We’ve known that Machine Head were working on a new album for a while now, and we’ve also known it would be called Catharsis. Given that a world tour is starting in January, it wasn’t that much of a stretch to imagine that the album would be out then, and the band have not only confirmed a release date of the album, but also released the first single from it.
“Beyond the Pale” just dropped, and if you pre-order Catharsis before the album drops on January 26th, you can have it as an instant grat track now. As far as the song, it’s definitely got the groove of Machine Head, and while they threw many people for a loop with the ultra-commercial “Is There Anybody Out There” last year, this new song splits the difference. It’s short enough to be an active rock single, but it’s still heavy and has enough crunch that that probably won’t happen. It shouldn’t alienate too many old school fans, but may bring them some new ones as well. There’s still no word on whether Kurt Ballou produced the album, but it sure doesn’t sound like it from this. Here’s the song, and their tour dates below.
1/25 – Phoenix, AZ @ Nile Theater
1/27 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
1/29 – San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theater
1/30 – Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey Live!
1/31 – Houston,TX @ HOB
2/02 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
2/03 – Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl MH
2/05 – Orlando, FL @ Plaza Live
2/06 – Atlanta, GA @ Centerstage
2/08 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
2/09 – New York, NY @ Playstation
2/10 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
2/11 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
2/13 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth MH
2/14 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
2/15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
2/16 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora
2/17 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic
2/20 – Des Moines, IA @ Woolys
2/21 – Madison, WI @ Majestic
2/22 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
2/23 – Chicago, IL @ Concord MH
2/24 – Saint Louis, MO @ Pops
2/ 27 – Denver, CO @ Summit MH
3/01 – Las Vegas, NV @ HOB
3/02 – Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda
3/03 – Oakland, CA @ The Fox Theater
3/05 – Portland, OR @ Roseland
3/06 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
3/07 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox Market
