Machine Head drop sprawling new album ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN, share melodic fifth single, NØ GØDS, NØ MASTERS

Machine Head have launched NØ GØDS, NØ MASTERS, the latest single from their just-released 10th studio album, ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN.

One of the more melodic cuts on the album, NØ GØDS, NØ MASTERS finds Robb Flynn and company in searing songwriting form, as they combine frenetic alternate picking riffs and leads with gloriously anthemic singalong sections. Watch its moody and ambitious accompanying music video below.

“We’re really proud of the video for NØ GØDS, NØ MASTERS,” says Flynn. “It was an incredible collaboration between three different creative teams working across two different continents. Our director/editor Mike Sloat teamed up with the amazing Grupa 13 [a production house based in Wrocław, Poland] and then the stunning 3D CGI came from Phil Radford [VFX artist at animation studio Strangebox].”

Out today (August 26), ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN is a 13-track concept album which details the stories of two characters: Ares and Eros, and “how their lives intertwine”.

As the band explained prior to its release, Ares is a character “who loses the love of his life and goes on a murderous rampage against the vile sect responsible for her murder”. 

Eros, meanwhile, is “the perpetrator, who loses his mother to a drug overdose and becomes radicalized in the aftermath. Eros goes off the deep end manifesting his own killing spree”.

“The album’s concept was loosely inspired by [anime series Attack on Titan] in the sense that in the storyline, there is no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ guy. Both characters believe they’re doing the right thing as it applies to their being, but both are committing acts of pure atrocity and evil.”

ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN also marks the first time guitarist Wacław Kiełtyka – who joined in 2019 – has appeared on a full Machine Head album.

NØ GØDS, NØ MASTERS is the fifth single released from the record, after MY HANDS ARE EMPTY, ARRØWS IN WØRDS FRØM THE SKY, CHØKE ØN THE ASHES ØF YØUR HATE and UNHALLØWED. 

Take a look at the album’s full track list and artwork below.

1. SLAUGHTER THE MARTYR
2. CHØKE ØN THE ASHES ØF YØUR HATE
3. BECØME THE FIRESTØRM
4. ØVERDØSE
5. MY HANDS ARE EMPTY
6. UNHALLØWED
7. ASSIMILATE
8. KILL THY ENEMIES
9. NØ GØDS, NØ MASTERS
10. BLØØDSHØT
11. RØTTEN
12. TERMINUS
13. ARRØWS IN WØRDS FRØM THE SKY