Logan Mader - Guitar

Logan Conrad Mader was born on November 16, 1970, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is best known as the original lead guitarist of Machine Head, but has also built an extensive career as a guitarist, songwriter, record producer, engineer and mixer.

Early Years and the Formation of Machine Head

Mader became friends with Adam Duce when they were young, and the two began playing music together years before Machine Head was formed. Mader helped introduce Duce to bands including Slayer, Metallica, Exodus, King Diamond and Celtic Frost.

When Robb Flynn and Duce began developing a new musical project in 1991, Mader was recruited as the second guitarist.

Together with Flynn on vocals and guitar, Duce on bass and Tony Costanza on drums, Mader became part of Machine Head's original lineup.

Burn My Eyes

During Machine Head's formative years, Mader helped develop the material that would become the band's debut album.

After Chris Kontos replaced Costanza on drums, Machine Head signed with Roadrunner Records and recorded Burn My Eyes.

Released in 1994, the album established Machine Head internationally and became one of Roadrunner Records' most successful debut releases.

Mader's lead guitar work became an important element of the band's early sound, complementing Flynn's vocals and rhythm guitar. The partnership between Flynn and Mader helped create the heavy combination of thrash metal and groove that defined early Machine Head.

The release was followed by extensive touring around the world, transforming Machine Head from a Bay Area underground band into an internationally established metal act.

The More Things Change...

Mader remained with Machine Head for their second studio album, The More Things Change..., released in 1997.

With Dave McClain having replaced Chris Kontos on drums, the lineup of Flynn, Mader, Duce and McClain toured extensively in support of the album, including appearances on Ozzfest.

By the end of the touring cycle, however, tensions had developed within the band.

Departure from Machine Head

After approximately ten months of touring, Machine Head returned home to begin working on their third studio album.

During the first week of March 1998, Mader quit Machine Head.

At the time, Machine Head stated that Mader had become increasingly distant during the latter part of the tour and wanted the freedom to pursue outside musical projects and additional sources of income. The remaining members maintained that Machine Head required a full-time commitment and that outside projects were incompatible with the way the band operated at the time.

His departure ended more than six years as Machine Head's original lead guitarist.

Machine Head subsequently recruited Ahrue Luster as Mader's replacement.

Soulfly

Shortly after leaving Machine Head, Mader joined Max Cavalera's newly formed band Soulfly as lead guitarist.

He joined the group for the touring cycle supporting their self-titled debut album and spent much of 1998 touring with the band.

Mader's period with Soulfly lasted approximately eight months. Although he became closely associated with the early live incarnation of the band, he was not the principal guitarist on the original Soulfly studio album.

He left Soulfly in January 1999 to concentrate on his own musical projects.

Medication

Following his departure from Soulfly, Mader began working with former Ugly Kid Joe vocalist Whitfield Crane, whom he had befriended during Ozzfest in 1998.

The project developed into Medication, initially performing under the name Pale Demons before adopting its permanent name.

The band eventually featured Mader and B-Blunt on guitars, Crane on vocals, Kyle Sanders on bass and a succession of drummers including former Soulfly drummer Roy Mayorga.

Medication released a self-titled EP in 2002 followed by the full-length album Prince Valium later that year. In addition to playing guitar, Mader was heavily involved with the production and engineering of the band's recordings.

Medication disbanded in February 2003, with Mader increasingly turning his attention toward studio work.

Stereo Black and Production Career

Following Medication, Mader formed another project initially called New Black, which subsequently became Stereo Black.

The project produced material for film, television and other media, but Mader gradually became less interested in maintaining another conventional touring band.

Instead, he began concentrating on production, recording, engineering, mixing and mastering.

Mader co-founded the Los Angeles-based production team Dirty Icon Productions and developed a successful career behind the mixing console.

Over the following years, he worked with numerous prominent metal bands and artists. His production and engineering credits have included work with Five Finger Death Punch, Cavalera Conspiracy, Soulfly, Fear Factory, DevilDriver and W.A.S.P.

He also developed a particularly significant working relationship with French metal band Gojira, recording the drums and mixing their acclaimed 2008 album The Way of All Flesh.

His work as a producer allowed Mader to remain heavily involved in metal while spending more than a decade largely away from touring as a guitarist.

Once Human

In 2014, Mader returned to performing when he formed Once Human with vocalist Lauren Hart.

What initially began through Mader's production work developed into a full band, marking his return to the stage after many years concentrating primarily on studio production.

Once Human released their debut album, The Life I Remember, in 2015, followed by Evolution in 2017.

The band's third studio album, Scar Weaver, was released in 2022. The album included "Deadlock", featuring guest vocals from Mader's former Machine Head bandmate Robb Flynn.

Return to Machine Head

In 2019, more than two decades after leaving Machine Head, Mader reunited with Robb Flynn and original drummer Chris Kontos to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Burn My Eyes.

Machine Head created a special two-part concert format for the anniversary tour. The band's current lineup performed the first set before Mader and Kontos joined Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern to perform Burn My Eyes in its entirety.

The reunion marked Mader's first performances with Machine Head in 21 years.

Mader also joined Flynn, Kontos and MacEachern to re-record the entire Burn My Eyes album live in the studio in 2019.

Although he participated extensively in the anniversary celebrations and continued performing with Machine Head during the anniversary touring cycle, Mader did not officially rejoin the band as a permanent member.

His renewed relationship with Machine Head also resulted in additional studio contributions. He performed guitar on "My Hands Are Empty", released in 2020, and later contributed guitar to "My Hands Are Empty" on Machine Head's 2022 album Øf Kingdøm and Crøwn.

Recent Projects

Following his work with Once Human, Mader became involved with several additional projects.

In 2022, he joined Australian metal band Meshiaak as a guitarist.

He has also worked extensively with Costa Rican groove metal band Savage Existence, initially contributing guest guitar and production before becoming involved as a bassist. In 2024, he performed bass on the band's singles "Don't Remember Yesterday" and their cover of Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name", while also handling production, mixing and mastering.

Alongside these projects, Mader has continued his extensive work as a producer, engineer, mixer and mastering engineer.

Legacy

From helping form Machine Head and playing on Burn My Eyes and The More Things Change..., through his periods with Soulfly and Medication, to his extensive production career and eventual return to live performance, Logan Mader has maintained a varied career spanning more than three decades.

His contribution to Machine Head's earliest years remains particularly significant. As the band's original lead guitarist, he helped establish the guitar sound and musical identity of the first two Machine Head albums before returning more than 20 years later to celebrate the album that began their international career.