This is What it Looks Like When Machine Head Do Gang Vocals

If you’ve never had the pleasure of participating in a recording session for gang vocals before, I gotta tell you: it can be really fun, but it’s also a little bit weird. Even you’re amongst friends, there’s just something inherently kinda funny about standing close together and shouting a phrase (or phrases) in unison into a shared mic. Sure, it’ll sound HUGE and awesome in the finished recording, but in the moment, it’s just you and a some dudes (or ladies!) all participating in synchronized baboonery. I imagine it’s the metal equivalent of filming a big action scene against a CGI monster: it’ll look cool in the end, but right now, you’re basically pretending to be afraid of nothing, and it feels pretty silly.

And if someone screws up, well, forget about it… laughing fits will ensue.

A perfect visual example comes in the form of the below video, which finds 3/4ths of Machine Head recording gang vocals for their upcoming Record Store Day Ignite cover. Maybe it’s just because they were being filmed and it added an extra level of awkwardness, but Phil Demmel appears to be constantly on the verge of giggling, no one seems to know what to do with their hands, no one ever makes eye contact or looks away from the lyrics despite the fact they’re standing inches away from one another and the lyrics are not especially difficult to remember. I’m not making fun of the dudes in Machine Head — I’m being sincere here. This is what it’s like to record gang vocals. Bizarre.

Record Store Day is April 19. Machine Head’s contribution will also include a demo of a new song, “Killers & Kings.”

[via The PRP]