Metal
Reece Scruggs announced on Instagram that he is leaving Machine Head. He joined in 2022, when Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka of Decapitated left — Kiełtyka had in turn replaced Phil Demmel — and he is the guitarist who recorded “UNATØNED”, the album Nuclear Blast released in April 2025. Scruggs, who also plays with Havok, describes the split as amicable. He had cut back on touring to care for his father, who was ill: while he was away, Vogg himself, Ben Eller and Zack Ohren covered on guitar, and according to Lambgoat the band played seven shows as a three-piece during 2026.
“Being an actual member, touring the world, and releasing a record with Machine Head is a badge of honor I will carry with me forever, and the band and crew will always have my support”, he writes. He explains that the last time he saw Robb Flynn face to face was in a Starbucks in Mexico City, sobbing about his father’s diagnosis, and that the singer understood him before he could finish the sentence. A few weeks ago Flynn flew him out to a San Francisco 49ers game to close the chapter another way.
Machine Head released “Sutures” on 20 October without warning, ten days after Flynn called time on the “UNATØNED” cycle. Neither Scruggs’ statement nor the Lambgoat report says who will take the slot.
Text by Roger Estivill