#dave mcclain

[metal-sludge]

SACRED REICH (1985 - present) | METAL FORCES, June 1990.

[metalsongoftheday]

Tuesday, April 1: Sacred Reich, "Something to Believe"

All of the drama surrounding Machine Head following the disastrous reception to Catharsis ultimately proved that Robb Flynn needed Dave McClain more than the drummer needed MH’s frontman: while Flynn moved forward with a revolving-door lineup and largely course corrected the brand, the magic and majesty of The Blackening was gone forever, whereas McClain rejoined Sacred Reich and quickly put out a lean and hungry record that may not have reached as big an audience but earned its respect.  “Something to Believe” closed Awakening with an efficient burst of controlled energy, powered in large part by McClain’s perfect balance of near-prog technicality, thrash fury and groove, and in a way his drumming delivered its own kind of riff.  To be sure, the track was very much Phil Rind’s creation, and even with McClain’s distinct style and presence it didn’t sound much like Machine Head, instead continuing with the focused approach to thrash that had long been Sacred Reich’s trademark.  Most of all, “Something to Believe” was a purposeful metal tune that felt unburdened and just banging, which was a lot more than could be said about most of Robb Flynn’s output the past 7 years.

[dodinaslesavage]

Phil Demmel, Richie Faulkner, Mike Inez, Dave McClain & Lzzy Hale - Bad Reputation (Thin Lizzy cover)(2020)

[nofatclips]

Darkness Within by Machine Head from the album Unto the Locust - Directed by Robb Flynn, Milan Basel and Jorge Nunez

[rp-kat]

Sacred Reich

1996

Thrash'em All  #3

[headbanger98tv]

Photos from the latest Inferno magazine

[bretthorton]

[metalsongoftheday]

Tuesday, October 25: Machine Head, “In the Presence of My Enemies”

Through the Ashes of Empires was strikingly defiant in its determination: Machine Head was essentially starting from scratch, having burned through most of its equity over the previous 4 years and beginning the writing process without a record deal. But Robb Flynn and the rest of the band found their voice in struggle, and fighting for their right to simply exist resulted in not only a renewed focus and intensity, but ultimately laid the blueprint for the rest of their career, as epics like “In the Presence of My Enemies” bore the weight of their battle scars over a lengthy runtime without feeling meandering or bloated.  The track found the entire band fully in sync, with Phil Demmel’s playing and writing giving Flynn a worthy counterpart on guitar, while Dave McClain’s drumming was unstoppable.  There was a tone of perseverance that felt genuine and earned: Flynn mostly put the nonsense aside and honed in on the will to survive, giving the track a surprising poignancy to go with the surging momentum of the music- as delivered here “On your grave, I will stand” was more defensive than commanding.  And in turn, “In the Presence of My Enemies” not only brought Machine Head back to life, it ended up establishing a new template for their music moving forward, as subsequent albums would at least circle back to this approach if not build on it.