The metal monsters Machine Head showed up in Casper and blew the doors off of the Gaslight Social
Club from the first chord that was struck. The band stopped in Wyoming for their Electric Happy Hour
Live, 2022 US tour.
The fans piled in and were shoulder to shoulder for this first ever appearance by one of the most
celebrated metal bands in history. The anticipation was getting thicker by the minute in the smaller
venue as the fans started chanting rounds of “Machine Head! Machine Head!” several times leading up
to the band finally taking the stage.
Robb Flynn, lead vocalist and the only remaining original member of the band, took the stage first and
the crowd went wild. The rest of the band, including Jared MacEachern on bass guitar, Waclaw “Vogg”
Kieltyka, on lead guitar, and drummer, Matt Alston, emerged in the dusk of soft, dimmed blue lighting.
The band started with the hit from their 2003 album, Through the Ashes of Empires, “Imperium”
followed by the song, “Ten Ton Hammer” off of their 1997 album, The More Things Change…
The fists were flying ,the pit opened up and started swallowing the willing and the wild in the crowd.
The energy in the room from the band to the crowd was intoxicating.
The band went on to perform their song, “Unhallowed”, which is the first time performing it to a live
audience. The Casper crowd, led by mostly girls in the front row, rocked the rail, and definitely told
Machine Head they wanted more. They also played a set of cover tunes from Black Sabbath, to Metallica,
Slayer, and even Poison.
It was clear to the band that this small town in Casper has plenty of thrasher fans who were starving for
this very kind of concert with a full serving of metal up your ass, in your face groove and they left it all on
the floor. In a post the following day, the band says they will be back for another show and Casper fans
can’t wait.
The bands newest release, Of Kingdom and Crown, is available worldwide and the US tour continues
through December.
Casey Hanson- Baruth
