Jared MacEachern - Bass, Vocals

Jared MacEachern was born on August 16, 1980, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.

Music was part of MacEachern's life from an early age. He began singing in his parents' church choir when he was five and remained involved until his early teens. At around ten years old, he began playing instruments, starting with violin before moving to cello and eventually bass guitar.

Around the age of twelve, MacEachern discovered heavy metal after hearing Metallica. Cliff Burton became a particularly important influence on his bass playing.

MacEachern later studied music performance at Brevard College in North Carolina, with bass as his principal instrument.

Sanctity

Around 2000, MacEachern became involved with the North Carolina metal band Sanctity.

Although he had spent years playing bass, his role in Sanctity was as rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist.

Sanctity developed a combination of thrash metal, melodic death metal and progressive influences and eventually attracted the attention of Trivium frontman Matt Heafy. The band signed with Roadrunner Records and released their debut album, Road to Bloodshed, in 2007.

Sanctity subsequently toured extensively with bands including Trivium, Lamb of God and Machine Head.

First Connection with Machine Head

MacEachern's first direct involvement with Machine Head came during the 2007 The Black Tyranny Tour.

Machine Head bassist Adam Duce had broken his leg in a dirt bike accident in Redding, California and was unable to participate in the North American tour.

Brandon Sigmund of fellow Bay Area band Hostility was recruited to temporarily handle Duce's bass parts. However, Machine Head also needed someone capable of reproducing Duce's high backing vocals.

Roadrunner Records A&R executive Monte Conner suggested MacEachern, whose band Sanctity was already opening the tour.

MacEachern consequently performed double duty during the tour. He first played the Sanctity set as vocalist and guitarist before later returning to the stage to provide backing vocals for Machine Head while Sigmund played bass.

At the time, there was no indication that MacEachern would eventually become a permanent member of Machine Head, but the experience allowed him to establish a relationship with Robb Flynn, Phil Demmel and Dave McClain.

Leaving Sanctity

MacEachern became a father in late 2007 and subsequently decided to step away from the demanding touring lifestyle in order to concentrate on his family.

He left Sanctity, and the band eventually became inactive.

During the following years, MacEachern remained involved with music and played with projects including From A Dig and Telic.

Around 2010, he also became involved with Maldivian thrash metal band Serenity Dies.

Joining Machine Head

In February 2013, Machine Head parted ways with founding bassist Adam Duce after more than two decades together.

The band launched an open search for a replacement, asking bassists to submit videos of themselves performing Machine Head songs while also providing vocals.

More than 400 musicians submitted auditions.

Former Sanctity drummer Jeremy London alerted MacEachern to the opportunity, and Machine Head drummer Dave McClain also encouraged him to apply.

MacEachern submitted an audition and was selected as one of seven finalists invited to Oakland to perform with the band in person.

His previous experience with Machine Head in 2007 gave the band some familiarity with him, but he still went through the same audition process as the other candidates.

On June 24, 2013, Machine Head officially announced Jared MacEachern as their new bassist.

Remarkably, the musician who had temporarily performed Adam Duce's backing vocals six years earlier had now become his permanent replacement.

MacEachern immediately began rehearsing for the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and relocated from North Carolina to Northern California as Machine Head began pre-production for their eighth studio album.

Bloodstone & Diamonds

MacEachern made his studio debut with Machine Head on Bloodstone & Diamonds, released in 2014.

In addition to bass and backing vocals, he became involved in the creative process and received songwriting and lyric credits.

The album established MacEachern as a permanent part of the band rather than simply a replacement for Duce.

Catharsis and Lineup Changes

MacEachern's second Machine Head studio album was Catharsis, released in 2018.

Later that year, longtime guitarist Phil Demmel and drummer Dave McClain announced that they would leave Machine Head following the band's North American tour.

Their final performance as members took place in Santa Cruz, California, on November 24, 2018.

The departures left Flynn and MacEachern as the remaining members of the lineup.

Burn My Eyes 25th Anniversary

In 2019, Machine Head recruited guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka and drummer Matt Alston for the Burn My Eyes 25th Anniversary Tour.

The concerts featured an unusual two-part format. Flynn, MacEachern, Vogg and Alston performed a set of later Machine Head material before original guitarist Logan Mader and drummer Chris Kontos joined Flynn and MacEachern for a complete performance of Burn My Eyes.

MacEachern therefore became the bassist connecting Machine Head's modern lineup with the reunited members of the band's original era.

The lineup also recorded a live-in-the-studio performance of the complete Burn My Eyes album.

Øf Kingdøm and Crøwn

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Flynn and MacEachern continued working on new Machine Head material while the band also maintained contact with fans through online performances and the Electric Happy Hour livestreams.

Machine Head released Øf Kingdøm and Crøwn in 2022.

MacEachern once again provided bass and backing vocals and had by this point become Machine Head's second-longest-serving active member behind Flynn.

UNATØNED

Machine Head released their eleventh studio album, UNATØNED, in 2025.

The album was MacEachern's fourth full-length Machine Head studio album, following Bloodstone & Diamonds, Catharsis and Øf Kingdøm and Crøwn.

More than a decade after officially joining the band, MacEachern remains Machine Head's bassist and backing vocalist and has become one of the longest-serving members in the band's history.