Bay Area firebrands Machine Head have unleashed the album version of "Bastards," which is set to appear on their forthcoming ninth full-length Catharsis, out January 26th via Nuclear Blast. The song, which serves as the much-anticipated LP's third single and is the band's most unabashedly political yet, was previously unveiled in the form of a stripped-down "poetry slam" performance video, which you can view below. The song's lyrics reenact a real-life conversation between frontman Robb Flynn and his sons in which he explains the outcome of the 2016 Presidential election and the state of the country as he sees it. After railing against politicians, "racists and Second Amendment thugs," he urges his sons and his listeners to "stand your ground/Don't let the bastards grind you down." The song follows the previously-shared title track and "Beyond the Pale."
Watch Robb Flynn deliver the poetry-slam version of "Bastards" below:
