EMQ’s With Machina Kore
EMQ’s With Machina Kore
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs, this time with Irish Alt/ Thrash Metal band, Machina Kore. Huge thanks to their Guitarist, Gary Jackson, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
My Name is Gary Jackson, I play guitar and joined the band in Jan 2023.
How did you come up with your band name?
The band name came from Seany(Bass) and Moro(Guitar/Vox) spit-balling names on car journeys. Machina was inspired by the film Ex-Machina although we pronounce it like Machine-a. The Kore was a word that just sounded cool and fitted perfectly.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We are an Irish band and the Irish Metal/Rock scene in both North and South of Ireland is pretty strong. Loads of great bands and musicians all over the place. Outside of the bands there are a couple of supporters of the scene, Richey of The Metal Cell Podcast, Phil and Adrian at Burning Metal IRL and James of The Distortion Project all do fantastic work in promoting local bands in the scene.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
The single Ghosts of Everest and video was released on 11 Jul 2025 and was followed by the album which is called Ghosts of Everest and was released on 25 Jul 2025.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Influences for writing music I get from everything, music, movies and life experiences. Guitar influences I like Dave Navarro for his textural layering style and also Frank Zappa for just utter madness. Closer to the style of music we play I always loved Jeff Hanneman from Slayer.
What first got you into music?
AC/DC got me into the music, Jimi Hendrix into the guitar.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
I’ll stick with Seany, Lenny and Moro for right now. Seeing what will come out of the next batch of songs will be interesting.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Download would be the big one, although a support slot in Slane would be cool. I like smaller venues though so the likes of the Ulster Hall (Belfast) or Vicar St. in Dublin would be cool as I’ve seen some great shows in those venues.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
I find it weird that anyone would want to give me anything as a “fan”. Just happy that people dig the music.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Again, just keep enjoying the music and spreading the word if you do, adding to playlists and recommending, every little positive action helps more than you think it does.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
I’ll be greedy and pick 4, only because I’d like to have seen what they would have done with the next releases of their careers. Bon Scott (what would Back In Black have been like). John Bonham (Led Zeppelins next album). Cliff Burton(would there still have been no bass in …And Justice For All) and Randy Rhoads (another Ozzy collab). Obviously there is the likes of Chris Cornell and Ozzy, Lemmy etc. Too many awesome people gone.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
The creativity of playing music is the most enjoyable. Hate the bullshit that takes away for that process. The “admin” side of playing in a band. Juggling all other areas is a pain in the ass.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
In general the part of the music industry that probably needs changing is the core element. The bands/artists always seem to be the ones that get screwed over. From labels taking their cut to promoters looking for bands to play for little to no money, venues taking cuts from merchandise, 360 label deals. All designed for others to get rich while the actual artist who creates the music always struggles or has to fight very hard for every single win.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs or Downloads?
I like Vinyl, when and band spends so much effort on the design and artwork, then vinyl is the best way to see that. Then CD. However I do like the portability of streaming music. To have that choice on the go is really good. I pretty much have music on all the time.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Let you know soon!!
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Something creative for sure – Probably Photography.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Ozzy, Lemmy, Amy Winehouse, Bon Scott, Motley Crue. That’d be a pretty wild dinner party. Obviously I won’t be attending that one. Pure Chaos. The alternative would be Lenny, Seany, Moro, Myself and Frankie McClay (Producer of Ghosts of Everest) as this will mean that we are recording new music.
What’s next for the band?
Rehearsing and writing new material. Maybe another single or two from Ghosts of Everest.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
Instagram @machinakore
Facebook – www.facebook.com/MachinaKore
Bandcamp – machinakore.bandcamp.com
Email – machinakore@gmail.com
There’s a long-standing food-based debate here in the UK. And we’d like your help. So… A Jaffa cake – is it a cake or a biscuit? Discuss!
Jaffa cakes are my favourite and after a band discussion we are firmly in the cake realm. Perfectly described by Lenny (Drums). General rule of thumb – Biscuits soften when out of date. Cakes harden when out of date. Jaffa Cake base gets hard.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Just to say a massive thanks to anyone who has supported the music, shared, listened, reviewed or even just reached out to say they have enjoyed what they have heard. Thank You!
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