Having confirmed themselves as one of the most exciting British metal bands of their generation with last year’s exquisite debut album, Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell, the hype around Heriot shows no signs of abating. With a headline UK tour due to kick off this month, we sat down with frontwoman Debbie Gough for a quick catch-up to chat being BFFs with Slipknot, guitar shop toilet disasters and more.
Heriot have certainly had a wild few years. What’s the most starstruck you’ve been?
“We watched Slipknot side-stage at Graspop. It was such a weird scenario, because we were getting ready to leave the festival, and suddenly I got a message from V-Man [bassist Alessandro Venturella], saying, ‘I’ve got passes for you and your camp if you want to watch us.’ They gave us a tour of the stage and introduced us to everybody. That felt so crazy!”
Slipknot are fans, then?
“Well, V-Man is. Ha ha ha! I’m not sure about the others.”
What’s the worst show you’ve ever played?
“We did one where everything seemed to go wrong. I started screaming and the front row was shouting at me, ‘Your mic’s not on!’ We had to restart, then my guitar strap broke. For whatever reason I didn’t have my spare guitar onstage. There was a door side-stage to get to your gear, and it was locked. I had to do the foot-on-the-monitor thing and hold my guitar up the entire show. It was miserable!”
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We’ve seen a lot of people wearing Heriot shirts at gigs in the UK. But have you ever seen someone wearing your merch in an unexpected place?
“I did see someone in a pub in London in a Heriot cap, but I was really weird about it. Ha ha! I didn’t want to do that thing of, ‘Hey, nice cap!’, so I kind of went the other way because I was like, ‘I don’t know what to say!’ Then I felt really bad about it! But I’m sure they weren’t bothered at all. I just thought, ‘I don’t want this person to feel like they have to talk to me.’”
Your guitarist, Erhan Alman, once said Heriot don’t have any metal on their songwriting playlist. Is that true?
“He might not! For Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell, I had a playlist of Nails, Oathbreaker, Power Trip, Billie Eilish, Wand, Sophie and Labrinth.”
In 2023 you did a Jackson Guitars advert with Marty Friedman, Misha Mansoor, Dave Davidson and the like. Did you learn anything playing alongside those master guitarists?
“It was one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever been a part of. Marty Friedman, zero ego. He just wanted to talk about, like, ‘Who are your favourite guitarists? What are you listening to?’ And he has such an insane right-hand picking technique! His guitar didn’t have a tremolo arm on, but he didn’t need one! He just bent the strings like that himself. That was crazy.”
You used to work in a guitar shop in Birmingham. Any fun stories from your time there?
“Somebody did a very, very violent shit up our window one day. It was the most explosive diarrhoea you’ve ever seen in your entire life! Ha ha ha! And there were bracelets in the pile of poo. It was like cow shit, or the mud at Download last year.”
Bracelets?!
I presume somebody must have had them on their wrist and then, in their distress of having to shit at the window, probably threw their arms down.”
So you didn’t actually see this happen?
“This is the next bit of the story! I logged into the CCTV and I went through the entire day and the entire night before, and I couldn’t see anything! I spent so long trying to find the culprit and I could not find him!”
Who cleaned it, in the end?
“My workmate did. He got the bleach bucket out and did it himself. What’s funny is my boyfriend works for a drum company, so he knew our shop really well. Before he started working there, he wouldn’t believe me when I’d come home and tell stories like this. Then, when he started dealing with our shop, he was like, ‘Oh my god…’ Ha ha ha!”
We were so hoping you were going to say this is how you met. That would have tied this all together in such a lovely bow.
“I’m afraid not. Ha ha ha!”
Heriot’s UK tour kicks off this month. Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell is out now via Century Media. They also play Bloodstock and 2000 Trees festivals this month
Sum 41 have released a cover version of Rage Against The Machine‘s 1999 hit single Sleep Now In The Fire.
The Canadian punk heroes drew the curtain on their career in January of this year, wrapping up a lengthy farewell tour in their home country.
But they have also treated fans with a couple of new recordings for the Spotify Singles series – the RATM cover and a new version of Landmines, the song originally released on 2024 album Heaven :x: Hell.
In a statement, Sum 41 say: “Recording these Spotify Singles has been an incredible way to celebrate with our fans around the world. We’re so grateful for their support and excited to share this special session with everyone.”
Sleep Now In The Fire was released as the second single from Rage Against The Machine’s 1999 album The Battle of Los Angeles. It was accompanied by an iconic video, directed by politically outspoken documentary maker Michael Moore.
The video sees the band performing in front of the New York Stock Exchange, resulting in Moore being arrested and the band members entering the building before the Stock Exchange’s titanium riot doors came crashing down.
It became headline news, with conservative commentators lining up to criticise Rage Against The Machine. It was even referenced in the presidential debate that evening, with future President George W. Bush angrily condemning their actions.
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Guitarist Tom Morello later said of the video and the controversy: “In retrospect it felt like a historic victory against evil. It was a pretty spectacular, historic rock’n’roll thing we made. They don’t make them like that anymore.”
Sum 41 – Sleep Now in the Fire (2025) (NEW SINGLE) – YouTube
Rare audio of prog icons Yes playing a version of The Beatles‘ Eleanor Rigby has emerged online. The recording, which was made in February 1969 during sessions at Polydor Studios in London with producer John Anthony, was uploaded to YouTube late last week.
“This particular recording has never been publicly released before,” reports YouTuber Ian Hartley, who uploaded the track. “Here is the first (failed) take of the ER run-throughs as recorded in raw form at the time. Apart from some speed correction, no remastering was done to the master tapes.”
Harley, who describes himself as a “60-something Bootleg record collector and classic rock fan interested in coloured vinyl records of all sorts,” and uses the ‘pig’ logo of famed Californian bootleg label Trademark Of Quality as his avatar, says that the release of further such recordings may follow.
The performance finds Yes upping the original’s tempo significantly, with a lengthy psychedelic intro from guitarist Peter Banks and keyboardist Tony Kaye giving way to Chris Squire’s rumbling bass and a short vocal from Jon Anderson, before the singer calls a halt to proceedings just before the two-minute mark.
The precise origins of the recording remain unclear, although in 2009 Bonhams auction house in London listed a tape recorded with John Anthony on February 14, 1969, that included three other songs: a cover of Stephen Stills’ Everydays, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s Something’s Coming, and Dear Father.
Yes signed to Atlantic Records in March 1969 and released their self-titled debut four months later. None of the songs known to have been recorded during the sessions with Anthony made the final tracklist, although versions of Everydays, Something’s Coming and Dear Father appeared as b-sides of Yes’s first three single releases.
According to the YesFans forum, there are three known recordings of Yes playing Eleanor Rigby in the studio, although none have been officially released.
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YES – RARE STUDIO RECORDING – ELEANOR RIGBY 1969 – FAILED TAKE 1 – YouTube
“You’ve no idea how cold it was – totally freezing. I know we’re a doom band, but this was suffering way beyond the call of duty”: How Candlemass changed metal forever with doom landmark Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
(Image credit: Press)
Swedish band Candlemass’ 1986 debut album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus is a bona doom metal landmark, giving the template laid down by Black Sabbath in the early 70s and developed in the US by The Obsessed and Saint Viitus an epic Scandinavian feel. In 2007, bassist and chief songwriter Leif Edling looked back on the making of one of the most influential albums of the 1980s.
It’s arguably the greatest album title of all time – but Epicus Doomicus Metallicus is far more than a clever twist of language. This is the record that began a doom dynasty, generating a desire and enthusiasm for the music in Europe generally and, more significantly, Sweden that prospers to this day.
“It’s great to know that the album is respected,” says bassist Leif Edling. “Especially as it sold really badly when first released, and we got some terrible reviews.”
From Stockholm, Candlemass were created by Edling, drummer Matz Ekström and Mats ‘Mappe’ Björkman; Edling had previously been with Nemesis, releasing cult album Day Of Retribution in 1984. That same year the Candle flickered into life with their Witchcraft demo, swiftly followed by a second demo titled Studio Garage [“We recorded it in a studio that was literally called The Garage!”]. While these demos spread the word through the underground, it was a third one – Bewitched – that led to a deal with small French label Black Dragon.
“We did this purely to get a record deal. I sent the demo to about ten labels,” recalls Edling. “I know that I gave one to Brian Ross, who was the singer in an English band called Satan. He was planning to start his own record company, but nothing came of it.
“We were keen on Black Dragon, because we loved some of the other bands they’d signed, like Manilla Road and Chastain. So, when they offered us a deal, we were delighted.”
At the time, the band were just the trio of Edling, Ekström and Björkman. With the bassist also handling the vocals.
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“Black Dragon wanted me to carry on singing. They liked what I’d done on the demo. But I wasn’t at all comfortable, and my aim was to get in someone permanent. Matz Ekström knew a guy called Johan Längquist, who’d been in various bands around the Stockholm area, such as Jonah Quizz, and he agreed to do the album. I was convinced that once we got hold of Johan then he’d agree to join full-time – but I was wrong. As soon as we’d finished in the studio, he was off again!”
Candlemass in 1986: (from left) Leif Edling, Mappe Björkman, Johan Längquist (Image credit: Press)
The same problem surrounded the search for a lead guitarist. Christian Weberyd had been brought in for the Bewitched demo, but was soon on his way. Enter Klas Bergwall. “I knew him quite well, and again was aiming to use the album to persuade Klas his future was with us. The problem was that our area of Stockholm was full of great guitarists – you couldn’t move for them. But they were all into AC/DC or UFO. They hated the sort of heavy music we were doing. So, we were in the terrible position of being surrounded by some amazing guitarists, but none of them wanted to know us. Klas ended up like Johan – he did the record and then disappeared.”
This feature originally appeared in Metal Hammer issue 172 (October 2007) (Image credit: Future)
With a makeshift line-up, plus a cheque for $3000 from their record company, Candlemass headed for Thunderload Studios in January 1986, and a five-days of inhospitable conditions. The studio was run by the Wahlquist brothers, Styrbjörn and Ragne, members of cult 1980s Swedish metal band Heavy Load. The latter was to produce.
“We wanted to work there, because we’d heard a demo that Yngwie Malmsteen had done at the studio, and it sounded amazing. But little did we know the conditions we were gonna face. It was absolutely freezing in there.” The studio was three floors beneath the ground, in the middle of a subway at the University of Stockholm, and if ever a band suffered for their doom craft, then it was this lot!
“You’ve no idea how cold it was – totally freezing. The radiators didn’t work, which made it even worse. You had to see what we looked like. We were all dressed in fur coats, woollen gloves and long johns. Trying to play guitar with cold hands is almost impossible. I know we’re a doom band, but this was suffering way beyond the call of duty.”
Längquist in particular was hit hard by the extreme conditions.
“He would be doing his vocals, dressed as warmly as possible with loads of layers of clothes, while jumping up and down to keep the cold out,” says Edling. “And you could see the steam rising from him. It was weird.
“Plus, we were stone cold sober all the time – with the emphasis on ‘cold’,” the bassist continues with a laugh. “We knew we had so little time in the studio that there was none to waste. We had to get on with the job, and partying wasn’t on the agenda. Actually, focusing on the recording process wasn’t all that difficult. All of us were used to being in the studio, so we could concentrate. But vodka might have made a difference.”
The band walked out of Thunderload convinced they’d recorded something approaching a masterpiece. “We loved what we’d done. It was so exciting. The record had turned out better than we dared hope, and there was a real air of expectation from us. So, we were crushed when it sold disastrously.”
Released in June, 1986, Epicus Doomicus Metallicus was an immediate…flop. Nobody seemed to be bothered by the fact that it was changing the face of doom.
“We were hammered everywhere. Sure some of the very small fanzines loved what we were doing. But the bigger magazines just slammed us. They didn’t get what was being done at all. However, in the long term, all of that worked in our favour.”
Before analysing exactly how Candlemass turned defeat into triumph, let’s briefly look at the album itself. This was a modern metal album, raw, primitive and full of doom potential. The band weren’t mimicking Black Sabbath, Trouble or St Vitus – they were forging ahead on their own groove. Edling had hoped to open the album with the formidable Demon’s Gate, but was overruled.
“The others thought it was too long and too heavy. Considering that we came up with the equally heavy Solitude as the eventual first track, that’s just bizarre! We wrote Solitude just before we went into the studio. Of the others, only A Sorcerer’s Pledge and Under TheOak had been on demos. The rest were brand new tracks – like any band, we wanted to put our most recent songs on the album, and not re-hash old material.”
Meanwhile, six months after the album had first limped into view and seemingly out of sight, it got its second wind.
“In the end, the failure of the album to sell immediately was such a boost. You see, firstly Black Dragon dropped the band, which allowed us to sign a new deal with Active Records. Then, the metal underground began to discover the album without any media prompting or hype. So, things started to mushroom and explode all on their own.”
By the end of 1986, Epicus Doomicus Metallicus had began to sell in impressive quantities. So much so that, Black Dragon were forced into a second pressing of the record. Then a third, then a fourth…
“It does amuse me, because just before we were dropped, I got a letter from the label telling us that they didn’t owe us any royalties, as the album had barely sold. But they enclosed two IRCs [International Reply Coupons] out of the goodness of their hearts, so we might keep in contact with them. That was worth about 50p! But, when the album really started to shift they were desperate to get us back – too late, we’d moved on!”
These days, the album’s pedigree is unassailable, Edling vindicated by its stature.
Candlemass’ Leif Edling onstage in 2009 (Image credit: Gary Wolstenholme/Redferns)
“You look at any polls in magazines, and that is always top of the doom list. I think we did help to shape the sound of the genre as we all know it today. In fact, I’m always amazed that so many black metal bands from Norway cite the record as a huge influence. Satyricon, Immortal, Emperor – they all love it, but we also did a lot for Swedish metal in general.
“Before we got our deal, the heavy bands in our country really had no hope. The problem was that, unless you were a band like Europe, Swedish labels didn’t want to know. We proved it was possible to go outside of Sweden and get signed, and it opened the floodgates. Bands like Entombed and Dismember followed suit – and the scene took off.”
All of which leaves one subject to tackle – the title of the album. From what wellspring of genius did that come from? Was it a moment of inspiration? Erm no. Edling reckons it was a flash of sheer – nonsense.
“We’d always called our music ‘epic doom metal’, right? That’s the way we believed our sound should be represented. And then Matz Ekström gave it that Latin feel with Epicus Doomicus Metallicus But when he put that forward as a possible album title, I was horrified. It was just utter shite . Come on, have you ever heard anything worse? The trouble was that there was no obvious alternative. I’m sure we did come up with others, but they must have been so dreadful that I’ve blocked them from my mind!”
So, Ekström’s moment arrived. And there are those convinced that the sole reason the album began to infiltrate the underground was that the title itself attracted an audience. It made people sit up, listen to the record – and the rest is doom mythology.
“I don’t know about that,” admits Edling. “Perhaps in choosing something so preposterous, we actually laid the foundations for our own success. But it didn’t seem so at the time.”
Whatever the truth, the fact remains that Epicus Doomicus Metallicus did open up new horizons for doom, re-imagined the genre and made it cool.
So, is this the greatest doom album ever?
”It’s not for me to say, but I won’t argue with anyone who says that!”
Originally published in Metal Hammer issue 172, October 2007
Malcolm Dome had an illustrious and celebrated career which stretched back to working for Record Mirror magazine in the late 70s and Metal Fury in the early 80s before joining Kerrang! at its launch in 1981. His first book, Encyclopedia Metallica, published in 1981, may have been the inspiration for the name of a certain band formed that same year. Dome is also credited with inventing the term “thrash metal” while writing about the Anthrax song Metal Thrashing Mad in 1984. With the launch of Classic Rock magazine in 1998 he became involved with that title, sister magazine Metal Hammer, and was a contributor to Prog magazine since its inception in 2009. He died in 2021.
Let’s be honest, rock concert films can be a bit hit or miss. But one that definitely hit is Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii. And now it’s back, with a new revamped, remixed version coming to cinemas next month.
To celebrate the release of Pink Floyd At Pompeii MCMLXXII (note no ‘Live’ and the added numerals), we talked with Floyd drummer Nick Mason and the man behind the new mix, Steven Wilson, about the new version, how it fits into Pink Floyd’s decadeslong legacy, and also how the original film came to be made.
The new issue also includes two Pink Floyd gifts: an official laptop sticker and a giant film poster (available to all subscribers, all online purchasers and at UK newsstands).
Elsewhere, we have a chat with The Darkness as they release their new Dreams On Toast LP, and look back at the making of two very different albums of the 80s – namely Gary Moore’s Run For Cover and Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet. And there’s much more…
Sadly, we lost a fair few rock icons to the great gig in the sky this month. We learned of the passing of The Damned’s Brian James just before we went to press, and will pay tribute to him next issue.
Pink Floyd With a new updated version about to hit cinemas, we look back at the making of Pink Floyd Live At Pompeii, with recollections from drummer Nick Mason, director Adrian Maben and more.
Steven Wilson Mr Busy on his new solo album, the wonder of space, being a control freak, being prog (or not), Porcupine Tree and more.
Bon Jovi With the way paved by monster hit Livin’ On A Prayer, Slippery When Wet propelled the band to superstardom.
Smith/Kotzen Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith and one-time shredder Richie Kotzen’s joint musical venture is no vanity project.
Gary Moore After leaving Thin Lizzy he made some creditable solo albums in the 80s, then he struck rock gold with Run For Cover.
The Darkness Defiance makes them the eccentrics that they are, as demonstrated on new album Dreams On Toast.
Envy Of None Second time’s a charm for Rush’s Alex Lifeson as he returns with a new album alongside his collaborators in Envy Of None.
Goo Goo Dolls As A Boy Named Goo turns 30, the band tell the story of the album that took them from alt.rock to the mainstream.
(Image credit: Future)
Regulars
The Dirt Ozzy Osbourne will do “little bits and pieces” at Black Sabbath’s Villa Park show; Bad Company and The Black Crowes among Hall Of Fame 2025 nominees; Iron Maiden and Motörhead miss out again; Welcome back Lacuna Coil and Bumblefoot; Say hello to Himalayas and Sons Of Silver; Say goodbye to David Johansen, Rick Buckler, Joey Molland and more.
The Stories Behind The Songs: Bush A song that its writer at first thought he’d ripped off from someone else’s, Glycerine became their biggest US hit and helped its parent album Sixteen Stone sell more than five million copies.
The Hot List We look at some of the essential new tracks you need to hear and the artists to have on your radar. This month they include Samantha Fish, Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, When Rivers Meet, The Rattlebacks, The Blue Stones and more.
Reviews New albums from Masters Of Reality, Smith/Kotzen, Those Damn Crows, Envy Of None, Amplifier, Don Airey, Gotthard, L.A. Guns, Simon McBride; Reissues from Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes, Rush, Dio, Yes, Fleetwood Mac, Motörhead, Big Big Train, Pete Townshend; DVDs, films and books on Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, The Yardbirds; Live reviews of Uriah Heep, Beth Hart, Opeth, Frank Black, The Godfathers and more.
Buyer’s Guide: Pretenders Pulling together strands of various music styles, Chrissie Hynde steered the regularly changing band to deserved major success.
Lives We preview tours by Asia, Kula Shaker and Tygers Of Pan Tang. Plus gig listings – who’s playing where and when.
The Soundtrack Of My Life: Simon McBride Deep Purple guitarist and solo artist Simon McBride picks his records, artists and gigs of lasting significance.
* Copies of the new issue of Classic Rock can be purchased online from Magazines Direct
* In North America, Classic Rock is available is branches of Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million, although new issues do not go on sale until a couple of weeks after they’re published in The UK.
Originally comprised of former members of Yes (guitarist Steve Howe and keyboard player Geoffrey Downes), King Crimson (bassist/vocalist John Wetton) and ELP (drummer Carl Palmer), Asia’s aural slush puppy of soft rock and prog produced a self-titled debut that became America’s best seller of 1982.
Forty-three years later, Downes – a last link with those days – and a new line-up play three nights in which they will be performing the first three Asia albums in full, one per night, at Trading Boundaries in Sussex.
This line-up of Asia debuted at the John Wetton Tribute show in 2023.
It was a brilliant night, lots of great people including Rick Wakeman came along. Bill Bruford even stepped out of retirement to be a part of it all. It showed what a great impact John had on so many artists. It was also a trigger for going out on the road in America last summer with Martin Turner, Focus and Curved Air.
That first show as the ‘new’ Asia must have been an emotional and stressful experience for you.
It was, yeah. From my own standpoint it was great to carry on with the music that John and I wrote together all those years ago. I know that John would have been appreciative of that happening.
John’s widow Lisa believes he would have “endorsed” the band’s continuation as he “wanted the music to live on”.
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That’s correct. For me, the last thing I wanted was to put Asia music into a locker and say I’ll never do that again. And now we’ve got the opportunity to get back out there again and play those first three albums, which were so significant. Of course there’s a type of keyboard warrior who noisily disagrees.
Do you take any perverse interest in such negativity?
It can be quite funny if you choose to look at it that way. Everybody’s got a voice, and some of the comments are quite amusing, but I’m long enough in the tooth to brush off that sort of thing and just keep moving. The haters won’t stop us from doing what we do.
Asia – Heat Of The Moment (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Could you tell us about the other members of Asia 2025, starting with guitarist John Mitchell?
John was in the [solo] band of the other John [Wetton] for quite some time and they had a very good relationship. He was also a member of the Icon project that I had with John Wetton, so I’m very happy that he agreed to become a part of this new Asia.
Mitchell is also an accomplished singer. Was any thought given to him becoming the frontman?
John is a great vocalist, but when I discovered Harry that really changed the game. That’s Harry Whitley, on bass and lead vocals. Yeah. Harry is another great musician. He has a fantastic understanding of John’s voice. At the time, Harry was working on a farm in North Wales, and I thought: “He’s got all the right credentials” [laughs]. I called him up, he came on board and we had our lead singer.
How exactly did you find him?
Harry sent some Asia covers via Twitter, and they were so good they gave me a chill down my spine. People will be very impressed by him. At times you close your eyes and it’s quite eerie – he could be John. He’s only thirty. It’s good to have some young blood in the band, it brings the average age down quite a bit.
And Virgil Donati played drums with Planet X and Ring Of Fire.
John [Wetton] had worked with Virgil in UK, so there was a connection there. Carl [Palmer] was very busy with his ELP show [Welcome Back My Friends], so Virgil came in. He’s really warmed to the subtleties of the material.
Asia – Only Time Will Tell (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Across three nights at Trading Boundaries this line-up will play the first three Asia albums.
It’ll take an enormous amount of preparation, because some of those albums were years in the making. Rattling them off will be a heck of a challenge, no doubt about it, but it’s one that we are relishing.
Are any songs yet to be performed live, maybe from Astra?
We only ever did Voice Of America from Astra, so that show will have a lot of very, very deep cuts. It wasn’t everyone’s favourite, but there’s a posse of fans that really, really loves it.
Many fans will be unable to make it to Sussex. What about recording these three shows, or taking the concept on the road?
We will definitely record the Trading Boundaries shows, and then we head straight off to Japan to do the same thing. I’d be well up for touring it in Britain – so we’re open to offers.
What’s going on with your other band, Yes?
We’ve been working on an album for the past six months. Steve [Howe, guitarist and now producer] is at the helm and I think it will be out later in the year.
Will there be any new music from Asia?
It’s being talked about. I’ve even got some stuff that I worked on with John [Wetton] many years ago, so recording that might be interesting.
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For those few remaining souls who don’t own most of this already, here’s the five albums recorded by the mightiest Fleetwood Mac line-up in one handy box. There’s no new remastering and no extras apart from “crystal-clear” vinyl and a limited edition that includes Silver Springs, the B-side that should have been on Rumours.
What you get is the soundtrack to the greatest rock’n’roll soap opera ever. Mick Fleetwood must still mutter a daily prayer of gratitude for running into Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks (whose 1973 Buckingham Nicks is Mac in all but name). Their contribution to 1975’s Fleetwood Mac saved the band for being blues boom relics and surely made worrying about household bills a thing of the past. Stevie Nicks’ Rhiannon and Landslide are deservedly immortal and Christine McVie delivered pop perfection with Say You Love Me, something she does repeatedly across these discs.
Fleetwood Mac – Tusk (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Rumours, still in the UK Vinyl top 20, is the most nakedly personal 40 million-odd seller you’ll find. It’s all marvellous but The Chain, the only song credited to all five members, is especially great and that Formula 1-soundtracking breakdown heralded by John McVie’s nimble bass playing remains spectacular despite the track’s enduring ubiquity.
Legend has it that Tusk was where Buckingham went off the rails, cutting his hair and recording new wave-ish oddities like The Ledge. That’s only half the picture, however, as Nicks and McVie were still ‘knocking out’ the likes of Sara and Think About Me and the title track proves he retained a passing interest in the buttered side of the bread. It’s justifiably hailed as a bit of a masterpiece.
Fleetwood Mac – Little Lies (Official Music Video) – YouTube
1982’s Mirage, an attempt to recover lost commercial ground, might be the runt of this litter but it’s impossible to diss the breezy Oh Diane, Nicks’s Gypsy, and McVie’s gorgeous Hold Me which hinted where they’d go next. Tango In The Night (1987) plays like a Greatest Hits album thanks to Seven Wonders, Everywhere, and Little Lies. The tumbling arpeggios of Buckingham’s breathless Big Love is the highlight but the album’s an embarrassment of riches, as is this box.
If you’ve just arrived on the planet and music is new to you, then buy this because it’s all gold. The rest of us need only listen again to be reminded of The Mac’s undeniable greatness.
Pat Carty is a writer for Irish monthly music and politics magazine Hot Press. You’ll also find him at The Times, Irish Independent, Irish Times and Irish Examiner, and on radio wherever it’s broadcast.
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.
As Pete Townshend admits in the foreword to the 28-page booklet that accompanies this lavish collection, he never really intended to have a solo career. His debut album, 1972’s beautifully serene and heartfelt Who Came First, was compiled from demos recorded for The Who’s aborted Lifehouse project (namely Pure And Easy, Let’s See Action and Time Is Passing) plus some songs he’d donated to a couple of limited edition tribute albums to his guru Meher Baba.
Much softer, gentler and more introspectively spiritual than anything he’d ever ask Roger Daltrey to sing, they would only make sense to the listening public if Townshend released them under his own name. And so Pete Townshend, Solo Artist, was born.
The seven albums of original material he released during various sabbaticals from The Who are all here: Who Came First; Rough Mix; Empty Glass; All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes; White City: A Novel; The Iron Man: The Musical By Pete Townshend; and two versions of Psychoderelict, one with the interlinking ‘radio play’ dialogue intact and one with the music only.
Taken as a whole, this collection embodies both the best and worst of Townshend the artist and arch conceptualist. It’s no coincidence that his strongest solo albums – the first three – are more or less unencumbered by any overarching conceits; they’re ‘just’ a selection of songs by one of rock’s greatest ever songwriters.
Pete Townshend – Let My Love Open The Door – YouTube
Things start to go awry whenever he gets embarrassingly pretentious or embarks upon a cumbersome concept album/ rock opera. While one can’t fault The Seeker’s restless, if occasionally overreaching, ambition, there is nothing on the last five discs to match the monumental heights of Tommy or Quadrophenia. And that’s putting it mildly.
Still, as well as Who Came First, it’s nice to become reacquainted with the country-folkish rock of Rough Mix, Townshend’s warm and friendly collaboration with great mate Ronnie Lane, and 1980’s new wave-adjacent Empty Glass, which includes the effervescently poptastic US top 10 hit Let My Love Open The Door and the raucously homoerotic Rough Boys – wouldn’t you just love to hear Daltrey belt out that one? A sadly missed opportunity.
Paul Whitelaw writes about television, comedy, films, books and music. From 2006 to 2013 he was a TV critic for The Scotsman. From 2013 to 2023 he wrote a weekly TV column for The Courier. Credits also include BBC Music, BBC Radio Scotland’s The Afternoon Show, BFI Screenonline, The Big Issue, Broadcast, Empire, The Guardian, The Lady, Melody Maker, Metro, Mill, Radio Times, Scotland On Sunday, The Sunday Times, The Word and Shindig!
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“It’s not about that guy from Rush any more – not that there’s anything wrong with him!” Alex Lifeson says about Envy Of None’s second album.
The group put together by former Coney Hatch bassist Andy Curran and producer/keyboardist Alfio Annibali, before star-signing Lifeson and singer Maiah Wynne arrived, certainly cements their unique sound with the follow-up to 2022’s self-titled debut.
But dig deep, and links to the ex-Rush guitarist’s past exist.
‘Stygian’, meaning ‘very dark’, has etymological roots in the River Styx from Greek mythology, as mentioned by Rush in 1975’s By-Tor And The Snow Dog. Now, 50 years on, the syntactically maverick title Stygian Wavz refers to what Lifeson calls “turbulence at the gates of Hell.” The phrase works well as a descriptor for the dystopia that’s seemingly unfolding.
Envy of None – The Story – Official Video (taken from ‘Stygian Wavz’) – YouTube
As on their first album, Wynne is crucial to Envy Of None’s appeal. Her sultry, unflustered vocals, sometimes as much breath as note, give a slightly gothic tinge to the electronic prog-pop/industrial rock material on offer.
There’s something Neil Peart-like about The End’s altruistic message
Nine Inch Nails and Garbage once again seem to be reference points, but the songwriting is stronger this time. It’s evident that the foursome have a stronger sense of each others’ strengths and how best to marry them.
Driving, rather funky opener Not Dead Yet raises a middle finger to those in the music industry dismissive of artists in their twilight years. Later, penultimate song The End seems less defiant, wholly acceptant of mortality. There’s something Neil Peart-like about the latter’s altruistic message: ‘What you get is what you give,’ sings Wynne over dark chords with gravitas.
Envy Of None Stygian Waves – Official Video (taken from the album ‘Stygian Wavz’) – YouTube
It’s clear Envy Of None aren’t just someone’s side-project. Witness the surety of the chewy, analogue synth and skanking guitar textures on Raindrops; or the powerful, driving The Story, wherein Wynne’s airy vocals seduce again.
Lifeson being Lifeson, it would be remiss not to report that he plays at least four – maybe four and a half – actual guitar solos on Stygian Wavz. The one on dark ballad Under The Stars is particularly gratifying. How great to have him using those colours in his palette once again.
Now that Envy Of None look like they’re here for keeps, it’ll be interesting to see what bearing that has on his former Rush bandmate, Geddy Lee. Will he, too, be galvanised into joining or forming a new band, teaming with old friends or newer, younger talents? It’s certainly done Lifeson a power of good.
James McNair grew up in East Kilbride, Scotland, lived and worked in London for 30 years, and now resides in Whitley Bay, where life is less glamorous, but also cheaper and more breathable. He has written for Classic Rock, Prog, Mojo, Q, Planet Rock, The Independent, The Idler, The Times, and The Telegraph, among other outlets. His first foray into print was a review of Yum Yum Thai restaurant in Stoke Newington, and in many ways it’s been downhill ever since. His favourite Prog bands are Focus and Pavlov’s Dog and he only ever sits down to write atop a Persian rug gifted to him by a former ELP roadie.
Deftones, who released Minerva as the lead single of their self-titled album, stopped at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena as part of their ongoing North American tour with The Mars Volta. They played a career-spanning 20-song setlist including such hits as Change (In The House Of Flies), Hole In The Earth and Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away).
Meanwhile, The Mars Volta have reportedly been playing material from an as-yet-unreleased studio album called Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos Del Vacio. According to a recent report by Brooklyn Vegan, the progressive rockers’ ninth album will come out on April 11 and is available for preorder. One Reddit user claims to have heard the album after being given Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s personal copy by the frontman himself.
Deftones and The Mars Volta will tour North America together until April 9. After that, Deftones will head to Europe for a leg of festival slots and headline shows. The tour includes stops at London’s 15,000-capacity Crystal Palace Park and The Eden Project in the West Country. They’ll also appear at Glastonbury festival.
The band are also set to headline two shows at Rogers Stadium in Toronto, Canada, alongside System Of A Down on September 3 and 5. The gigs are part of a larger North American run in August and September.
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See all of Deftones’ upcoming live plans and get tickets via their website.
Deftones released their latest album Ohms in 2020 and have been working on a follow-up. In an interview with Billboard Español in December, Moreno said the band’s new album will drop in 2025.
Paramore released their sixth and latest album, This Is Why, in 2023. The band have no future tour dates set at time of publication.
Deftones – Minerva ft Hayley Williams (Live Nashville 3/26/25) – YouTube
