Phil Demmel: Machine Head Was Unhealthy + Took a Toll on My Family

Former Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel has further opened up about his final days with the band. After 15 years with Machine Head, Demmel says his final tour was for the paycheck.

Last year, half of Machine Head quit, leaving the band without a guitarist or drummer. Frontman Robb Flynn took responsibility for the exodus, publicly stating, “I have held on too tight to the reins of this band and I have suffocated you guys.”

In a new interview with Pitts of Metal and Motor Chaos, Demmel spoke in detail about his final shows with M f’n H. "You don't usually ask for a divorce and then go on a honeymoon. [Laughs] But that's what ended up happening. It was a weird vibe — pretty awkward,” Demmel says.

"We weren't a band. That was Robb's trip, and we were basically just being told what was gonna happen … It was just like, 'Man, I'm punching the clock here. I'm gonna show up. What songs do you wanna play? Okay. Cool. We're gonna play the songs. When are the dates? Okay. Cool.' For the last cycle, it was the paycheck. That was my living. I didn't like my job anymore."

Demmel also details how stress within the band was taking a toll on his personal relationships, causing the guitarist and his wife to lose sleep. "It's unhealthy for me physically, it's totally unhealthy for me mentally, and it's taking its toll on my family now, and there's where I've gotta draw the line," the guitarist shares. "This isn't fun, and I've gotta quit my job. And there was a straw that broke the camel's back."

Following his final shows with Machine Head, Demmel performed a number of shows with Slayer while Gary Holt left the road to be with his dying father.

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