Guitarist Wacław ‘Vogg’ Kiełtyka has decided to part ways with Machine Head. Having joined the band in 2019, Vogg recently announced his departure to concentrate on his commitments with Decapitated. He mentioned that his last performance with Machine Head took place in October 2023.
Earlier on February 17, the rocker took to Instagram to share the news, mentioning it was bound to happen sooner or later:
“Hey there! I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about my role as the Machine Head guitarist. So, I wanted to give you all a quick update on what’s been going on. The South American tour [in October 2023] was my last with MH. Hope that clears things up for you! It was bound to happen sooner or later as both Decapitated and Machine Head are active bands these days. So, it’s no surprise that some tours overlap.”
The guitarist then shared his plans with his other band, Decapitated:
“Decapitated is my absolute No. 1 band, and we have some incredible plans coming up. We are all set to hit the US again and embark on a European tour this year. That’s not all; we also have some exciting shows and a studio session lined up that I just can’t wait for!”
Vogg finished it off by thanking his crewmates and some more news:
“I just wanted to thank Robb Flynn, Joseph, Jared MacEachern, Matt Alston, and all the amazing Crew members I had the pleasure of working with during my time at MH. I can’t thank you enough for the incredible opportunities and experiences that I had there. I’ll always cherish the crazy moments we shared together. I hope that MH continues to thrive in the future. As for me, I’m focusing on the new DECAP stuff but I’m also still ready to help out in case of any tour emergencies for other bands.”
The frontman Robb Flynn responded, assuring that there are no hard feelings:
“Much respect Vogg. We were / are very fortunate to have had you for the time that we did. Absolute best with the future with the mighty Decapitated, and all the best to Gosia and the girls.”
As of now, there has been no official statement from Machine Head regarding this development.
Time Management Between Machine Head and Decapitated
Vogg founded Decapitated back in 1996 and has been an active member of the band ever since. Fast forward to 2019, the guitarist was chosen as the newest guitarist for Machine Head. Despite actively touring and recording sessions, the rocker was able to manage the time and plans between the two bands until recently.
In an earlier interview, Vogg discussed how he managed to split his time between two bands:
Well, we inform each other about the plans. If there is something on the way with Decapitated, I just tell it to Rob. And if they have any plans, Robb or Joseph [Huston], the manager of Machine Head, he’s sending me plans, and I’m, like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ So we’re trying to deal with the situation all the time. And, of course, if there is the situation that, for example, Decapitated announced a tour and then there’s some kind of single festival with Machine Head, then Robb is really cool with the situation that he understands I have Decapitated, and if I need to have a replacement for one or two shows, then there’s no problem. We deal with that this way; that’s the solution for us in this situation.”
You can see the guitarist’s explanation here.
