Machine Head are working on new music, but it's a steady pace as the band has yet to name their replacement for longtime bassist Adam Duce. Frontman Robb Flynn spoke at length about their current progress in his latest online journal entry and also revealed that the search for a new bassist has been narrowed to eight.

Flynn says of their new album progress, "It's been going slow, still trying to find that 'thing,' that 'subject,' that 'hook' for each of the 4 finished songs we have. It can be g--damn frustrating as all hell. You write and write and write, or you freestyle over the song while playing it, hoping it 'tells you something,' and one day you think something clicks! You go write it down or go to sing it, and it's a mess, doesn't make any sense, doesn't go with the vibe of the song, back to the ol' drawing board."

The frontman says that at the moment he has two binders half-full of "cool, different poetic lyrics that just don't go," and it's frustrating him. He did reveal that there is one song title the band is pretty confident about and it's for a track they're calling 'Beneath the Silt.' Flynn likens it to 'Elegy' from the 'Through the Ashes of Empires' disc, and says it has "a stoner-ish vibe about it."

Flynn adds that the band is in the process of finishing some rough demos and he's been laying down guitar tracks while Phil Demmel has been working on the bass parts. However, as Demmel will not be the bassist when the band returns to the stage, the hunt for a new bassist continues.

Speaking of the search, the frontman says, "Got eight guys lined up so far, some 'known' guys, some dudes who are under the radar, and all have touring / stage experience. It's exciting in some ways and weird in others. I never thought I'd be going through this process again, and it f---s with my head from time to time." Flynn says that the position is just a "fill-in" slot for their Mayhem festival dates, but still the person taking over must be able to handle everything on several different levels.

He concludes, "There's some pressure here and there, but that comes from within. Machine Head has always strived to bring our people the best of what we have … we just want to give the people what they deserve."

More From 97.1 KXRX