accept it after going through waves of sobriety followed by more self-destruction.
“I can't do things by halves; if I do, I end up in the gutter or in the depths of hell. So I started putting that energy into positive things that are better for me, like producing. But I used to get pretty fucked up back then. We all did, especially when we were touring with Pantera. That's when I really started drinking.
“I was with Dimebag drinking Crown every day and every night, getting into all kinds of trouble with those guys. Looking back now, it was a pretty special time in my life. I was definitely living fully. I’m lucky to be alive!”
Last year, Mader reunited with his former bandmate Robb Flynn for a new Once Human single, Deadlock, which appears on the band's latest album, Scar Weaver.
“We all ended up loving the way it came out,” Mader told Guitar World. “It had been a while since we’d worked together, other than a couple of riffs I wrote for a new Machine Head track called My Hands Are Empty, which came out in 2020. I was in the video… it was my first time working with Robb in 20 years.”
In the same interview, Mader described his time in Machine Head as a “one-in-a-million chance, like winning the lottery”, adding that he got to live “this amazing life and experience”.
