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Rivers Cuomo doesn’t look like your typical metalhead, but the Weezer frontman has made no secret of his love of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne and all the other classic heavy metal bands that have graced the turf of Donington Park over the years.
So maybe that’s why this afternoon, the notoriously awkward, difficult, frustrating, yet enigmatic character is beaming from ear to ear after smashing through a near perfect greatest hits set on his band’s first ever appearance here.
There’s possibly no band in rock just as capable of greatness as they are disappointment as Weezer; the highs of their 90s output, 1994’s The Blue Album or its 1996 follow up, Pinkerton, are utterly sublime, perfect pop-rock genius. Yet when Weezer are bad, from Raditide and Hurley to pointless, memeable pop covers, good god they’re hard work.
So, what a relief it is when they wander on sheepishly (this is Weezer, after all) and proceed to plough through Hash Pipe, My Name is Jonas, Perfect Situation, Come Undone (The Sweater Song) and Island in the Sun – an opening five songs stronger than most bands’ encores. Rivers even introduces the whole band and actually waves at the crowd! He looks like he might smile at one point. This truly is a momentous occasion.
True, Weezer might not be the most energetic or charismatic band. But they succeed on the strength of their songs, and the songs they choose for this set are rarified air for this type of music. It’s almost as if, a mere 48 hours after the news of the passing of Brian Wilson, they have remembered that at their best they are the closest thing the 90s had to the pure, Technicolor pop joy of The Beach Boys.
Only In Dreams is like floating on a sonic, sugary cloud; Say It Ain’t So is proto-emo magnificence, Pork And Beans is 50s doo-wop put through a grunge filter and the closing Buddy Holly is every inch the genre-defining classic song it has grown to be. A peak at early geek chic.
Since blagging his way onto the Hammer team a decade ago, Stephen has written countless features and reviews for the magazine, usually specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal, and still holds out the faint hope of one day getting his beloved U2 into the pages of the mag. He also regularly spouts his opinions on the Metal Hammer Podcast.
With grey skies overhead and showers threatening across the weekend, that can only mean one thing: Download Festival is upon us. But come rain or shine, the UK biggest rock and metal fest is sure to offer up plenty of chances to discover brilliant new bands, and even as we hit the main stretch of festival season new release announcements are coming thick and fast.
Before we get stuck into that though, the results of last week’s vote! There was a healthy showing from power metal’s elite and it’s reflected in the final three, with Battle Beast securing a healthy third place in the poll. Breaking up the plastic swords and horns brigade were returning doom metal legends Paradise Lost, whose return with Silence Like The Grave took second place, but our overall winners – and you’d not wanna argue when they’ve got a tank to back them up – was Sabaton. Huzzah!
There’s more power metal fun to be found this week, with our top line of Helloween and Burning Witches representing two very different eras of the genre. But that’s not all we’ve got; there’s nu metal flavours from Code Orange guitarist Reba Meyers and Gore., stoner/doom brilliance from Castle Rat, symphonic metal from Blackbriar and so much more besides.
As ever, we need you to tell us which songs excite you most, so don’t forget to cast your vote below – and have an excellent weekend, come rain or shine!
Helloween – This Is Tokyo
There’s a proven track record for power metal love in Japan, but it turns out that love goes both ways. German power metal legends Helloween are pinning their colours to the mask with new single This Is Tokyo, a loving tribute to the Japanese city delivered with typical gusto and fist-pumping choruses. Taken from new album Giants & Monsters, due August 29, it’s a colourful first taste of what may lie in store.
HELLOWEEN – This Is Tokyo (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Sticking to the realms of power metal for a moment, Switzerland’s Burning Witches have announced their sixth studio album Inquisition for an August 22 release. The title track and lead single lays their stall out ably: classic heavy metal motifs with thumping beats, wailing leads and despairing howls of “Inquisition!” that come off like a head-on collision between Warlock and King Diamond. It’s ace, naturally.
2025 is shaping up to be a seriously big year for Orbit Culture. In January, they were openers on the epic Trivium/Bullet For My Valentine double-bill, and they’ll be opening the Main Stage of Download on Sunday before limbering up for more tour dates towards the end of the year. Apparently not content with just popping up on massive bills, the Swedes have also announced new album Death Above Life for an October 3 release, the title-track and lead single all pummelling beats and massive melodeath grooves.
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ORBIT CULTURE – Death Above Life (OFFICIAL VIDEO) – YouTube
Hardcore is on a real tear right now. Outbreak might be bringing Turnstile and Knocked Loose back to the UK this weekend, but there’s plenty to be excited about later in the year with the announcement of a new Drain record in …Is Your Friend, which comes November 7. Lead single Nights Like These is exactly what you’d expect of modern hardcore: chunky riffs, bouncy beats and throat-shredding vocals that command total excitement.
It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a decade since Ho99o9 released their debut album. The LA/New Jersey group are still proving impossible to neatly classify on new single Upside Down, a track which combines crunching industrial guitars, hip-hop flows and flecks of electronica to create something grimy and exciting. The first single for new album Tomorrow We Escape, out September 9, it’s a handy reminder that this band are still pushing boundaries.
Ho99o9 – Upside Down (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Encroaching dread rules the day on Witch Fever’s latest single The Garden. Typically immersive melodies drift beneath slamming alt/doom riffs, offering an introduction to the band’s upcoming second album Fevereaten with a refinement of the elements that made their debut so brilliant. Keep your eyes out for Fevereaten on its oh-so-appropriate release date of Halloween.
Witch Fever – THE GARDEN (Official Video) – YouTube
And now for something completely heavy. Self-styled “Aztec-metallers”, Mexico’s Cemican combine lurching grooves, explosive blast-beats and light flute work on new single Táan Ti Le Xibalbá, taken from their forthcoming new album expected later this year. It’s a brilliant and unique mix, yet more proof that extreme metal continues to thrive as its sound diversifies and it draws in different cultural influences.
Cemican – Táan Ti Le Xibalbá (Official Music Video) – YouTube
While it’s anyone’s guess what’s happening in the world of Code Orange right now, guitarist Reba Meyers certainly isn’t standing idle. Clouded World is her third solo single and was recorded by legendary noise rocker Steve Albini before his passing in 2024; don’t let the Albini credit fool you though, this isn’t a departure from the nu metal inspired bent Reba explored with both Code Orange and her previous two singles.
Reba Meyers – Clouded World (Official Video) – YouTube
Speaking of nu metal influences… Gore. offered up a fascinating mix of metalcore and R&B with their debut EP, but new single Sepsis seems to be pushing their sound in a heavier direction that actually feels akin to what Code Orange were doing with Underneath, albeit with Gore.’s own sonic footprint stamped all over it. Making their Download Festival debut this weekend, this lot are worth keeping eyes out for.
Sturle Dagsland – Galdring
The world of Nordic folk has often intersected with metal, making the likes of Eivor, Wardruna or Heilung popping up at a festival like Download or Bloodstock feel completely natural. Forged in that same spirit is Norway’s Surle Dagsland, a more frenetic take on the style that feels like the folk equivalent of jumping from Black Sabbath to Napalm Death. Taken from new album Dreams And Conjurations, due October 10, it’s an energetic showcase that Nordic folk can be just as sonically diverse as the metal world it so often crosses over with.
Sturle Dagsland – Galdring (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Rising stars of symphonic metal, Netherlands’ Blackbriar are spreading their grandiose vision on new single Harpy. There’s a natural inclination to bombast within the genre, but its the subtle swells of what sounds like decidedly Celtic folk influence and vocal melodies that could come from fellow Dutch symphonic forebears Within Temptation that help sell this as something truly epic.
Castle Rat – Wizard
We all know that heavy metal loves a bit of theatricality. It doesn’t come much more epic in scope than newcomers Castle Rat though, the high fantasy heavy metallers fully committed to the bit with live shows that include a lurking grim reaper and a sword battle. Latest single Wizard shows their music is just as grand as their show; Sabbathian riffs and rhythmic struts that call back to the stoner/doom greats.
Castle Rat – “WIZARD” (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Clattering, hammering riffs and soaring vocals make for a potent brew in Pinkshift’s new single Anita Ride. Taken from new album Earthkeeper, due August 29, it’s an explosive first taste of what the band are aiming to do this time out and a perfect introduction if you’re not already familiar. Stick it on loud and hav at it.
Pinkshift – Anita Ride (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Staff writer for Metal Hammer, Rich has never met a feature he didn’t fancy, which is just as well when it comes to covering everything rock, punk and metal for both print and online, be it legendary events like Rock In Rio or Clash Of The Titans or seeking out exciting new bands like Nine Treasures, Jinjer and Sleep Token.
(Image credit: David Ryder/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush wanted Pearl Jam to be in the submersible that imploded en route to the Titanic, according to a new documentary.
A talking head in Netflix’s Titan: The OceanGate Disaster film, which came out on Wednesday (June 11), says that Rush mentioned getting Eddie Vedder’s grunge icons into the craft in a bid for publicity.
The submersible was ultimately crushed underwater following a technical failure, killing all five people onboard including Rush.
Joseph Assi, a videographer that Rush recruited to film the trip, claims (via Loudwire): “They needed more exposure, that’s why we came along. The sub they were making was very basic, so the idea was – ‘Make us videos so we can catch the attention of people.’”
He adds: “They had wild ideas, like they want to take Pearl Jam in the submarine, or he talked about some floating city that could also submerge.”
The Titan submersible imploded during its 12,500ft (3,810m) descent from the ocean surface to the resting place of the Titanic on June 18, 2023. Joining Rush onboard were French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani-British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman.
The craft lost contact with OceanGate crew at around 10,825ft (3,300m), less than two hours into the dive. After four days of searching, its wreckage was found on the bed of the Atlantic Ocean. The documentary reveals that the Titan was quickly crushed by the intense pressure beneath the sea, killing everyone inside instantly.
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Though Rush made 13 successful trips to the Titanic in the Titan, there were concerns about its safety. “Banging noises” against the hull were heard by passengers on previous dives. A similar noise was heard by OceanGate’s crew shortly before they lost contact with the craft.
Titan has received broadly positive reviews since coming out, scoring an average of 6.7/10 in reviews on IMDb and a 69 percent approval score on Rotten Tomatoes at time of publication.
Pearl Jam released their latest album, Dark Matter, in April 2024. The band will perform at Ohana Festival in Dana Point, California on September 26.
Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.
The latest issue of Prog honours the memory of former Yes bassist Chris Squire, who died ten years ago. Squire wasn’t just a fantastic musician; he really was a larger-than-life character. His sense of musical adventure went a long way to help make progressive rock such an enduring art form, but so did his wholehearted embracing of life itself.
We have teamed up with Squire’s estate to create this special and exclusive Chris Squire memorial t-shirt to honour him further still. The design, which you can see below, echoes the manner in which Yes paid tribute to their former bassist and de facto leader after he sadly died on June 27 in 2015, where they placed his trademark Rickenbacker bass guitar under a spotlight as Onward played over the PA whilst pictures of Squire were displayed on screens
You won’t be able to buy this anywhere else apart from through the Prog’s online store.
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Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.
A new Elvis Presley box set, celebrating his 90th birthday this year, is scheduled to arrive this summer. The collection will feature 89 tracks, just one shy of that birthday milestone, recorded during his final decade.
Sunset Boulevard will comb through Presley’s vault of recordings from the first half of the ’70s, when he and the TCB Band rehearsed for live performances in Los Angeles and laid down songs at the city’s RCA Studio C.
Of the 89 tracks found on the upcoming set, more than half have never been released in the U.S. The five-CD Sunset Boulevard is out on Aug. 1. You can hear an alternate version of 1972’s “Burning Love,” Presley’s last Top 10 hit now.
Following his 1968 comeback television special and the release of recordings made in Memphis in 1969, including his final No. 1, “Suspicious Minds,” Presley began performing regularly in Las Vegas, sparking a new wave of popularity before his 1977 death.
In March 1972 and March 1975, Presley spent seven days recording material that became singles and appeared on albums such as 1973’s Separate Ways and 1975’s Today.
Among the songs recorded during the sessions are late-period classics “Burning Love” and “Always on My Mind,” both featured on Sunset Boulevard in master and alternate takes. Between the two Los Angeles sessions, Presley recorded at Memphis’ Stax Studios.
What’s on Elvis Presley’s ‘Sunset Boulevard’ Box Set?
The upcoming box set includes a disc of the newly mixed master versions of all 17 songs from the two Los Angeles sessions from the ’70s; a second CD features 17 outtakes and alternate recordings from the 1972 and 1975 sessions.
Like last year’s Memphis box, a collection of 1969 recordings, overdubs have been removed from the tracks, so only Presley’s vocals and the live band recordings are present.
The last three discs of Sunset Boulevard are filled with rehearsals Presley and the band performed in Los Angeles before concerts in 1970 and 1974.
The July 24, 1970, rehearsal spans one and a half CDs and includes songs that run through Presley’s career, from “That’s All Right” to “Love Me Tender” to “Don’t Cry Daddy.”
The final part of the set is taken from the rehearsal on Aug.16, 1974. It features newer songs from Presley’s repertoire, including “Promised Land,” “If You Talk in Your Sleep” and a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Proud Mary.”
You can see the track listing for Sunset Boulevard below.
Elvis Presley, ‘Sunset Boulevard’ Track Listing Disc 1 – The Masters 1. Burning Love 2. Always On My Mind 3. Where Do I Go From Here 4. Separate Ways 5. For The Good Times 6. It’s A Matter Of Time 7. Fool 8. T-R-O-U-B-L-E 9. And I Love You So 10. Susan When She Tried 11. Woman Without Love 12. Shake A Hand 13. Pieces Of My Life 14. Fairytale 15. I Can Help 16. Bringin’ It Back 17. Green, Green Grass Of Home
Disc 2 – Outtakes Highlights 1. Separate Ways – Take 25 2. For The Good Times – Take 3 3. Where Do I Go From Here – Take 2 4. Burning Love – Take 2 5. Fool – Take 1 6. Always On My Mind – Take 2 7. It’s A Matter Of Time – Takes 1–3 8. It’s A Matter Of Time – Take 4 9. Fairytale – Take 2 10. Green, Green Grass Of Home – Takes 2 and 3 11. And I Love You So – Take 2 12. Susan When She Tried – Takes 1 and 2 13. T-R-O-U-B-L-E – Take 1 14. Tiger Man 15. Shake A Hand – Take 2 16. Bringin’ It Back – Takes 2 and 3 17. Pieces Of My Life – Takes 2 and 3
Disc 3 – July 24, 1970 rehearsal 1. That’s All Right 2. I Got A Woman 3. I Got A Woman 4. The Wonder Of You 5. I’ve Lost You 6. The Next Step Is Love 7. Stranger In The Crowd 8. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ 9. Something 10. Don’t Cry Daddy 11. Don’t Cry Daddy 12. You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me 13. Polk Salad Annie 14. Bridge Over Troubled Water 15. I Can’t Stop Loving You 16. Just Pretend 17. Sweet Caroline 18. Love Me Tender 19. Words 20. Suspicious Minds 21. I Just Can’t Help Believin’ 22. I Just Can’t Help Believin’
Disc 4 – July 24, 1970 rehearsal (continued) 1. Tomorrow Never Comes 2. Mary In The Morning 3. Twenty Days And Twenty Nights 4. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ 5. Just Can’t Help Believin’ 6. Heart Of Rome 7. Heart Of Rome 8. Memories 9. Johnny B. Goode 10. Make The World Go Away 11. Stranger In My Own Home Town 12. I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water August 16, 1974 rehearsal 13. If You Love Me (Let Me Know) 14. If You Love Me (Let Me Know) 15. Promised Land 16. Promised Land 17. Down In The Alley 18. Down In The Alley
Disc 5 – August 16, 1974 rehearsal (continued) 1. It’s Midnight 2. It’s Midnight 3. Your Love’s Been A Long Time Coming 4. Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues 5. Softly As I Leave You 6. Softly As I Leave You 7. I’m Leavin’ 8. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 9. Proud Mary 10. If You Talk In Your Sleep 11. If You Love Me (Let Me Know) 12. If You Love Me (Let Me Know) 13. The Twelfth Of Never 14. Faded Love 15. Just Pretend
Reissue Roundup: Spring Sets From Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa and More
The best archival recordings, box sets and expanded LPs from the past three months.
You laugh… but the ’70s were a golden era for car design. Scratch that—bold car design.
Everything felt heavier back then. The features were outrageously clunky, and the print ads made the average American look like they were either gearing up for a cruise around the world or a shootout with fugitives at a sketchy truck stop. And honestly, it was all so cool.
Maybe you were crammed into a Chevy wagon for a family road trip, zigzagging down Main Street in your Pinto, or dreaming of the day you’d pick up Marsha in your Camaro after band practice. Cars of the ’70s had a lot of attitude—and so did the print ads (the kind you’d find in your dad’s magazines hidden out in the woodshed).
Back in the gritty ’70s, safety features were minimal at best, gas was relatively cheap, and the family car not only had wood paneling, but it also had no cup holders (that was what your little brother was for) and a back seat where only pesky Cousin Oliver was allowed to sit.
Sure, the vehicles of today may be sleeker, and even drive themselves (but they still don’t fly!), but not unlike your average McDonald’s, they’ve lost a little bit of that flair that made cars ’70s cars so, well, ’70s.
LOOK: The Best Car Ads of the 1970s in One Nostalgic Gallery
From the Pinto to the Civic, get ready to relive the days of manual windows and two-door wagons as we flip through some of the most iconic car print ads from 1970s magazines.
Adventures were plentiful in the domain of your family’s patriarch who saw no use for rules – unless he was the one making them. From rusty tools to a stack of filthy magazines, Grandpa’s garage was a land of mystery and danger.
Larry Busacca, Getty Images / Epic / BackToTheBeginning.com
Here’s your chance to not only add the new reissue of Ozzy Osbourne‘s Scream album to your vinyl collection, but also receive a livestream code to view the upcoming Back to the Beginning farewell concert for Ozzy and Black Sabbath featuring some of rock and metal’s biggest names. This latest Ozzy-related offering comes courtesy of the Loudwire Nights and Ultimate Classic Rock Nights radio shows.
The Ozzy Scream reissue arrives just in time to mark the album’s 15th anniversary. The original album arrived back in 2010, yielding such standouts as the singles “Let Me Hear You Scream,” “Life Won’t Wait” and “Let It Die.”
Ozzy’s 11th studio album was the lone record to feature guitarist Gus G., while he was surrounded by a lineup that also included bassist Rob “Blasko” Nicholson, keyboardist Adam Wakeman and drummer Tommy Clufetos (though producer Kevin Churko also handled some drumming on the record).
But the Scream vinyl is only part of the package as we’re also including streaming codes that will allow you to catch the July 5 Back to the Beginning concert celebrating the legacy of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. The farewell performance by both acts will also feature supporting sets from Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax, Mastodon and Rival Sons as well as a who’s who of rock and metal special guests performing in supergroups throughout the day. With the concert sold out, the livestream is the best option to catch this once in a lifetime historic moment.
So here’s the deal. Loudwire Nights and Ultimate Classic Rock Nights are giving away five grand prizes of the Scream reissue vinyl and the Back to the Beginning livestream codes. Then, in addition, five more people will win access to the Back to the Beginning livestream code only.
Simply use the entry form provided at the bottom of this post and provide your contact details for the chance to be selected from the entries to win the Scream vinyl and Back to the Beginning livestream prize. But you’ll want to make sure to act now while you can. This contest ends on Monday, June 23, so fill out your entry now.
Vivian Campbell said he’d buy his stem cell donor a beer or three after confirming his cancer was in complete remission for the first time since his diagnosis in 2013.
The Def Leppard guitarist said he’d endured a difficult time in his battle against Hodgkin’s lymphoma after a transplant of his own stem cells failed to work, and a previously-planned donor didn’t work out.
He’s now preparing to take part in the band’s summer tour, after having been replaced by bandmate Phil Collen’s guitar tech, John Zocco, at some recent shows.
“I’ve been very lucky, actually,” Campbell told Eddie Trunk on Sirius XM’s Trunk Nation. “I got an early diagnosis… and 10 years ago I did an autologous stem cell transplant, which means using my own stem cells. That didn’t work. The cancer kept coming back.”
He said his health had “really got bad” in recent years, admitting “it was the first time in having to deal with it that I was seriously concerned about it. And the doctors told me really my only chance for of cure was to do a donor transplant.”
Preparing for the procedure involved “very hardcore chemo,” Campbell reported, with surgery planned for Thanksgiving last year. “I lost my donor 10 days beforehand – so that was a kick in the nuts,” he said.
“But I was very fortunate that they found me another one in December. And on New Year’s Eve, I went into hospital. I was in for about three and a half weeks, and I did what has turned out to be a really, really successful transplant.
“I did a PET scan in the middle of April, and I’m 100 percent clean – completely in remission for the first time in 12 or 13 years. And I’m obviously overjoyed. You couldn’t ask for more than that.”
He said of his donor: “There are 10 genetic markers, and this donor was 10 out of 10. A young man, actually. I don’t get to know who he is for a couple of years, but a 21-year-old man… [T]hey always prefer a youthful donor. Obviously, I’m gonna buy him a beer — or two or three!”
Viv Campbell Reveals What Unknown Stem Cell Donor Went Through
Campbell agreed that it was a testament to the unknown man’s character that he’d “put his name on the donor registry, for no reason other than he’s a good person… there are a lot of good people out there, I’m glad to say.”
Speaking from his own experience, he explained that donor procedure “causes a lot of discomfort and bone pain,” continuing: “It is a pretty heavy lift, and I’m just glad there are some great people in the world.”
The guitarist confirmed he was looking forward to meeting the stranger – if it ever happens. “After two years, they give you the option to contact your donor, so you can reach out to them. I would imagine in this day and age it’s via e-mail.
“If they wanna correspond with you they can… they don’t have to. But obviously, it’s a life-saving proposition, so I’d certainly want to express my gratitude.”
The Best Hair Metal Album of Every Year From 1981-1991
As its name suggests, this tour will focus on music from the earlier portions of Costello’s career, ranging from his 1977 debut My Aim Is True to 1986’s Blood & Chocolate. Joining Costello is Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher and returning guest Charlie Sexton.
Costello’s set highlighted early classics of his catalog like “Alison,” “Watching the Detectives,” “This Year’s Girl,” “Pump It Up” and others.
You can view a complete set list, plus fan-filmed video from the show, below.
“You can expect the unexpected and the faithful in equal measure,” Costello said of the tour in a previous press release. “Don’t forget this show is ‘Performed by Elvis Costello & the Imposters,’ an ensemble which includes three people who first recorded this music and two more who bring something entirely new. They are nobody’s tribute band. The Imposters are a living, breathing, swooning, swinging, kicking and screaming rock and roll band who can turn their hands to a pretty ballad when the opportunity arises.”
From here, the tour will make stops all across North America, with dates scheduled through Oct. 22.
Watch Elvis Costello Perform ‘Watching the Detectives’ in Seattle
Watch Elvis Costello Perform ‘(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes’ in Seattle
Watch Elvis Costello Perform ‘Brilliant Mistake’ in Seattle
Elvis Costello & the Imposters, 6/12/25, Seattle, Washington, Set List: 1. “Mystery Dance” 2. “Possession” 3. “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes” 4. “Green Shirt” 5. “Waiting for the End of the World” 6. “Watching the Detectives” 7. “Brilliant Mistake” 8. “Man Out of Time” 9. “Poisoned Rose” 10. “Opportunity” 11. “This Year’s Girl” 12. “Party Girl” 13. “Wonder Woman” 14. “Every Day I Write the Book” 15. “Alison” 16. “(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea” 17. “Pump It Up” 18. “Radio Radio” 19. “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding”
Elvis Costello Albums Ranked
Even with a career spanning more than four decades, many collaborators and several record labels, his discography has had way more hits than misses.
By their very nature, remix albums carry the weight of both their source material and the expectations of a “new” record. More often than not, the original music culled for remix collections is always better, and the result isn’t so much a new album as it is a set of old songs restructured and recontextualized as the artist readies their next proper LP.
The Cure is no stranger to the remix album. In 1990, after the success of Disintegration, they released Mixed Up, which featured remixed songs from their first decade. A sequel, Torn Down, played catch-up with the preceding quarter century in 2018. Both albums served a purpose, closing chapters for the group.
Mixes of a Lost World has a different purpose: to extend the life of the 2024 comeback LP Songs of a Lost World while offering new perspectives on the album’s eight songs. Unlike its predecessors, though, Mixes of a Lost World enlists big-name producers and remixers to overhaul the tracks, each receiving multiple remixes. Unsurprisingly, the mostly club-ready mixes turn out to be just as much about the remixers as it is the Cure.
Conceived and curated by Robert Smith, the album features new mixes by Daniel Avery, Four Tet, Paul Oakenfold and Orbital, among others. They each spin the music through their distinct filters, allowing the band’s originals to occasionally peek through the screens they lay on top of and beneath the foundations. The viewpoints may be different, but nothing here surpasses the tracks found on Songs of a Lost World.
Still, some of these new mixes reveal textures and layers not initially apparent on the 2024 LP, such as the menacing darkness hiding in the corner of “I Can Never Say Goodbye,” pushed to the forefront of Oakenfold’s “Cinematic” remix, and Shanti Celeste’s rippling “February Blues” reworking of the melancholic “Alone,” Songs of a Lost World‘s best song. Others (Sally C, JoyCut) merely turn a few knobs in other directions, while meera’s “All I Ever Am” dispenses of the Cure altogether. Smith has said there won’t be another 16-year wait for Songs of a Lost World‘s follow-up. Until then, Mixes of a Lost World continues the comeback buzz.
The Cure Albums Ranked
Gloomy, gothy, punky, poppy – this multidimensional band’s albums are among the best of the era.
