Feature Photo: Brunswick Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Charles Hardin Holley, professionally known as Buddy Holly, hailed from Lubbock, Texas, where he was born on September 7, 1936. Growing up as the youngest of four children in a musical family, Holly was immersed in various genres from an early age. His initial foray into music saw him performing country and western tunes with his friend Bob Montgomery, forming the duo “Buddy and Bob” during their high school years. The pivotal moment in Holly’s career trajectory occurred in 1955 when he opened for Elvis Presley. This exposure to rock and roll ignited his passion for the genre, prompting him to transition from country music and pursue a career in rock and roll.
In 1956, Holly’s burgeoning talent caught the attention of Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, leading to a contract with Decca Records. Despite initial setbacks during recording sessions in Nashville, Holly’s determination remained unwavering. He returned to Lubbock and, with a group of local musicians, including drummer Jerry Allison, formed a band that would later be known as The Crickets. Collaborating with producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico, Holly and The Crickets recorded a demo of “That’ll Be the Day.” This track, inspired by a line from a John Wayne movie, became their breakthrough hit, propelling them into the national spotlight.
Throughout his brief yet prolific career, Buddy Holly released several albums, both as a solo artist and with The Crickets. Notable albums include “The ‘Chirping’ Crickets” (1957) and “Buddy Holly” (1958). His innovative approach to songwriting and recording yielded a series of hit singles that have since become rock and roll classics. Songs like “Peggy Sue,” “Oh, Boy!,” “Maybe Baby,” and “Rave On” showcased his signature blend of catchy melodies and heartfelt lyrics, solidifying his reputation as a pioneer of the genre.
Despite his untimely death at the age of 22 in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, Holly’s influence on music has been profound and enduring. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, underscoring his lasting impact on the industry. Artists such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan have cited Holly as a significant influence on their work. His innovative techniques, including the use of double-tracking and pioneering the standard rock band setup of two guitars, bass, and drums, have left an indelible mark on the evolution of popular music.
Beyond his musical achievements, Buddy Holly’s legacy extends into various cultural realms. His life and career have been immortalized in film and theater, most notably in “The Buddy Holly Story,” a 1978 biographical film that garnered critical acclaim. Additionally, his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, honors his memory through the Buddy Holly Center, a museum dedicated to preserving his contributions to music and culture. Holly’s enduring popularity is a testament to his remarkable talent and the timeless appeal of his music.
Nova Collective are a band featuring Between The Buried & Me’s Dann Briggs, Richard Hensall and Peter Jones and Cynoc drummer Matt Lynch. When they released their debut album The Further Side in 2017, Briggs gave us a glimpse into his prog world…
Where’s home? Greensboro, North Carolina.
Your earliest prog memory? My dad was deep into prog so there were always records around the house – King Crimson’s Discipline, Gentle Giant, Peter Gabriel – and the covers made a real impression. Dad never pushed prog on me, but it was just kinda destined.
First prog record you bought? Dream Theater’s Scenes From A Memory was my first, full-on “I’m buying a prog record!” record. Got it in Pittsburgh.
First prog gig attended? Dream Theater really were the big gateway band for me. I saw them on their Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence tour [2002]. I think it was in Cleveland.
Favourite gadget? I keep a mini two-octave keyboard in my backpack at all times, along with a book of manuscript paper and a pencil!
Any guilty musical pleasures? I do own Alicia Keys’ first album, Songs In A Minor. I really thought there was something there, but she peaked on that record.
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What would be your specialist subject on Mastermind? Baseball. I’ve been a diehard Cleveland Indians fan since I was six years old.
Your biggest prog extravagance? I do still buy a lot of records every year, mainly on CD but vinyl too. And I bought a house last year – does that count?
Your all-time prog hero? Bass-wise it’s Tony Levin, but Robert Fripp too. I finally got to see King Crimson lately and it felt like a masterclass, a college course.
(Image credit: Metal Blade)
Favourite prog venue? There’s a mountain town in North Carolina called Asheville, home of the Moog synthesiser, and there’s a venue there called The Orange Peel, which is a really cool room, great vibe. The Fox Theatre in Atlanta is another good one.
Outside of prog, what else are you into? Cooking. I’ve been a vegan since I was 15, and you have to learn to get creative. My speciality? How about some collard greens, barbecued jackfruit, and maybe some mac and cheese…
What do you collect? Just records, I have thousands of records. I think I might have a bit of a problem with that.
What was the last prog album you bought? John Zorn’s Naked City, on vinyl. It’s a cool statement. John’s all about trying to turn jazz people on their heads.
Last prog gig you saw? The Zombies on their 50th-anniversary tour of Odessey And Oracle, in the Carolina Theatre in Durham. Tell you what, they were incredible. Great harmonies, a mellotron and Leslie speaker on stage – awesome.
Ever had a prog date? The Zombies was a date night! Thankfully my girlfriend celebrates progressive music. She’s heard a lot of weird shit come out of the speakers…
Most important prog song? I can still put on Dream Theater’s Change Of Seasons and get something out of it. It’s a great lesson for how to make a long song not feel so long.
Prog muso you’d like to work with? I’ve been influenced by Danny Elfman, so that would be fun. But it’d be cool to do something with Casey [Crescenzo] from The Dear Hunter.
What’s the best prog gig you’ve ever seen? Last summer we played Be Prog! My Friend in Barcelona and I got to see Magma. They played right after us and they fucking blew me away – it was so goddamn cool. Then Opeth and Steven Wilson played. It was such a great night.
Pick us a good proggy read. I keep David Byrne’s How Music Works on me – it’s a great reference; he’s a great writer. Catching The Big Fish by David Lynch was the last thing I read, an extraordinary book about creativity.
Which prog album always gets you in a good mood? I can put on Zappa’s live In New York, or Roxy & Elsewhere. I love the live Zappa records – you get that comic sarcasm and the insane musical brilliance. I always get happy and silly when Zappa’s on.
What else are you up to at the moment? Coma Ecliptic: Live came out in April, my Nova Collective album’s out [The Further Side] and we’ve been working on the live version of that. But BTBAM go into the studio in July to record the new record, so I’ve mainly been writing music, maniacally!
You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.
The Murder Capital have sat at the forefront of Ireland’s post-punk boom over the past decade. Their first two albums, 2019’s When I Have Fears and 2023’s Gigi’s Recovery, are defining records of the genre’s revival, while illustrating the strength of the Dublin scene alongside the likes of Fontaines D.C., Sprints, Gilla Band and more.
In each chapter, the quintet – now scattered across Ireland, London, and Europe – have created intense, emotional tapestries that capture both introspective and outward-facing issues. On Blindness, however, they lean further into raucous noise to reflect a wider sense of confusion and uncertainty, even if the record as a whole lacks some of the passion of their best earlier work.
Blindness opens with the rowdy, in-your-face noise-rock of Moonshot, a harsher take on their typical fare, which returns in the cacophonous chorus of The Fall and the grungier Can’t Pretend To Know. These moments of commotion tend to eclipse the slower, sparser, and more pedestrian moments like Swallow and ThatFeeling, which aim to bring the band’s poetic lyricism to the fore.
In its delivery, Blindness never fully captures the sharp melancholia that The Murder Capital have been known for on previous albums. Born IntoThe Fight is the closest we come to the raw sentiment of earlier songs like Ethel, but it never quite reaches the same emotional peak.
As ever, lyrics take on both personal, introspective topics and look at society on a broader scale. Words Lost Meaning details a relationship in crisis, while Love of Country questions the staunch nationalism in abundance nowadays that often manifests as hatred of others.
One particularly notable moment on the album is Death of a Giant, a direct ode to The Pogues’ former leader Shane MacGowan, was inspired by the band’s attendance at his funeral procession in Dublin. As a new generation of Irish musicians mourns the loss of one of the country’s greatest voices, this is likely not the last elegy we will hear dedicated to the much-missed icon.
Blindness captures a specific moment in time for The Murder Capital. A time of uncertainty and confusion, yes, but also blessed with a sense of forging on despite any lingering doubts. It may not whip up the same emotional waves as their previous two outings, but Blindness helpscement the quintet’s standing as one of Ireland’s great modern guitar bands.
In addition to contributing to Louder, Vicky writes for The Line of Best Fit, Gigwise, New Noise Magazine and more.
Back in 2014 melodic UK proggers Panic Room were telling Prog all about their fourth album Incarnate, going independent again, and how they felt about being labelled withthe ‘P’ word!
The last year has seen the winds of change sweep through the world of Panic Room. The band stand poised to release their fourth album, Incarnate, in March, but they will do so without one founding member and without their record label. Despite the turbulence of 2013, Panic Room face the future knowing they have crafted some of the most sweeping and expansive music of their career. To borrow an old phrase, per ardua ad astra.
The first seismic shift came in March 2013 with the news that lead guitarist Paul Davies would be departing the fold. “It was pretty devastating,” reveals singer and multi‑instrumentalist Anne-Marie Helder. “It was all very amicable but you can’t always have your paths going in the same direction.”
With gigs already booked for that summer, the band called on Pete Harwood, from Morpheus Rising, to handle guitar duties. When Harwood needed to get back to work with his own band, Helder and her cohorts – bassist Yatim Halimi, drummer Gavin John Griffiths and keyboardist Jonathan Edwards – brought Adam O’Sullivan, who they knew from the local South Wales music scene, on board and set to work on their new album. However, at present Adam remains a highly valued hired gun, rather than a fully deputised member of the gang.
“We decided after Paul left that for now, Panic Room would be the four us – myself, Jon, Gavin and Yatim,” says Helder. “Adam played on the album and has done some amazing work and he’ll be doing the tour with us. Really it’s a case of seeing how we all fit. One thing we’ve learned in the last 12 months is to not take anything for granted.”
(Image credit: Firefly Music)
Six years on from the release of their debut, Visionary Position, Panic Room’s sound continues to evolve. Incarnate builds on the foundations laid on 2012’s SKIN, always keeping the spotlight on the song. The music is highly melodic and instantly accessible, with lush arrangements that leave plenty of room to showcase Helder’s remarkable voice, alongside Panic Room’s pop sensibilities in crafting catchy hooks.
“Having Adam instead of Paul has made a big difference to the sound. He’s a very different player to Paul so that has affected things quite a lot in the way we write and arrange,” says Jonathan Edwards.
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One noticeable change is that the melodies on the new album are typically led by the vocals, keys or acoustic guitar, while lead guitar work is employed sparingly for layering or adding textural flourishes.
“I think the first album is entirely different, really, to everything that came after that. It was only on Satellite [released in 2010] that the band really found its sound,” says Edwards about the ongoing development of Panic Room’s music. “When we recorded the first album, it was done over a year and a half. Nobody played in the same room together – it was all assembled in the studio like a jigsaw puzzle. With Satellite it was really the sound of us playing together in a studio and it’s one of those light-bulb moments. When you think about it, music is about people playing together, so why don’t we record ourselves playing together? I think it sounds immensely better that way, and that’s something we’ve continued on this album.
“We’ve got better, hopefully, at writing songs and learning how songs work – what not to put in, what not to repeat and how to make things sound fresh. We try not to repeat ourselves with each album so SKIN didn’t sound like Satellite, this doesn’t sound like SKIN, because it’s boring for us to repeat the same things and I guess that’s probably the same for listeners as well.”
For SKIN, the band signed to Esoteric Antenna, but new album Incarnate will be self-released through Panic Room’s own label Firefly Music. This doesn’t mean that any bridges have been burnt with Esoteric, though.
“We’re still signed to Esoteric Antenna but we decided to release this one independently,” says Helder. “We have a distribution deal with Nova who we’ve already worked with on Luna Rossa [her acoustic duo with Edwards] and we’re happy with that arrangement. We’re still in a very good relationship with Esoteric and they actually agreed with us that it’s probably wise for us to do this one this way. It just depends on how many units you’re selling.”
“In some ways, going with a record label was an experiment for us,” says Edwards. “It was really useful to work with a record company to see how that worked, and doing SKIN with Esoteric was a really good move for us in terms of raising the band’s profile. But in financial terms, it’s really difficult. If you make an album yourself, once you’ve paid the cost, 100 per cent of the album sales are yours. If you’re with a record company then it’s something between 20 and 30 per cent that’s yours. In those terms, it means you’ve actually got to sell between three and four times as many copies of your album to make the same amount of money than if you did it yourself.
“We’ve spoken to Esoteric and we explained to them what our reasons were for doing this independently and they were quite supportive. It may be that we’ll do the next album with Esoteric – it depends how this one goes. Because we’d done the first two albums ourselves, we’ve built up a lot of contacts in terms of promotion and getting the album heard, so it’s something we’re already fairly good at. We think it’s probably the best move for us at this point in our career, really.”
(Image credit: Jason Parnell-Brookes)
Panic Room have won no shortage of critical acclaim over the years – Helder won Best Female Vocalist from this very magazine for two years running – but they still have to toil away to try to reach new listeners with each album and tour. “It’s a constant project,” says Helder. “Even if I wasn’t writing songs and recording, I could probably spend 100 per cent of my time just promoting the band. We have to juggle so many jobs within the band and sometimes I’ll spend most of my week purely promoting online. Facebook and Twitter are essential. Some people don’t like them but you have to embrace that.
“We’ve got a really good relationship with our fans and I think that means they’re always happy to bring new people in, both online and to gigs.
“Every time we go to a new city to play, we’re approaching the papers and local radio and making sure we try to get radio play to have new people hear us that way. We find that we have a lot of new faces at each show we play, more so than we did three years ago. Things are definitely growing. There is no magic trick to moving up levels in the industry – it’s just hard work really, and sometimes being in the right place at the right time.”
Panic Room’s first big gig of 2014 will be at the HRH: Prog Festival, where they should receive a warm reception from the prog faithful.
“Most of the fans will say, ‘Unless you’ve seen them live, you haven’t really heard the band,’” says Helder. “We tend to be more powerful live than on recordings so that will be great to reach those people. But the audiences increasingly cross over between progressive and more mainstream rock and pop fans.”
The band have undoubtedly been embraced by prog fans, but on their social media pages they identify themselves as alternative rock, noticeably eschewing the progressive pigeonhole.
“Originally we were labelled as prog because the band that we were in before, Karnataka, was more clearly a prog band,” says Edwards. “I don’t particularly think of Panic Room’s music as being progressive. It’s got elements of progressive music in some of the songs but there are elements of a lot of other types of music – jazz or folk, pop or whatever. A lot of people come to our concerts and they’ve got Magenta or The Reasoning T-shirts, or Pink Floyd or Genesis. I really don’t care what people label us as long as they come and enjoy the music.”
“The problem with describing yourself as a prog rock band is sometimes we’ve had people come to shows when it’s been listed as a prog rock event who were like, ‘Well, you’re not as prog as I thought you would be,’” says Helder. “If you have big keyboards and some longer songs, people associate that with progressive, but we’d rather be thought of as alternative.
“It’s difficult to find the right tag for yourself as any band. We tend to say it’s alternative rock with a sultry edge, and some people have described us as being cinematic rock because some of the songs have a very big movie-style sound to them. We tend to write very emotive music – you could say emotive rock – but maybe the right category doesn’t exist for us.
“We’re well aware of and we embrace the fact that we have some progressive sounds in there, but we also have some songs which are more funk and some that are more jazzy and bluesy, so it never seems completely appropriate to say this is a prog band because we don’t aim to be that.”
(Image credit: Jason Parnell-Brookes)
All that said, the band clearly have strong roots in the prog community, albeit on the more melodic, song-friendly end of the spectrum, away from the turbulent waters of the chop-busting community. When not fronting Panic Room, Helder has worked with the likes of Wetton/Downes, Parade and, along with drummer Griffiths, Mostly Autumn, which must help to introduce her to new listeners. But as enjoyable as those experiences are, she always returns to Panic Room.
“Working with Mostly Autumn and other bands, that’s very different for me because I’m there as a session player,” she says. “I enjoy it in a different way. I’m on the side – watching the band almost, because I’m playing keys and flute, so I’m watching other people lead the band. In a way it takes the pressure off and I can just play the gigs and not have the responsibility of fronting everything. In every band it’s all about teamwork at the end of the day. The bands that work the best and do the best shows, it’s all about the chemistry you have together.
“I suppose with every band I’ve worked with, I’ve learned something slightly different, but when I go back to Panic Room, the thing I enjoy the most is always the camaraderie we have together. Even in rehearsal, everything that we start playing always feels great and sounds great because the guys are such good musicians. It’s easy, even with a jam, to make it sound tight and to enjoy it.
“We laugh a lot in rehearsals. We take the music seriously but not ourselves. It just feels like coming home with Panic Room because they’re some of my oldest friends and it’s a family more than just a band.”
After starting his writing career covering the unforgiving world of MMA, David moved into music journalism at Rhythm magazine, interviewing legends of the drum kit including Ginger Baker and Neil Peart. A regular contributor to Prog, he’s written for Metal Hammer, The Blues, Country Music Magazine and more. The author of Chasing Dragons: An Introduction To The Martial Arts Film, David shares his thoughts on kung fu movies in essays and videos for 88 Films, Arrow Films, and Eureka Entertainment. He firmly believes Steely Dan’s Reelin’ In The Years is the tuniest tune ever tuned.
“The industry often pits women against each other, and women’s voices are silenced worldwide. But we are still shouting from the rooftops!” Nova Twins share new single Soprano, reveal album details plus UK and Europe headline tour itinerary
(Image credit: Marshall records)
Nova Twins have announced details of their upcoming third album Parasites & Butterflies, previewing the collection with a brand new single, Soprano.
The South London duo have also revealed the schedule for their next UK and European tour.
Produced by Rich Costey (Muse/Cave in), Parasites & Butterflies will emerge on August 29, via Marshall Records, and the duo – Amy Love and Georgia South – will embark on a headline tour in support of the album from September 17.
“Parasites & Butterflies is about the bridge between chaos and beauty, embracing and accepting both sides,” the Twins say. “Supernova was about being superhuman in a time when we needed to be. With Parasites & Butterflies, we wanted to showcase something deeply human: how vulnerability can be as empowering as it is revealing in its honesty. By playing with opposites, light and shade, you can feel a contrast throughout the album. You’ll find songs that make you want to dance, cry, self-reflect, or even escape. Life is a constant balancing act, but the thrill of the unknown is what makes us feel truly alive.”
Having first given fans a first preview of the new record with lead single Monster, Love and South have now shared a second flavour of the 12-track collection with new single Soprano.
They say: “Soprano is a celebration of the power of women, especially when we unite. The industry often pits women against each other, and women’s voices are silenced worldwide. But we are still shouting from the rooftops! This song aims to empower, encourage connection, and promote friendship, spreading ‘boss energy’ and lifting each other up.”
Sep 17: Utrecht Tivoli Vredenburg, Holland Sep 18: Tilburg O13, Holland Sep 19: Ghent Club Wintercircus, Belgium Sep 21: Cologne Luxor, Germany Sep 22: Berlin Frannz Club, Germany Sep 23: Warsaw Hybrydy, Poland Sep 25: Prague Rock Café, Czech Republic Sep 26: Munich Strom, Germany Sep 27: Vienna Flex, Austria Sep 29: Zürich Komplex Klub, Switzerland Sep 30: Milan Santeria Toscana 31, Italy
Oct 01: Lyon Le Transbordeur, France Oct 03: Barcelona La (2), Spain Oct 04: Madrid Sala Villanos, Spain Oct 06: Toulouse Le Rex, France Oct 07: Angers Chabada, France Oct 08: Paris Alhambra, France Oct 10: Lille Le Grand Mix, France Oct 11: Bristol SWX, UK Oct 12: Glasgow SWG3 TV Studio, UK Oct 14: Dublin Button Factory, Ireland Oct 15: Manchester O2 Ritz, UK Oct 17: Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall, UK Oct 18: London O2 Forum Kentish Town, UK
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A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne’s private jet, played Angus Young’s Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.
It’s Monday, you know what that means…time to dive into the very best new music the rock world has to offer right now! Plus, you get to vote for your favourite, which means it might get another shout-out next week. What’s not to love?
In last week’s contest, The Struts’ microphone-twirler-in-chief Luke Spiller galloped into first place with the latest piece of his solo debut – deadpan Noel Fielding cameo included. When Rivers Meet followed closely in second place, with TOTW first-timers Revenant in third. Congratulations folks, you’ve all done very well.
So who will triumph this week? Check out our selection below, and don’t forget to vote via our handy poll at the foot of this page. But first let’s have another spin of our latest winner, Luke Spiller…
Luke Spiller – The Ending Is Always The Same (Lyric Video) – YouTube
Unless you’ve been sleeping in a hole for the last week, you probably don’t need us to tell you that Ghost are back with new music, new storylines and a spicy new look that’s been eagerly lapped up by millions. So is this first taste any good? In a word: yes. A bright-eyed, mid-tempo rock stomper, its ghoulish smoke tempered with swashbuckling 80s glitz (check out those face-melting lead guitar flourishes in the bridge), Satanized finds Tobias Forge and his masked brigade laying a glittery path for new album Skeletá, coming in April.
Ghost – Satanized (Official Music Video) – YouTube
An early taste of the Danes’ next album, God Of Angels Trust (out in June), By A Monster’s Hand charges straight out with a barrage of bone-crunching, Hetfield-tastic chugga-chugga guitars, gathering pace and bravado in way that can’t fail to make riff junkies like us smile a lot. “In the past, I’ve taken a long time to write and obsessed over so many elements of the songs before finishing them,” says frontman Michael Poulsen. “This time, I wanted to make a Volbeat record without thinking too much about it.” We’ll see what the rest of the album brings, but you can totally hear that spirit in this one.
Volbeat – By a Monster’s Hand (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Finnish blues rocker Erja comes out fighting (musically and video-wise) on this deliciously swaggering, slide-powered rock’n’roller from her next album Smell The Roses – part guitar hero suckerpunch, part good-time rootsy banger. “The story is about facing challenges, when you have no other chance than to get into the ring and defend yourself,” she says. “Let the game begin!” Catch her on tour across the UK through April.
Erja Lyytinen – “The Ring” – Official Music Video – YouTube
When nothing but the purest of 80s melodic rock joie de vivre will do, one can always trust H.e.a.t to deliver in the most gleefully irony-free way. All leather trousers, monster riffs and big hair energy with a chorus the size of a dinosaur belting out Bon Jovi and Iron Maiden bangers, Bad Time For Love is the stuff of dry-iced, synth-powered dreams. If life has felt a bit much lately, stick this on.
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H.E.A.T – Bad Time For Love (Official Video) – YouTube
All smoky post-punk atmosphere with gnarly, attention-grabbing bass rumbles and theatrical strains of Joy Division and early Manic Street Preachers – with frontman Paul Shine shimmying around like Brian Molko with Robert Smith’s hair stylist – the Londoners’ new single is billed as a “poetic exploration of the dark side of the mind.” More importantly, though, it’s a clever, commanding rocker: a classy affair with a big chorus that blows away any fears that they might be a bit *too* cool for such things.
Dead Writers – Meet The Shadow (Official Video) – YouTube
“I couldn’t be more honoured to be a part of this song,” says Warwick’s latest collaborator, Blackberry Smoke main man Charlie Starr, of his lead guitar turn in this gnarly, pummelling ode to the homelessness crisis in LA. “Ricky is a legend for a reason, and songs like this are why… great big nasty guitar riffs married to lyrics and melody that hit you in the chest and stick to your ribs.” Wanna hear more? The full album, Blood Ties, comes out this week.
Baby Said – Dead To Me
It’s all about that driving, earworm chorus on this slice of the Italian/Punjabi sisters duo’s debut album, BS, which rocks like a 90s-charged Maneskin (they named themselves after a song by these guys) with a penchant for Nirvana and a fiery axe to grind. Rock guitars, pop melody, punk underbelly – there’s a lot to like here. Want more? The aforementioned debut just came out.
The rootsy Californians teamed up with John Oates on this ragged, strutting rock’n’roller with a brooding heart and nicely spacey left-turns. “It was an honour to work with such a great artist,” frontman Robert Jon Burrison says. “Once we brought it into the room with Dave Cobb, the song took on new life with a riveting riff and a solo that punches you in the face. A song about a relationship that can’t seem to mend, this one is sure to be relatable as well as memorable.”
Robert Jon & The Wreck “Long Gone” – Official Music Video – YouTube
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Coheed mainman Claudio Sanchez has described this album as a midlife crisis of sorts, having started to question his satisfaction with being known as the ‘science fiction rock’n’roll guy’. The Father Of Make Believe is another instalment of the ongoing Amory Wars saga, forming the third part of the Vaxis arc, but the allegories and real-world references embedded in the world-building are more upfront than ever before.
Longtime fans will be familiar with the characters Sirius and Meri Amory, modelled on Claudio’s grand- parents. Here they take centre-stage on Meri Of Mercy, a fragile ballad that reunites the departed pair. Goodbye, Sunshine sees Claudio ruminating on the future endpoint of this creative journey via a brightly brittle pop punk anthem with more than a flicked fringe of 2000s emo about it. The title track is a layered mini-epic with a dramatic post-hardcore sweep and Claudio revelling in his role of creator.
Musically, The Father… reaches to the extremes of Coheed’s sound and sometimes a little beyond. Blind Side Sonny is one of their heaviest songs, introducing a new villain across a fuzz of distorted punk-metal distortion, screams and rowdy guitar licks. Play The Poet brings a clatter of industrialised noise while Corner My Confidence spotlights Claudio with an acoustic guitar and a delicate vocal performance, and Someone Who Can is a deliciously chewy pop-rock nugget, complete with handclaps and little bursts of new wave guitar.
In between, there are the deceptively complex compositions masquerading as simple, melodic singalongs. Coheed And Cambria can be enjoyed on multiple levels, from full immersion in the concept to simply pumping a fist and hollering along to those anthemic hooks. The Father Of Make Believe brings this duality to life as never before.
Vaxis Act III: The Father Of Make Believe is out this Friday, March 14
Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock, heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK’s biggest rock magazines, including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.
The Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights and Solo Tour kicks off in October and travels across the U.S. and Canada until November. Key stops include New York City, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Montreal and Los Angeles, among others. The complete list of dates and venues is below.
“We are doing my stuff in the first part of the show, and after the break we celebrate nine tunes from The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and some other well-known [Genesis] classics,” Hackett told Classic Rock. “Shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the Genesis guys, I sweated blood to make them happen, and I’m extremely proud that they became something of a template for the way that progressive music was created.”
Hackett’s six-album stint with Genesis began with 1971’s U.K. Top 40 hit Nursery Cryme and continued through a pair of gold-selling 1976 albums, A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering, both of which reached the Billboard Top 40.
Now healed up after a small health scare, Hackett will play two-night stands at Ridgefield, Connecticut, and Collingswood, New Jersey, and will make an appearance at Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium, as well. Concerts are also set for April, May and September in Europe, with July shows in Japan.
Tickets for these new shows go on sale to the general public on Friday (March 14). Presales get underway beginning on Tuesday (March 11) at 10AM local time.
Steve Hackett, Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights and Solo Tour Dates 10/4 – Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre of Ithaca 10/5 – Buffalo, NY @ Kleinhans Music Hall 10/7 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall 10/9 – Montreal, QC @ Place des Arts 10/11 – Beverly, MA @ The Cabot 10/14-15 – Ridgefield, CT @ Ridgefield Playhouse 10/17-18 – Collingswood, NJ @ Scottish Rite Auditorium 10/21 – Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Center for the Arts 10/22 – New York, NY @ The Town Hall 10/26 – Washington, DC @ Warner Theatre 10/28 – Durham, NC @ Carolina Theatre 10/30 – Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage Theater 10/31 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium 11/1 – Cincinnati, OH @ Taft Theatre 11/3 – Columbus, OH @ The Southern Theatre 11/4 – Akron, OH @ Goodyear Theater 11/6 – Joliet, IL @ Rialto Square Theatre 11/8 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater 11/11 – Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre 11/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theatre 11/15 – San Diego, CA @ Balboa Theatre 11/18 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater 11/21 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre 11/22 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
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Kiss‘ next live album will celebrate their previously undocumented 1985 Asylum tour.
The triple-vinyl Off the Soundboard: San Antonio, TX 12-3-1985, which arrives March 28, will be the sixth entry in the band’s live soundboard series. The 18-track show features ’80s hits such as “Heaven’s on Fire” and “Lick It Up” along with ’70s classics like “Detroit Rock City” and “Love Gun.”
The album and a collection of new related merchandise is now available for pre-order on the band’s official website.
The Asylum tour, which featured the largest lighted Kiss sign the band had ever taken on tour, is one of the few tours the band had yet to chronicle with a live album or home video.
The most recent Off the Soundboard release was taken from 1984’s Animalize tour, and features the only officially released performance by Kulick’s predecessor, the late Mark St. John.
Kiss: Off the Soundboard San Antonio, TX 12/3/1985 Track List
1. “Detroit Rock City” 2. “Fits Like a Glove” 3. “Cold Gin” 4. Paul Stanley Guitar Solo 5. “Uh! All Night” 6. Eric Carr Drum Solo 7. “War Machine” 8. “I Still Love You” 9. “Under the Gun” 10. Bruce Kulick Guitar Solo 11. “Tears Are Falling” 12. Gene Simmons Bass Solo 13. “I Love it Loud” 14. “Love Gun” 15. “Rock and Roll All Nite” 16. “Heaven’s on Fire” 17. “Oh! Susanna” 18. “Lick It Up”
Kiss ‘Off the Soundboard 12/3/85’
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Counting Crows have announced 2025 tour plans, including a lengthy run of U.S. summer dates with Gaslight Anthem supporting.
They’ll launch the Complete Sweets Tour on June 10 in Nashville and are currently set to stay out on the road through the fall with the outing scheduled to wrap up on Nov. 1 in London. Tickets go on sale Friday (March 14) with a special artist presale beginning March 11. You can find more details at the band’s official website.
The upcoming trek supports Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets!, the San Francisco-bred band’s first complete studio album in more than a decade. They offered an initial preview of the material with 2021’s Butter Miracle, Suite One, which featured a selection of songs frontman and songwriter Adam Duritz had written during the pandemic. As he tells UCR, the album grew out of that. “You know, when I wrote the suite, it was just a challenge to do this kind of musical composition, of these songs that flow through each other,” he explains. “There was never any intention to do anything other than that.”
“I wanted to try to write this kind of a composition, and I was very excited about doing it and it was hard,” Duritz continues. “I was thrilled with how it turned out, and I had no plans to do anything else. But then I started [thinking], it’s only half a record, so maybe I should [write enough songs for a full album]. I went right after that, and I wrote the rest of the songs on my friend’s farm in England.”
Bruce Springsteen and the Beatles Served as Inspiration
As Duritz was working on the series of songs that eventually became Butter Miracle, Suite One, he drew inspiration from a couple of familiar sources and though he cites an early affection for bands like Genesis, there were other forces at work. “I think [it was] informed by the second side of Abbey Road [by the Beatles], you know, the huge medley, and [also], the first side of [Bruce Springsteen’s] The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle,” Duritz muses. “There’s a lot of records where the music flows like that, but I don’t think it was necessarily prog stuff that was influencing me there.”
Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets! arrives May 9 via BMG.
Watch the Counting Crows’ ‘Spaceman in Tulsa’ Video
Counting Crows 2025 ‘The Complete Sweets!’ Tour June 10 – Nashville, TN @ The Pinnacle June 11 – Kettering, OH @ Fraze Pavilion June 13 – Highland Park, IL @ Ravinia Festival (on sale April 24) June 14 – Indianapolis, IN @ Everwise Amphitheater June 17 – Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill June 19 – Etobicoke, Ontario @ The Theatre at Great Canadian Toronto June 21 – Chautauqua, NY @ Chautauqua Amphitheater* June 22 – Verona, NY @ The Event Center at Turning Stone Resort Casino* June 25 – Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion June 26 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway June 28 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center June 29 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell at Jones Beach Theater July 2 – Springfield, MA @ MassMutual Center July 3 – Grantville, PA @ Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course July 5 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena July 6 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater July 8 – Selbyville, DE @ Freeman Arts Pavilion July 10 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion July 12 – Richmond, VA @ Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront July 13 – Bristol, VA @ Hard Rock Live Bristol* July 15 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion July 17 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater July 19 – St. Augustine, FL @ The St. Augustine Amphitheatre July 20 – Clearwater, FL @ The BayCare Sound at Coachman Park July 22 – Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live July 24 – Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre July 26 – Huntsville, AL @ The Orion Amphitheater July 27 – Gautier, MS @ The Sound Amphitheater July 30 – New Orleans, LA @ Saenger Theatre July 31 – Sugar Land, TX @ Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land Aug. 2 – San Antonio, TX @ The Espee Aug. 3 – Durant, OK @ Choctaw Grand Theater Aug. 5 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater Aug. 7 – San Diego, CA @ Gallagher Square at Petco Park Aug. 9 – Las Vegas, NV @ PH Live at Planet Hollywood Aug. 10 – Highland, CA @ Yaamava’ Theater Aug. 12 – Inglewood, CA @ YouTube Theater Aug. 13 – Berkeley, CA @ The Greek Theatre Aug. 16 – Vancouver, BC @ PNE Fair: Pacific Coliseum* (On sale April 11) Aug. 17 – Woodinville, WA @ Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery (Already on sale) Aug. 19 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater Aug. 21 – West Valley City, UT @ Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre Aug. 23 – Englewood, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre Sept. 21 – Brussels, Belgium @ Cirque Royal* Sept. 22 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ AFAS Live* Sept. 24 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega Main Hall* Sept. 25 – Oslo, Norway @ Sentrum Scene* Sept. 27 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Annexet* Sept. 29 – Hamburg, Germany @ Docks* Sept. 30 – Berlin, Germany @ Huxleys* Oct. 2 – Stuttgart, Germany @ LKA Longhorn* Oct. 4 – Vienna, Austria @ Gasometer* Oct. 6 – Munich, Germany @ Tonhalle* Oct. 7 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Volkshaus* Oct. 9 – Paris, France @ L’Olympia* Oct. 10 – Lyon, France @ Transbordeur* Oct. 12 – Milan, Italy @ Alcatraz* Oct. 14 – Barcelona, Spain @ Sala Razzmattazz* Oct. 15 – Madrid, Spain @ La Riviera* Oct. 17 – Lisbon, Portugal @ Coliseu dos Recreios* Oct. 21 – Dublin, Ireland @ 3Arena* Oct. 23 – Newcastle, UK @ O2 City Hall Newcastle* Oct. 24 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo Manchester* Oct. 26 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy Leeds* Oct. 27 – Edinburgh, UK @ Edinburgh Academy* Oct. 29 – Wolverhampton, UK @ The Halls* Oct. 31 – Portsmouth, UK @ Portsmouth Guildhall* Nov. 1 – London, UK @ OVO Arena Wembley*
* No Gaslight Anthem
LOOK: Relive the ’90s in These Iconic Photos
These photos capture the good, the grungy, and the groundbreaking moments that defined the ’90s and left their mark on history and pop culture.
