happy accident". In February 2019, former guitarist Phil Demmel said that he hated the direction of Catharsis in an interview with the "Talk Toomey" podcast, explaining: There's moments of what I wrote that I like. I wrote most of the music to "California Bleeding", but then [Flynn] wrote the lyrics on top of it that I just wish that… Me and Dave [McClain, drums] talk about it, like, 'Fuck! I wish I could take my riffs back.' [Laughs] 'No, that isn't what we want them used for.' So, I think, in that sense, it just became a Robb Flynn solo project, and that isn't what I signed up for. Reception Critical reception of the album was mixed to negative. In a review by Jay H. Gorania for Blabbermouth.net he wrote, "Catharsis is a bold move. It's just the wrong move. That's what's most disappointing and frustrating here: The wasted potential of what could have been." Writing for Loudwire, Chad Bowar wrote, "There's a regular album length's worth of excellent songs, but the quality of Catharsis is diluted by that other 30 minutes or so and hampered by a lack of cohesiveness." In a positive review for Metal Hammer, Eleanor Goodman wrote, "Catharsis is Machine Head with the brakes off, freewheeling through past and present as they see fit," and "Robb's said he's got no plan for Machine Head's future, and perhaps that's why the record lacks some coherence, but their rebellious spirit nevertheless remains strong." By contrast, Jeff Treppel of Decibel Magazine gave the album a "shrug emoji" out of 10, calling it "a 74-minute rap metal album with a song that sounds like the Dropkick Murphys in the middle," and that "none of it feels half-assed; these are clearly well-crafted songs. It's all just so stupid... this is a Super Collider-level miss from a band that seemed to have ditched this phase long ago"; the review resulted in a back-and-forth between the band and the magazine. Catharsis would go on to become Machine Head's best international chart debut, debuting at number three in Germany, number 10 in Australia, and number 12 in the UK. Former guitarist Phil Demmel, who played on the record, has publicly admitted his distaste for the album in many interviews after he left the band. A significant proportion of the band's fanbase reacted negatively to the album online. As a result, Robb Flynn responded to