Machine Head's new album, Catharsis, is out soon and Robb Flynn has promised the album will represent a conscious change in direction, going for more hook-laden songs, focusing less on outright heaviness like the band has done in the past. "Bastards" is the newest song from the groove titans and is unlike anything in the band's catalog, adopting a folk sound, also hitting on social issues in the United States.

An electric, melodic lead guides the song over the opening moments, lying under lightly strummed acoustic chords as Flynn delivers his words in a speaking tone with light touches of melody. The song's energy crescendos, eventually exploding with pounding drums as Flynn's familiar, gravelly barks come into play.

“It was based on a conversation I had with my kids the day after the election [of Donald Trump as President]. It was a really difficult conversation and a complicated conversation,” Flynn told Loudwire in a recent interview (video below) when speaking about the lyrical component of the song. “Music is often just a snapshot of where their head is at the moment. That moment may not be the same 10 years from now or it might be the same 10 years from now, but that’s where my head was at and we just rolled with it, man.”

Catharsis is out Jan. 26 on Nuclear Blast and pre-orders for the album can be placed at the label's webstore. Machine Head will embark on their headlining North American tour starting Jan. 25 and go here to see if the band is stopping near you.

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