In a new conversation with Finland’s Chaoszine, Phil Demmel talked about how it felt to watch Machine Head’s touring guitarist Reece Alan Scruggs play his parts.
The musician had a chance to see Machine Head perform at Resurrection Fest in Spain while he was touring with Kerry King’s band. Although he didn’t get to reconnect with Robb Flynn at the festivals, he enjoyed watching their performance from the front. Demmel said:
“The festival show they’re doing is f*cking cool, man. They had the Ten Ton Hammer balloons that come out… And it’s a party vibe. They played ‘Now We Die’, and the middle section in ‘Now We Die’ is — there’s some pretty special lyrics in that section, so I found myself kind of welling up a little bit and feeling a little nostalgic. It was cool to see them killing it like that, honestly. Watching [Havok’s] Reece [Alan Scruggs] play my parts [in the current Machine Head lineup]. And I think I’m finally, finally at a spot of letting a lot of sh*t go.”
Demmel left Machine Head after their fall 2018 North American tour. He was with the band for nearly 16 years and played on five of their studio albums: ‘Through The Ashes Of Empires,’ ‘The Blackening,’ ‘Unto The Locust,’ ‘Bloodstone & Diamonds,’ and ‘Catharsis.’
Demmel’s Words On Leaving Machine Head
Phil later said he left because he was unhappy with the band’s direction. He detailed his decision to leave earlier this year, saying:
“It was the music, but it wasn’t the music. It was 99 percent personal that I couldn’t be there anymore. It was affecting my sleep. It was a toxic entity in my head, in my heart that I had to purge, and I tried to — I wouldn’t say ‘play ball,’ but I tried to go along as long as I could, until I couldn’t. And then it was just — one thing happened to where it was just, like, ‘Oh, I’m f*cking done. I can’t be in a band like this anymore,’ and delivered my resignation… I didn’t know what was gonna happen after I left, but I knew that I was instantly relieved and I was smiling and happy and a hundred percent sure that it was the right decision.”
In September 2019, Machine Head announced Wacław ‘Vogg’ Kiełtyka from Decapitated and Matt Alston from Devilment as Demmel’s replacements. Later, the band added Scruggs to play second guitar on their ‘Electric Happy Hour (Live)’ tour in fall 2022 when Kiełtyka, who couldn’t join because of his commitments with his Decapitated.
You can watch the rest of Demmel’s chat below.