Feeling a bit down today? Worried about the upcoming election or picking out the perfect Halloween costume? Well here's your feel good story of the year!
As you may have heard, MACHINE HEAD vocalist and guitarist Robb Flynn's home was burglarized while he was picking up his son from school. Along with jewelry, laptops, cash and 4 of Robb's own guitars, the burglars stole his 6 year old son Zander's Mini Flying V. As if that wasn't bad enough, Robb's son became terrified that the robbers would come back during the night so they could kill him. As someone whose house has been robbed, I understand the uneasiness that comes with feeling unsafe inside your own home, but when you're 6 years old? I can't imagine how horrible that must feel. Luckily, there is a happy ending to this story.
After hearing about the robbery and the uneasy state the Flynn family found themselves in, a group of MACHINE HEAD fans known as The Frontlines decided to help. Through the MACHINE HEAD message board, they rallied their troops and raised the money to buy Zander a brand new guitar. A representative of The Frontlines called Desmadre wrote Robb a note to accompany Zander's shiny new axe:
Robb,
When I heard what happened to you and your family on the 7th of September I was disgusted… Then when i heard that they stole your son’s flying V, I was absolutely fucken pissed.. To come home at such a young age and see the shit that happened is traumatizing… asking if the robbers would return at nite to kill him… I didn’t know what to say, but i knew what I could do…Over the years You’ve been more than generous to a shit load of us from the Frontlines Board.. Taking us backstage even taking the time to shoot the shit with us.. you’ve helped us go through our own problems like Sadness, sorrow, death or just merely getting us pumped for a football game or getting us through a drag-ass day at work. Nowadays, who the fuck does that? You know who…No One !
I’ve heard the frontlines refered to as a community, as a fun place to fuck around on the internet but i see it as more.. Its more like a family. And what do families do in times like this? They help each other out. So from the bottom of our Rotten Blackened hearts, Robb we hope you accept this gesture. It may not replace what was taken from your home but hopefully it will help starting with the most important thing in your life, your kids… Thank you for your years of help.
Thank You,
Desmadre and The Frontlines
Now I admit that I've never been a MACHINE HEAD fan, but now I definitely wish I was one, because they may very well be the coolest and most appreciative fans in all of metal music. Forget the KISS ARMY slapping on some face paint for a live show, The Frontlines are the real deal and they deserve to be recognized for their selflessness and heartfelt generosity. Greatly moved, Robb responded to his superfans via the MACHINE HEAD message board:
On behalf of my wife and and kids, I want to sincerely thank Desmadre and everyone who contributed to the guitar fund. It was an incredible and thoughtful gesture, one that my family and I were / are blown away by. It practically moved my wife to tears (christ, she almost posted a thanks on the Board!?) and Zander is totally stoked! Great choice of guitars, Zander actually likes it better than his other one! I would also like to take this time to thank the other Frontliners who have gone out of their way to help our family out, either financially, with gift certificates, scouring eBay for the guitars, or just sending the good vibes our way.
We decided to just give the one guitar to Zander for now, to make it more special for him, as he lost it and not Wyatt. But we will give the other to Wyatt later, and we will let him know it’s from you guys and not us.
It’s been a rough month, we have no leads and police haven’t recovered anything. Our stuff is gone and were just trying to move on. It’s been hard on the kids. We have a top of the line security system now, thanks to some more of our good friends, and we let the kids set it at night and when we leave, but still, it’s a huge violation to process even as an adult, let alone a 3 1/2 year old and a 6 year old. We are taking Zander and Wyatt to therapy starting next week, because I / we’ve run out of ways to answer “Dada, are the robbers going to break in and kill me tonight?”
Enough of that though, again, you guys really made a HUGE impact in our lives with your gesture, and we can’t thank you enough for it. Des you rock.
On behalf of METAL INJECTION and metal fans all over the world, I want to give The Frontlines a big \m/ \m/ for their efforts in giving Zander Flynn a new 6-string to rock out on, and hopefully a somewhat renewed faith in the goodness of people. Of course Robb has the money and the clout to get his son any guitar he wants, but this isn't about money. The metal community is like an extended family, and although we may fight about an endless amount of subjects, we're really all here for the same reason. I wish the PMRC could have seen this side of the devil's music while they were slapping Parental Advisory stickers on CD's and getting owned by Dee Snider, but thats a different story. Shred with pride Zander, and turn that shit up to 11.
