Machine Head, 11th April 2026, Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark

Archive photo: Zoran www.sonic-shot.com

Experiencing Machine Head in just about any live setting over the decades proves that the band is basically incapable of playing a weak show. However, there is something uniquely intense about seeing them in smaller venues.

The last time the band visited Copenhagen was two years ago, when they returned to playing festivals and even managed to headline Friday at Copenhell. Currently, the band is promoting their latest album Unatoned, which is among the weakest of their career. In Europe, they are doing their “An Evening With” type of shows, meaning there are no supporting acts and the band plays an extra-long set. They’ve done this before, and it’s a great opportunity for fans to experience Machine Head classics, new material, and plenty of room for deep cuts and oddballs.

Despite their renewed success on the festival circuit and the fact that Unatoned is one of their most commercially approachable albums, the opening show of their European tour in Copenhagen, with a capacity of 1,300 people, was not sold out. Nevertheless, the venue felt packed.

Before the band took the stage, “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen blasted from the speakers – perhaps in an attempt to recreate that Green Day moment from London, where the crowd spontaneously started singing along and created an amazing atmosphere. Unfortunately, last night at Vega, it turned into more of a half-hearted, drunken karaoke situation.

Over more than three decades, the Californian band has created many songs suitable for opening a show, but one they keep returning to is “Imperium,” the opener from their 2003 album Through the Ashes of Empires. It might just be their ultimate opener. Everything about it works. Last night was no exception; however, the impact wasn’t as massive as usual. The sound was muddy and lacked punch, and the bass guitar was practically nonexistent. They quickly followed it with another staple, “Ten Ton Hammer,” which hit somewhat harder than the opener, though the bass issues persisted and the overall sound remained subpar.

Sonically, things improved during “Choke on the Ashes of Your Hate” from Of Kingdom and Crown, only to dip again during “Now We Die” from the magnificent Bloodstone & Diamonds, where bassist Jared MacEachern wasn’t even on stage at the beginning of the song.

Speaking of MacEachern, one of the big assets he brought to the band when he joined in 2013 was his backing vocals. Unfortunately, last night in Copenhagen he seemed to be battling a cold or something similar – either way, his vocals were almost unbearable.

Fortunately, the band got a much better hold of the crowd by the time they ripped into “The Blood, the Sweat, the Tears” and “Is There Anybody Out There?”. The first curveball of the evening came in the form of “None But My Own” from their 1994 debut. It was a welcome addition, even though it seemed to go over most people’s heads. But perhaps that’s what deep cuts are meant to do.

Halfway through the concert, band leader and the only remaining original member, Robb Flynn, gave the crowd a chance to vote on the next song. The choice was between “Blood for Blood” and “Aesthetics of Hate.” The latter (of course) won, and the audience was treated to the first of three songs from their 2007 milestone The Blackening. They followed it with “Now I Lay Thee Down,” during which Flynn’s guitar cut out. He performed the first part of the song without it and even refused to take it back right away once the tech had it ready. Technical difficulties persisted throughout the show, most noticeably during the first half. Flynn acknowledged it with a smile, attributing it to this being the first show of the tour. “We are having a blast anyway,” he stated – and the band certainly appeared to be enjoying themselves throughout the show. And that sure does rub off on the crowd.

Flynn pulled out all of his usual tricks, but they still work, so there is little reason to change them. There is a survivor’s quality to him that has made him a more confident performer over the years. He remains the driving force behind Machine Head’s longevity despite numerous setbacks throughout their career.

Throughout the show, he instructed the crowd with a high degree of success. While some elements – like getting the audience to kneel, orchestrating a wall of death, and initiating countless circle pits – may come across as worn-out clichés, they still work. In an era where large portions of audiences need encouragement to do anything beyond looking at or filming on their phones, such direction might even be necessary to maintain energy and participation required for a Machine Head show. Despite the abundance of clichés, Flynn remains exceptionally effective at commanding a crowd.

The band did their best to make songs from the new album work, and considering the quality of the material, they came across better than expected.

The second surprise of the evening came in the form of “Circle the Drain,” performed fully acoustically for the first time ever by Flynn and MacEachern. It was accompanied by an acoustic version of “Darkness Within” from 2011’s Unto the Locust. By then, Flynn’s voice was showing signs of strain, but fortunately, MacEachern seemed to have warmed up, which helped significantly.

The title track from the much-maligned 2018 album Catharsis was perhaps the best choice to represent that record, followed by “Bulldozer” from 2001’s Supercharger. Before the obligatory closing duo of “Davidian” and “Halo,” another song from The Burning Red proved that the album has aged remarkably well, especially in a live setting. “From This Day” served as the perfect lead-in to that flawless finale.

“An Evening With” is an interesting concept that gives the band a chance to perform material that is not typically played live. It is a format they have successfully executed many times, but on this occasion, the setlist leaned toward safer choices. This is somewhat disappointing, as it raises the question of when deeper cuts like “My Misery,” “Night of Long Knives,” or “Silver” will get their moment. On the other hand, it is undeniably impressive that Machine Head possesses such a strong catalogue of “safe” songs that they can fill a set exceeding two and a half hours. That alone speaks volumes about the quality of their discography. To their credit, each of their eleven studio albums was represented during the Copenhagen show.

Machine Head remains incapable of delivering a weak performance – this one is simply the weakest of the fifteen yours truly has experienced.

SETLIST:

1. Imperium
2. Ten Ton Hammer
3. Choke on the Ashes of Your Hate
4. Now We Die
5. The Blood, the Sweat, the Tears
6. Is There Anybody Out There?
7. None But My Own
8. Rotten
9. Slaughter the Martyr
10. Aesthetics of Hate
11. Now I Lay Thee Down
12. Old
13. Outsider
14. Locust
15. Bonescraper
16. Circle the Drain
17. Darkness Within 
18. Catharsis
19. Bulldozer
20. From This Day
21. Davidian
22. Halo