Robert Flynn: Cold and rainy. Typical San Francisco weather.

VOX: Tell me how you guys got started.

RF: Well, we were founded in February 1992, went through numerous drummers, then finally got the solid line-up together. In '94 we released our first album [Burn My Eyes] on Roadrunner. It was and still is Roadrunner's biggest debut. Our new album [Burning Red] is out now.

VOX: What's the vibe like in the band?

RF: We're very dedicated to what we do. It's going really well.

VOX: How has success changed life for you?

RF: Well, it definitely doesn't suck to be in Machine Head, I can tell you that. There is the loss of privacy, but it's cool. We are in touch with our fans - we bond with them - so in a sense it's fine. I've learned to deal with the lack of privacy.

VOX: What was the music scene like growing up?

RF: Typical Bay Area stuff - Metallica, Slayer, that kind of stuff. We had the punk scene and the metal/punk kinda scene…Poison Idea, Cro-Mags…and we had the hip-hop influence - the early stuff like Ice Cube and N.W.A., which had a huge effect.

VOX: It must feel good to know you have such a hard-core following.

RF: When you hear than chant, "Machine-Fucking-Head, Machine-Fucking-Head" go up from the crowd before a show, it gets me so fucking pumped. I down some Absolut and Coke, which I fucking love, and hit the stage. I dig it. We love playing live.

VOX: What do you guys think of Los Angeles?

RF: Los Angeles is weird man, it's beyond jaded, even more than New York. LA is just too cool for itself. I mean, we've had some good times there…

VOX: Where are you favorite places to play? Where do you feel like you get the best vibe?

RF: Home! San Francisco is off the hook, man. It fucking rocks. New York, Chicago and even LA are great, too.

VOX: Where did the album title [The Burning Red] come from?

RF: It really captured what we felt at the time. Red can mean so many things - from hate, war, blood and death to love, beauty and lust. That one color captured what was going on…all the contrasts that were there. Songs like "From This Day" and "Silver" really put those feelings out there.

VOX: How are you guys feeling about getting back out on the road?