Garbage may be back in action with their newly-released eighth studio album, Let All That We Imagine Be the Light, but vocalist Shirley Manson admits that not everything in the band is “hunky dory”, and confesses that she frequently feels “isolated” within the group she has fronted since 1994.
“I was always separate from the second I joined the band, ” she acknowledges, “I’ve always been an outsider.”
Manson’s comments come in a new interview with The Independent newspaper. “Nothing’s wrong with the band per se,” she insists, “but there’s very little proper communication about anything at all.”
“I’ve just started talking about it because I feel like I’ve become so isolated,” she tells writer Kate Hutchinson. “I don’t want to pretend everything’s hunky dory.”
Garbage started when producer friends Butch Vig, Steve Marker and Duke Erikson recruited Manson for their new project after seeing Manson’s previous band, Angelfish, on MTV.
“I love my bandmates, they’re lovely men, but they’re a boys’ club, and I’ve never been part of that,” the singer states honestly. “We live very separate existences and identities – it could be the secret of why we’ve lasted 30 years!”
“I was the interface between the band and management; band and record company,” she adds. “I stopped doing it because I hit a wall and had to protect myself. And then the entire communication between us just… drifted away.”
Manson goes on to reveal that Garbage’s management suggested that the quartet might wish to undergo group therapy together, as Metallica infamously did with Phil Towle following the exit of bassist Jason Newsted, but the process would have cost the group £100,000 – “or someething mad like that!” – so the four musicians turned down the idea. And if, not too far over the horizon, the band do decide to break up after more than three decades together, Manson will have few regrets.
“I realise it’s not going to last forever,” she says, “and we’re already running out of time, and so it feels very poignant and beautiful, and something that I want to protect.”
And as she suggests in a new interview with NME, Manson isn’t about to slink back into the shadows, whatever lies ahead. In reference to the fact that, at 58, she is the youngest member of the band, she says, “For some reason, society wants us to fold up and go away. When you get older, you can’t be pushed around in the same way that you once were.”
The latest news, features and interviews direct to your inbox, from the global home of alternative music.
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.
While metalcore itself preceded Killswitch Engage’s arrival by almost a decade, it was unquestionably the rise of Massachusettes’ finest that helped push the genre to the very front of the metal scene in the 2000s, laying the groundwork for everyone from Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine to Bring Me The Horizon and Bad Omens to conquer the planet.
Killswitch also remain one of the few metal bands to sustain major success despite changing singers at pivotal moments in their career. Jesse Leach‘s surprise departure following the release of 2002 breakthrough Alive Or Just Breathing could have sunk a lesser band, but the arrival of Howard Jones only rocket-boosted their ascent. Incredibly, Howard’s own exit just under a decade later – and the unlikely return of Leach soon after – helped rejuvenate the band once more, and their reach and influence remains as strong as ever. Here, then, is every Killswitch Engage album so far, ranked in reverse order of greatness.
9. Killswitch Engage (2009)
The band’s last album with vocalist Howard Jones, and the only real stinker in their entire back catalogue. While the melodic, radio-friendly side of KSE’s sound was crucial to their success, the second self-titled album of their career leaned way too far in that direction – they simply forgot to add the riffs and the aggression that worked so brilliantly as a counterpoint to those soaring melodies. No revisionist opinion here: this is pretty bad.
Killswitch Engage – Starting Over [OFFICIAL VIDEO] – YouTube
It would be unfair to deny that Incarnate has its moments – first single Strength Of The Mind is an absolute world beater – and frontman Jesse Leach deserves great credit for using his lyrics to confront his demons on the record. In terms of positives, though, that’s pretty much about it. Songs like Cut Me Loose plod along with no real fire, and the more melodic songs like the partially acoustic Quiet Distress try to soar but fall flat. Not awful, but, next to the rest of their back catalogue, not anywhere near good enough.
Killswitch Engage – Cut Me Loose [OFFICIAL VIDEO] – YouTube
It’s an improvement on Incarnate, but Atonement is still far from KSE at their very best. Howard Jones rejoined the band for a song – the admittedly massive The Signal Fire – but it’s actually The Crownless King, featuring Testament frontman Chuck Billy that wins the battle of the guest spot. The main problem is the dip Atonement takes after those songs; I Am Broken Too is an uncharacteristically sappy ballad that we could really do without. Better, but still not quite there.
The most visceral Killswitch Engage have sounded in quite some time, This Consequence matches scything metallic riffs and a surprisingly gritty Adam D production job with what might just be the most impassioned performance of Jesse Leach’s career. His guttural roars and exacerbated, furious musings on the state of Planet Earth give the album an extra sense of urgency and propulsion, while the likes of Forever Aligned and I Believe pack those quintessential, earwormy choruses. There’s no all-time-great Killswitch banger on here, but this is still a hell of a showing overall.
Back when metalcore was an underground movement that few had heard of and Adam Dutkiewicz was still a drummer, Killswitch Engage released their debut album to little fanfare. It’s aged well: the likes of Soilborn, with its blastbeats, snotty punk aggression and death metal riffs, still stand up. It lacks the massive melodic choruses that would help the band break into the mainstream, but if you long for the glory years of underground metalcore then Killswitch Engage delivers.
Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!
It’s best known for My Curse and the cover of Dio’s Holy Diver tacked belatedly on the end, but there’s way more to As Daylight Dies. This Is Absolution is one of Killswitch’s great underrated songs, The Arms Of Sorrow repeats the trick they pulled on The End Of Heartache with similarly stunning results, and For You has a riff that Dimebag Darrell would be proud of. The album drops off a little during its second half, but for the most part, As Daylight Dies still holds it own with anything else Killswitch Engage have done.
Killswitch Engage – The Arms of Sorrow [OFFICIAL VIDEO] – YouTube
When Howard Jones left the band at the end of 2012, there were rumblings that it could have been the end for Killswitch Engage. Instead, they brought Jesse Leach back into the lineup and released Disarm The Descent. From the second The Hell In Me comes tearing at you like a feral Rottweiler, it was clear they had pulled it out of the bag. Songs like the skyscraper huge Always and the call to the pit of In Due Time are established as essential Killswitch Engage anthems, making Disarm The Descent an undoubted fan favourite. One of the great metal comebacks.
Killswitch Engage – In Due Time [OFFICIAL VIDEO] – YouTube
The album that established Killswitch Engage as one of the most exciting metal acts on the planet, and that was partially responsible for hastening the demise of nu metal. Alive Or Just Breathing is an absolutely monstrous set of songs. The riff that opens Numbered Days, the rhythmic battering of Life To The Lifeless and, of course, the generation-defining anthem My Last Serenade are pretty much as good as metalcore has ever got. It may only have been their second record, but Alive Or Just Breathing set a benchmark that pretty much any other band would struggle to replicate for the rest of their career. But amazingly, Killswitch themselves would top it next time around.
Killswitch Engage – My Last Serenade [OFFICIAL VIDEO] – YouTube
The immenseness of Alive Or Just Breathing was tempered by the departure of Jesse Leach, leaving an absurdly high bar for his replacement to aim at. The fact that they got bigger and actually one-upped their previous effort is a staggering achievement. The introduction of former Blood Has Been Shed frontman Howard Jones brought greater levels of melody to the band and, crucially, a more romanticised set of lyrical influences that opened Killswitch up to an entirely new set of fans.
As their profile soared, they became staples of MTV2 and were tipped as future festival headliners; with songs like A Bid Farewell, the anthemic, sombre stomp of the title track and the absolutely wonderful thrash-meets-rock-meets two-step of The Rose Of Shary,n no one can say it wouldn’t be fully deserved. It’s by the slimmest of margins, but The End Of Heartache edges it as the best Killswitch Engage album – and perhaps metalcore’s defining statement.
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.
(Image credit: Joe Maher/Getty Images | Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images)
British actor and comedian Rob Brydon has spoken about his life-long love of Bruce Springsteen, revealing that, as a teenager growing up in Wales, he found Springsteen’s songs about New Jersey wholly relatable to his own life.
Brydon, perhaps best known for his role as Bryn West in the much-loved BBC TV sitcom Gavin and Stacey, and his three series alongside Steve Coogan in The Trip, shares his love for Springsteen in the documentary When Bruce Springsteen Came To Britain, which aired on BBC2 on May 31.
As proof of his devotion to Springsteen, Brydon shows viewers of the documentary a scrapbook of articles on the legendary New Jersey singer/songwriter which he collated in the early ’80s, cut from the pages of music magazines such as NME and British newspapers.
“I bought The River at Woolworths in Porthcawl,” Brydon recalls. “It was the first album I ever had with a lyric insert and I remember showing it to my grandmother, saying, Look at this, this is like poetry!
“Part of the connection,” her continues,” is when he writes about the New Jersey Turnpike, driving ‘on a wet night, ‘neath the refinery’s glow’, where I grew up in South Wales, we had oil refineries near us, and there was a kind of steel town feel. When I was young, and Paul Weller talked about Down In The Tube Station At Midnight, what the hell is a tube station? I was from Port Talbot. I felt much closer to New Jersey, than I did to London.”
In 2019, Brydon was able to translate his love of The Boss into his role in Blinded By The Light, a British comedy-drama directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham), inspired by journalist Sarfraz Mansoor’s obsession with Springsteen while growing up as a Muslim teenager in Luton, England.
“One of the things Blinded By The Light does very well is show people’s devotion to Bruce,” says Brydon. “My character had to sing a bit of Thunder Road, and I was so enchanted by the idea that Bruce would have to see that, he’d have to at some point sign off on the film, and he’d see this idiot singing in a very badly-advised wig!”
For those resident in the UK, or those with access to a VPN, When Bruce Springsteen Came To Britain is available now on BBC iPlayer.
Springsteen will release Tracks II: The Lost Albums, a set of seven complete, unheard records made between 1983 and 2018, boasting 74 never-before-heard songs, on Columbia Records on June 27.
“The Lost Albums were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released,” Springsteen said when announcing the box set. “I’ve played this music to myself and often close friends for years now. I’m glad you’ll get a chance to finally hear them. I hope you enjoy them.”
The latest news, features and interviews direct to your inbox, from the global home of alternative music.
“I often read about myself in the 1990s as having some ‘lost period,’” he added in a promo video. “Not really. I was working the whole time.”
The collection includes the lo-fi LA Garage Sessions ’83, which is described as “a crucial link between Nebraska and Born In The USA.”
The set is available in limited-edition nine-LP and seven-CD formats, including original packaging for each record, with a 100-page cloth-bound, hardcover book featuring rare archival photos, liner notes on each lost album from essayist Erik Flannigan, and a personal introduction on the project from Springsteen himself.
Bruce Springsteen – Tracks II: The Lost Albums Trailer – YouTube
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.
Last week was a good week for Dinosaur Pile-Up, as the band celebrated the upcoming release of their first album for Matador Records by triumphing in the latest round of our Tracks Of The Week contest. So congratulations to them. You may reacquaint yourself with their winning entry below.
Dinosaur Pile-Up – Big Dogs (Official Audio) 2025 – YouTube
Joe Bonamassa beat out Jerry Cantrell for the silver medal, and now another eight hopefuls are lined up. They follow, in no particular order, apart from the order in which they appear.
Please vote for your favourite before exiting the page. Thank you.
Halestorm – Everest
Halestorm are back with the title track of their next album (the follow-up to 2022’s Back From The Dead). With some blistering guitar solo action from Joe Hottinger, and a bridge section that stretches into some of their richest, most classic-sounding territory yet, the omens for what’s to come look good. “Our song ‘Everest’ is the summit of everything we’ve fought for – every scream, every scar, every triumph,” firebomb singer/guitarist Lzzy Hale declares. “This album is us, louder and bolder, and more brutally honest than ever, standing tall in the face of the storm.”
Halestorm – Everest (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Quickly following up last year’s The Southern Part 1, this commanding blues rock threesome are back with (what else?) this slice of The Southern Part 2, and it’s a winner from its emphatic first note. All slinky Hendrixian tone and groove, it packs a punch that feels sensual even as it grabs you by the shirt collar and… well, gives you the ‘evil eye’. Catch them on these shores at Love Rocks festival in Dorset this month (and across Europe before that).
Evil Eye – Official Video – The Cold Stares – YouTube
Just ahead of their US tour, Welsh rock’n’soul power trio Cardinal Black have released this silky, impassioned latest taste of their forthcoming album Midnight At The Valencia. “It’s a long, shared history we have,” honey-voiced singer Tom Hollister reflects, of the prolonged, back-and-forth journey (via false starts, separate projects and other forks in their path) that’s brought them here. “We feel like we’ve paid our dues, and this album is the culmination of all that effort.”
Cardinal Black – Breathe (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Their new album Less Is More comes out this week, and this deliciously incensed, grungy taster – shot on their farm in Gascony, hay bales and geese included – offers an appetising peek at what’s inside. Expect ragged yet tight, laser-focused riffage, roaring vocals and fiery attacks on the rampant materialism and screen-gazing habits endemic to today. Socially astute but absolutely rocking with it. Their live shows are brilliant, well worth catching when they come to the UK later this year.
THE INSPECTOR CLUZO – AS STUPID AS YOU CAN – YouTube
“The groove always felt right in this one,” says Ian Thornley, singer/guitarist with these hard-rocking, genre-twisting Canadians, now back with this punchy yet pensive, interesting mix of beefcake grooviness, tempo shifts and blissed out anthemic chorus. “It was written fast, it started with the riff and just kept going. It was important to me, too, that the guitar part had its own narrative, I wanted it to tell its own story.”
Big Wreck “Believer” (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Back with their first studio material in six years, British contemporary proggers Ihlo are the brains behind this driving, moody banger. Built from a gorgeous, crunchy set of opening guitar chords before soaring into yearning melody, gauzy textures and thoughtfully deployed spates of pummelling weight, it lands in the sweet spot where prog metal feels like less of a niche taste – and more like just another vehicle for good songs, as it should be.
Ihlo – Empire – Official Video (Taken from the album ‘Legacy’) – YouTube
“This was a random title I’d written down a few years ago. I liked the bizarre combination of the two words,” the Thunder guitarist says of this loose-limbed Stones-y rock’n’roller from his upcoming solo album – he’s no Danny Bowes as a singer, but he holds his own comfortably here. “I had no idea what it meant until I started writing this tune. I guess ‘Snakeskin’ is a metaphor for my musical past and the ‘Parachute’ is me trying to convince myself that if my solo records don’t go down too well, I could always eject and land softly back where I was in my heavy rock comfort zone!” Catch him on tour across the UK in September.
Luke Morley – SNAKESKIN PARACHUTE – Official Video – YouTube
This week’s edition of Look! It’s A Band Who Appear To Have Time-Travelled From The 1970s To Be Here features Sweet Desire, who hail from Altoona in central Pennsylvania. The band’s none-more-seventies name is bettered only by the even-more-seventies song title Easy Woman, Lovin’ Woman, a track which sounds a bit like Free, if Free had formed over the embers of a Woodstock campfire rather than in a rehearsal studio in London. It was originally released last year and is now the beneficiary of a new, period-friendly rooftop video, but if you’d like to explore further, two new songs –Cherokee Rider and Hummingbird – are on streaming platforms now. Sweet Desire’s debut album arrives this month.
Polly is deputy editor at Classic Rock magazine, where she writes and commissions regular pieces and longer reads (including new band coverage), and has interviewed rock’s biggest and newest names. She also contributes to Louder, Prog and Metal Hammer and talks about songs on the 20 Minute Club podcast. Elsewhere she’s had work published in The Musician, delicious. magazine and others, and written biographies for various album campaigns. In a previous life as a women’s magazine junior she interviewed Tracey Emin and Lily James – and wangled Rival Sons into the arts pages. In her spare time she writes fiction and cooks.
The singer said it was just a single example of how their partnership might have developed if they’d continued working together – despite what fans might have thought.
“Eddie and I wrote some great songs together, and I think the best stuff was yet to come… because Eddie was really reaching out on instruments,” Hagar told Talkin’ Rock With Meltdown (audio below).
He continued: “Last time I talked to Eddie before he passed I said, ‘Man, what are you playing?’ He said, ‘Oh, man, I’ve really been playing a lot of cello!’ And I’m going, ‘Cello? Holy shit! Play me something, dude. I’m ready to write a song with you on cello!’”
Hagar went on to argue: “As artists, Eddie and I were really capable of doing a lot of stuff that he couldn’t do before me, because the other guy didn’t want keyboards.
“And when I [first] walked in the room with Eddie … he showed me ‘Good Enough’ and he showed me ‘Summer Nights.’ Those are two riffs he had. And then what did he do? He went and sat down at the piano and he started playing all this stuff. And I’m going, ‘Whoa. What?’ He starts playing to riff to ‘Dreams;’ he’s sitting there playing ‘Love Walks In.’
Sammy Hagar’s Only Regret with Van Halen
“I’m going, ‘Whoa, I had no idea he was that good of a keyboard player.’ So he really wanted to expand as a musician. … And it was always held back by the record companies and the people around him. I think we would’ve broken out of that… and start doing some really crazy stuff.”
Hagar accepted that might not be good news for every supporter. “Now, all the hardcore Van Halen fans are out there saying, ‘No, no – you would’ve ruined it! We want ‘Poundcake!’’” He added: “But it’s all good, man. It’s all good.”
The vocalist reflected that his only regret with Van Halen was that the band broke up. Asides from that, he said, “I regret nothing… It’s the greatest thing that ever happened to me.
“I will never reach that pinnacle again in my musical career, and I don’t even try for it. … Those times are gone; and I’m proud to have been there.”
Time is undefeated – it’s a cliche saying, but it’s true.
Though rock has always carried an air of immortality with it, musicians are fragile humans just like the rest of us. At some point, the Rolling Stones will stop touring, Stevie Nicks will retire, the world will no longer have any Beatles left in it. That sobering reality is something artists and fans alike are now forced to face.
Historically speaking, we’ve never seen a generational change quite like the one ahead. Sure, music itself has existed for centuries, but music as a commodity didn’t really appear until after World War II. In 1948 the first 12-inch vinyl LPs were commercially released. The ‘50s saw a boom that is now commonly regarded as the birth of rock n’ roll, but when people talk about classic rock they’re generally referring to a period that began in the ‘60s and ended in the ‘80s.
This three-decade run birthed some of the greatest artists to ever grace a stage, ranging from the Beatles and the Stones, to Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Guns N’ Roses and many more. What happens to their incredible legacies after these icons retire or, sadly, die?
Are Avatars the Future of Concerts?
Famously, Kiss made waves in December 2023 when, following their final traditional concert, the band revealed virtual avatars that will take them into the future. Though details are still under wraps, the plan is to use new technology to create an interactive, virtual concert that pushes the boundaries of reality.
“Everything evolves,” Gene Simmons explained of the project in 2024. “We didn’t always stand up on two legs. A few million years ago, we were on four legs. Everything evolves, and you either evolve or you become obsolete or you die. So technology is here. A.I. is here. Virtual reality is here. Everything is here. And we don’t wanna be yesterday’s news. So even the end of something can be the beginning of something.”
Given their history of trailblazing commercialism, it makes sense that Kiss is the band leading the avatar charge. Still, their venture comes with risk. Though the ABBA Voyage, a virtual concert experience which presents the beloved Swedish pop group in their prime, has been a rousing success in London, a 2019 tour featuring a hologram of Ronnie James Dio was met with disappointment by the metal legend’s fans. Generally, the concert-going public seems skeptical of virtual events – at least, thus far.
How Concert Streaming Is Helping Artists Stay Eternal
Kiss isn’t the only classic act to retire from the road in recent years. Elton John, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent and Kenny Loggins are among the rockers who’ve stepped away from touring, though most have kept the door slightly ajar for occasional performances. As legendary acts play fewer and fewer shows, fans have turned to streaming concert platforms as an alternative.
Brad Sterling is the founder and CEO of Nugs.net, an industry-leading service for streaming live and archival concert recordings. Their long list of musical partners includes Bruce Springsteen, who has been delivering content via Nugs for close to a decade.
“[Springsteen] came to us at one point and said, ‘We want to put out everything in the archives,’” Sterling recalls during a conversation with UCR. “And really, they wanted to put out everything.”
Listen to an Archival Performance of Bruce Springsteen From 1984
Sterling and his team created a once-a-month plan for the sprawling archives, helping deliver the Boss’ glory days to a new generation of viewers.
“We’re transferring them at the highest quality that technology will allow. And we’re doing speed correction and cleanup of the tape and then mixing those multitracks from as far back as 50 years ago.”
At the same time, Nugs has streamed Springsteen’s current tour, offering a unique balance – one foot firmly in the present, with another connected to the past. The CEO sees a similar dynamic when fans of modern acts – such as psychedelic rockers Goose or Americana singer-songwriter Billy Strings – discover classic artists via his platform.
“There’s a two way discovery of younger fans discovering these classic rock catalogs that are really perennials,” he explains. ”These songs, they’re going to live on well beyond the touring artists. [Bob] Dylan, thankfully, is still touring. But in a couple of years, who knows? Same with the Rolling Stones. We’ve got these 10 or 12 incredible full concert videos of the Stones in ’75. We have the Hyde Park show from ’69. It’s just like these unbelievable performances that a younger kid coming to watch Billy Strings or Goose live could then go and watch the Stones from Hyde Park in ’69. And I’m sure they know who the Rolling Stones are, but maybe they never actually took the time to sit down and watch the concert and discover the catalog.”
‘Selling Out’ Is No Longer a Concern
The evolution of classic rock has turned bands to brands, with many artists capitalizing on their intellectual property. Just about any product you can think of is available as a Beatles collectible. Your local department store likely stocks t-shirts featuring the logos of Guns N’ Roses, Led Zeppelin, the Doors and more. “Selling out” is no longer a concern – it’s the norm.
Rock star capitalism extends to artists’ material as well. In recent years, catalog sales have proven to be big business, with Pink Floyd, Springsteen, Dylan and Queen among the acts pulling in nine-figure sums for their work. The tradeoff, of course, is that the purchasing cooperation takes control of the songs, a scenario that would have been shocking in the anti-establishment counterculture days.
“I’m not in the publishing business; I’m in the song-management business,” Merck Mercuriadis, founder Hipgnosis Songs Fund, one of the most active group’s purchasing catalogs in recent years, explained to Rolling Stone. “There’s a paradigm that I’m a catalyst for changing, paradigms that have existed for decades and people think are OK and normal. … The three big recorded-music companies use their leverage of owning the song companies to ensure those companies don’t advocate for songwriters, and they push the economic improvement we’ve seen with streaming so they, not the artist, get the lion’s share of the money at the songwriter’s expense. If nothing else, we’re a catalyst for changing that.”
While the trend has offered financial security for artists and their heirs, it also means new, younger fans will likely discover classic acts via movies, TV or advertisements. Few could have predicted that commercialism would end up keeping classic rock alive, still there’s one other trend helping acts endure.
Classic Rock Bands Touring Without Original Members
If recent history has proven anything, it’s that a band’s allure far exceeds that of its members. If Queen can rock stadiums without Freddie Mercury and the Grateful Dead can evolve to Dead and Company, there’s no reason fellow iconic acts can’t follow suit. Some notable groups – such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blood, Sweat & Tears – have even continued to enjoy successful touring without any original members. It’s a topic that has divided fans and rockers alike.
“If it’s not Steve Perry, it’s not Journey!” TV host Andy Cohen famously declared on New Year’s Eve 2022, clearly siding with the band’s long-departed singer. “It’s propaganda! Not Journey!”
Similarly, Lou Gramm has previously criticized his former band, Foreigner. “I don’t understand how they can be touring with no original members and still calling themselves Foreigner and going on for years like that,” the singer remarked in 2023. “I guess it’s not my business, and maybe it is a business decision for them, but it just doesn’t feel right to me.” (It should be noted that Gramm has since joined forces with Foreigner on several occasions.)
Still, Queens of the Stone Age singer Josh Homme offered a different perspective. “Even though Lynyrd Skynyrd are a cover band today, people still want to hear these songs,” the frontman pontificated in 2023. “And what should I have against that?”
So Where Does Classic Rock Go From Here?
While no one can perfectly predict what the future will bring, classic rock fans can take solace in knowing the genre will endure somehow. Whether via avatars, streaming, new lineups or some other avenue, artists and their work will continue reaching new fans long after they’ve stepped offstage for good.
As technology continues evolving, new options will also become available to classic rock fans. During our conversation, Sterling revealed that Nugs is working on an integration that would enable the lights in a viewer’s home to brighten, dim and change based on the concert they were watching – making the at-home experience feel more like the real thing. The CEO also nodded to virtual reality as a growing platform for concerts.
“There’s a lot of buzz around Apple Vision and all that,” Sterling admitted. “Ultimately, I’m sure it will end up in some kind of headset, whether it’s Apple Vision or not. But, something that’s incredibly high resolution, like 16K in the Sphere, that kind of thing. But, on your head or in your room.”
Top 100 Classic Rock Artists
Click through to find out how they stack up, as we count down the Top 100 classic rock artists.
Sharon den Adel laughs a lot as she speaks. She makes for entertaining company and seems to exude both a calm, confident air and an overwhelmingly positive attitude. She looks to be on the verge of tears, however, as she recalls the UK tour that was her worst ever moment in Within Temptation, the band she co-founded with her high school sweetheart, husband-to-be, songwriting partner and guitarist Robert Westerholt.
The pair had been the beating heart of the band since its inception in 1996, but the pressures of burgeoning success and combining a simultaneous romantic and working relationship had simply become too much. It was 2007, and their fourth album, The Heart Of Everything, had propelled them to worldwide success. It debuted at No.1 in the Netherlands, making it their second album to top the charts in their homeland, but they had also broken into the US Billboard charts for the first time.
The record was widely seen as a pinnacle of symphonic metal, and it paved the way for a major world tour. Behind the scenes, though, things had reached an impasse.
“We had America done, and then a European tour, and it was terrible,” Sharon recalls. “The tour wasn’t terrible, we had a lot of success, but [Robert and I] were not in a good place together. Eventually we broke up and we still had to go through England. And that was the worst tour ever, because we had already split up and still had to do it. It was agony, but I think the audience loved it, because I never had so much passion as at that time. I was just screaming it all out!”
The period nearly saw the end of Within Temptation, but the pair decided there was a lot worth salvaging, in both musical and personal terms. They set about redefining how they could work and live together, and the band continued to cement their ongoing position as one of Europe’s most successful metal bands.
Within Temptation and @JERRY_HEIL – Sing Like A Siren (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Worldwide arena tours and chart-topping albums seemed a long way away when the members of Within Temptation first got together in the small town of Waddinxveen in South Holland. Sharon was a grunge kid who was singing in a band project in school. Schoolmate Robert Westerholt, meanwhile, had a series of ‘proper’ bands, and Sharon was happy to jump in when the singer of one of them skipped one too many sessions.
After morphing through a few more versions, Within Temptation were born, and they quickly began work on their 1997 debut album, Enter. As well as Sharon’s soaring vocals, the album made use of Robert’s gruff death metal growls and heavy doom riffs. The symphonic elements were yet to crystalise, but there was a darkly lustrous sweep that owed more than a little to the arch goth-metal of Paradise Lost’s aptly titled Gothic. The band embarked on a brief tour of the Netherlands, and their fifth ever gig was at Dynamo Open Air, which at the time was one of Europe’s biggest festivals.
Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!
“It was the most amazing moment at that point in my life, but it was also the most scary, because I had no clue how anything worked. We were still figuring things out and we were playing for 10,000 people in a tent,” Sharon recalls today. “Our record label was great at promoting us, and when we came to the festival there wasn’t a wall that didn’t have my face on it. It’s like, ‘Oh my God, I see myself a thousand times. But there were 10,000 people going, ‘Who the heck are this band and why is everybody talking about them?’”
Even so, playing in a metal band in the Netherlands in the late 90s was more a calling than a career plan. The likes of Pestilence and The Gathering had enjoyed limited international success, but it did not look like a fast track to fame and fortune, and in the band’s early days Sharon also worked at a fashion company. As a child she had dreamed of being a designer, but practicalities funnelled her into the management side – until Within Temptation gave her the chance to combine two of her greatest passions.
“When we started with this very epic sound, I felt like, ‘This is my chance.’ I always felt like it fit the music. If you make epic-sounding music, you need an epic dress as well,” Sharon says. She remains heavily involved in the band’s strong visual presentation to this day, even if she had to nudge her bandmates at certain points along the way. “We started in pirate blouses,” she says. “And one of them I made myself for Robert. Actually, it was one of the pieces that I had to deliver to get my degree.”
(Image credit: Press)
Their second album, 2000’s Mother Earth, was a watershed moment for Within Temptation and the nascent symphonic metal scene in general. The sweeping Ice Queen single became a surprise hit, and the band found themselves rising stars in Europe.
2004 follow-up The Silent Force continued the band’s ascent as they further explored grandiose elements. Over in Finland, Nightwish were doing something not too dissimilar, but Sharon insists there was no rivalry between the two bands.
“It was in the minds of journalists and it was rivalry that they created,” she shrugs. Sharon would later duet with original Nightwish vocalist Tarja Turunen on Within Temptation track Paradise (What About Us?), and Tarja joined the Dutch band as a special guest on parts of last year’s Bleed Out tour.
“Our paths didn’t cross for a long while, which is strange, because there were so few women in metal back then,” Sharon says. “It would have been nice to have someone like her to confide in. It is sometimes tough to be on the road with only men.”
A notable tour that didn’t feature men only was the band’s first trip to the US, where they played alongside Lacuna Coil, The Gathering, In This Moment, Stolen Babies and Kylesa on a tour dubbed The Hottest Chicks In Metal Tour 2007.
“I didn’t know it was the Hottest Chicks tour until I was on the airplane going over to America,” Sharon says. “I found it hilarious. It’s just a way to sell the tour, of course, and I understand where it comes from, but there would never be The Hottest Men In Metal Tour.”
That tour was in support of 2007’s The Heart Of Everything, which saw the band hit the pinnacle of their pure symphonic metal era. The US leg saw them playing small clubs, but their profile was growing, and in Europe they were selling out theatres and appearing at major festivals such as France’s Hellfest, Austria’s Nova Rock and Download in the UK. They were now major stars, but they were never really a band for rock star shenanigans.
“We had the occasional private jet moment,” says Sharon with a laugh. “I remember playing the Desert Rock festival in Dubai, and all the bands were picked up in these huge Hummers in different colours. We were treated like royalty. You can enjoy it, but you have to realise it’s not real life. It will ruin you in the end if you buy into it.”
Despite the growing success, they avoided many of the temptations of the road. Where some bands have drug dealers on speed dial, Within Temptation would travel with their racquets and would occasionally employ a professional tennis coach to come out to them. The fact that Sharon and Robert had welcomed their first child together also helped keep them grounded, but added to the pressures on the couple, which came to a head on the tour for Heart Of Everything and their subsequent, if ultimately temporary, split.
“It was something that was bound to happen, I guess, because we’ve been school sweethearts since we were 18. You grow up and you’re in a different place, a different person,” Sharon sighs. “We just grew apart because you do everything together. You write together, you perform together, you have a family together. And I do not suggest anyone does that. You need to have space on your own to develop, but also to have something different to talk about with your partner.”
There followed several months of soul-searching that Sharon describes as “the heaviest and the darkest period of us being together”. The song In And Out of Love that Sharon recorded with Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren was a reflection on the process, and her first real inkling that she might want to do something outside Within Temptation.
Eventually though, Sharon and Robert got back together and looked at new ways of working within the band. “He said, ‘I can’t be in the band anymore if you want to have a relationship’, and I said, ‘I think that’s a good thing, because we’re like two captains on the boat and we are killing each other in front of everyone else,’” Sharon recalls. “We had an Eastern European tour and we went without him. I said, ‘You have to take care of Luna, our baby, and I’m going to go on tour and we’ll figure it out when I come back.”
When Sharon returned, they spent a few months figuring out how to make their relationship work. “We were actually dating again a little bit, going out together again,” she says. “That was a starting point.”
The long-term solution involved Robert stepping back from touring completely to look after their expanding family, while remaining a pivotal songwriter. “He does one-off things with us, but he doesn’t miss really being on tour with us,” says Sharon. “He’s more the composer and he enjoys enjoying the show from afar.”
Having taken the symphonic elements as far as they could on The Heart Of Everything, and the spectacular orchestra-accompanied Black Symphony show and live album, Within Temptation entered a more experimental phase. 2011’s The Unforgiving was a concept album with related short films and comic books that embraced their 80s musical influences.
2014’s Hydra was a many-headed beast packed with musical twists and guest appearances, the most surprising of which was And We Run featuring rapper Xzibit.
“I think we were testing ourselves through this whole time,” Sharon nods. “It was that whole arc of wanting to try different things and to move on as a band. Just struggling to find our new identity a little bit. The Xzibit song drew some negativity but we loved it, and I still think it’s a great song. I’ve always also liked the combination of rock and rap together, right from Aerosmith with Run DMC.”
The cycle spun on, and at the end of another world tour supporting Hydra, the whole band found themselves burned out. The singer in particular found it difficult to return to Within Temptation and experienced crippling writer’s block.
“I didn’t feel it anymore, perhaps also because of things that were happening in my personal life,” she says. “My dad was diagnosed with cancer and I felt the need to be at home a lot. At the same time, I needed to make a different kind of music, because I was in a different kind of emotional world.”
The outcome was a solo project dubbed My Indigo, which resulted in an album of the same name. It was released, Sharon says, on the day of her dad’s funeral. It was a more vulnerable and introspective work that also helped to unblock the creative channels, ultimately leading to new Within Temptation music in 2019’s industrial-tinged Resist and their most recent album, 2023’s Bleed Out. The latter could be seen as the band’s most political release yet, written against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the title track dealing with the death of Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by Iran’s ‘morality’ police.
Sharon also travelled to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to film a video for standalone single A Fool’s Parade featuring Ukrainian artist Alex Yarmak. “I felt it was pretty safe,” she recalls. “We had a few air alerts while there, and I did get a bit of a scare, because it was a MiG apparently, and I was told they can have supersonic bombs that can destroy a specific area in a few seconds. So, OK, we’re going down to the metro station now [to shelter].”
For Sharon it was a profound experience, and another notable chapter in what has been an extraordinary career – and one that’s certainly not over yet. “Next year we’ll have been in existence for 30 years,” she muses. “I don’t know how or even if we’ll celebrate it, because mostly we never look back. We want to do a new album with new ideas again. That’s the drug that we need, and it’s all about looking forwards.”
Within Temptation play Download and Wacken festivals this summer.
Within Temptation – A Fool’s Parade feat. Alex Yarmak (Official Music Video) – YouTube
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.
Just across the bridge from Oakland, California, Robb Flynn from Machine Head is climbing through a hole cut into a chain-link fence. He’s at the sprawling former Naval Air Station in Alameda, decommissioned nearly 30 years ago, and he scrambles onto the rock embankment that separates the ocean from a disused airfield and a marsh. He’s also moving fast, a heavy metal lifer in black marching toward the San Francisco skyline on the horizon, with hardly a look back.
The longstanding leader, singer and guitarist of Machine Head is also trespassing today. The discarded military base is largely open to public exploration, with miles of buildings boarded up and abandoned to graffiti and broken windows. It also happens to be prime waterfront real estate, and several airplane hangars have been revitalised as breweries and wineries, where Robb will be soon enough.
But for the moment, he’s taking a stroll far past a fence meant to keep civilians out. Metal Hammer is along for the ride on this impromptu tour of the Bay Area, the beloved once and forever home to the veteran musician. And several minutes later, a private security car rolls up to the hole in the metal perimeter and waves us back.
After returning to the fence, Robb walks over to the black security SUV and looks inside with a thumbs up. “Are we good?” The female guard doesn’t seem especially concerned, but says of the marsh, “If you fall, we’re not going to find you.”
Hours earlier, we’re in the private studio he calls Robb’s Jam Room, a spot he’s had for the last seven years, created in the old meat packing district adjacent to Jack London Square. Dressed in layers of black denim, his black beard full and streaked with grey, Robb lifts up the baritone Flying V guitar in his hands, chipped and scratched from 15 years of recording and road work, and says proudly, “This is my main Flying V. It’s just beat to shit and been fricking dropped a hundred times and had beer and vodka poured all over it.”
Nailed to the blood-red wall behind him are banners commemorating 30 years of the band’s history, from Burn My Eyes to The Blackening to Of Kingdom And Crown. Down the hall is Shark Bite Studios, where Machine Head recorded some of those records along with parts of the new album, Unatoned.
Produced by Robb and Zack Ohren, it was recorded between July 2023 and December 2024, and played by the returning line-up of bassist Jared MacEachern and drummer Matt Alston, and is the first to feature the band’s newest member, former Havok guitarist Reece Scruggs.
“He’s done, like, 200 shows with us, so it doesn’t feel new,” Robb says. “He brought some killer riffs.”
Above the front door is a painting of Dimebag Darrell, a onetime drinking buddy and touring partner, depicted raising his guitar and accompanied by text recreating the Pantera song-title, Strength Beyond Strength. He smiles and says, “We toured for three and a half months together. I had a lot of whiskey with Dimebag.”
The studio gets more use now than ever, with a livestreaming show performed weekly (when Machine Head aren’t on tour) direct from Robb’s Jam Room. His Electric Happy Hour started during the pandemic, as a way for Robb to keep connected to fans during a time of crisis and an especially dark and uncertain period for the music world, transmitting metal and good cheer initially through his iPhone.
“I never thought I’d go down a route like this in my life,” he says, “but I was climbing the walls during the pandemic.”
More significant to him personally is that the studio is here in Oakland. This is the city of his birth, and he’s bounced around the Bay Area ever since, spending his first years growing up in San Lorenzo.
“It keeps you humble, that’s for sure, ’cause it’s still a pretty rough-and-tumble town,” he explains. “People think like, ‘Oh, it’s California.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, but it’s Oakland.’”
To demonstrate, Robb leads Metal Hammer into his SUV to begin the tour of his hometown, to point out some of the Oakland spots that mean something to him, past and present. First we pass a boarded-up music venue called The Metro, the site of many birthday celebration shows.
“It was painted all black on the inside, and stayed open until dawn serving alcohol after hours,” Robb says with a grin from behind the wheel. “Very sad when it went away. It was such a good vibe.”
Then there’s the Merchant’s Saloon, with hand-painted anchors and stars by the door. In the window is a sticker reading ‘Fuck Off’ and another with a ‘No Nazis’ symbol.
“This is probably the best bar in all of Oakland,” Robb nods knowingly. “It’s been here since 1916. It’s a legit dive bar. It’s got a latrine that goes around the bar, so people could pee at the bar and it would drain out into the street. That’s how OG it is. Jared and I go there quite a bit.”
MACHINE HEAD – BØNESCRAPER (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) – YouTube
Born in Oakland in 1967, Robb grew up on these streets and all over the Bay Area, a region known for decades of vibrant music scenes, including an early explosion of thrash. It was a metal revolution defined by Exodus, Testament and, ultimately, a young band of expats from LA called Metallica.
After growing up with the sounds of Van Halen and AC/DC in his ears, Robb’s discovery of thrash was a revelation: “I was crazy about it instantly.”
It was a life-altering time he pays tribute to on the new album’s first song, Atomic Revelations, with a sound that he calls a “love letter” to his hometown with a speedy blast of “pure Bay Area thrash metal”, and lyrics obsessed with the open-ended danger to future generations from nuclear waste.
He quickly had real dreams of making his own noise onstage, but he was a committed fan as well, a euphoric teenage commando of the circle-pit and stagedives, regularly coming home with injuries. One night at an early Slayer show, he was up front as usual, and the packed crowd began to fall over, leaning hard to the left, when another dude’s elbow pressed against his ribs. “In slow motion, my rib goes pop!” he remembers. “Oh my God, I was in so much fucking pain.”
But he wasn’t about to leave. He was already hammered, and when Slayer came on, he raged for the next 45 minutes. Then he paid for it with a month of painful healing of his broken bone.
The journey from fan to creator didn’t take long. In 1985, while in high school, he co-founded a thrash band called Inquisitor, soon to be renamed Forbidden Evil (and later shortened to Forbidden after Robb’s exit in 1987). Then there was Vio-lence, with future Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel.
Robb began Machine Head while living in Fremont, which was 60 miles away from the clubs in San Francisco and Oakland, so the locals threw keg parties in backyards and living rooms. The main difference from a full-on thrash show in the city was that many in the crowd were older, and craving covers of classic hard rock.
“We’re out there playing Black Magic by Slayer and A Lesson In Violence by Exodus and Whiplash by Metallica, and they don’t know any of these songs because this is underground music,” Robb remembers. “They’re like, ‘Hey, man, play some Zeppelin!’ So they might want to kick your ass because you’re not playing Black Sabbath. And then you go to the thrash clubs, and if you weren’t fast enough or heavy enough, they’d kick your ass for not being thrash.”
Even so, at the keggers, Machine Head mixed the covers with thrash originals, and got some local momentum, moving up to church halls and community centres. Then the band finally made it to Ruthie’s Inn, the notorious thrash nightclub in Berkeley.
It was their first legitimate club gig, as one of four bands opening for Metal Church. Robb was just 18 and the band were hardly paid anything. It didn’t matter. “About three songs in, a circle-pit broke out,” Robb says, recalling their very first performance there. “I was like, ‘OK, we did it.’ We knew that we were heavy enough and fast enough. It was like the stamp of approval. It was a big moment for us.”
By the early 90s, the young rock fanatic was also working in catering backstage for legendary concert promoter Bill Graham Presents, giving him a front row seat to the music business.
“Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots came up, and I gave him a plate of enchiladas and a Machine Head demo,” Robb recalls. “He was super-annoyed, which I totally get now. I was just hustling and grinding but it was good. I dealt drugs for a while.”
He now figures he attended about 100 shows a year of all kinds. He saw Soundgarden on Louder Than Love, Alice In Chains play to just a few dozen people on their first album, Nirvana in the early days of Nevermind. He remembers witnessing locals Green Day play to 500 people in the nightclub Berkeley Square before Dookie was released, plus multiple shows by Metallica, Motörhead and many other “really killer, amazing moments”.
By then, the Bay Area thrash scene was on its way out. Grunge was coming in, and so was the hard funk of Primus, Faith No More and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. “The bottom of everything drops out at some point. It was killer for a good seven years. It was insane. And then a new style came along,” he says.
Even Metallica had evolved with The Black Album, and as a fan and fellow artist, Robb fully approved. “They were this band from the Bay Area that had this incredible phenomenon of an album, and then it changed into something cool,” he smiles. “It wasn’t thrash anymore. It was just something else.”
(Image credit: Jen Rosenstein)
We’re driving past a huge homeless encampment on the streets of East Oakland. It’s an entire village built from scraps of wood, metal and cardboard on a narrow traffic island between opposing lanes of traffic.
“It’s fucking intense,” Robb says. “It’s been like this for so fucking long, I don’t remember when it wasn’t like this.”
Minutes later, Robb parks the SUV, strolls down a sidewalk and stops next to an old Victorian two-storey building. The aged wooden exterior is painted green. This was an early home to Machine Head, where a friend had a marijuana-growing business upstairs and a spot for band rehearsals downstairs.
“We jammed there for a while,” he says, noting that it’s where they wrote songs for Machine Head’s 1994 debut album, Burn My Eyes, including standout cut Davidian. Their A&R guy, Monte Conner, formerly of Roadrunner Records, and now with Nuclear Blast, came out to see them here and was sold on what he heard.
“This area used to be all controlled by gangs. There would be, like, shootouts down the street, and we’d have to run back in and hide for an hour or two and let everything calm down,” Robb says. “It added to the vibe of the record.”
In the mid-90s, Robb cut a very different figure, with hair braided tightly, beard twisted into points, at times in khakis and a black windbreaker, guitarist Logan Mader bouncing high off the stage behind him. This was a metal band already comfortable with hip hop, as their faithful take on Ice-T’s gangsta landmark Colors soon proved.
In the video for Davidian, Robb and the others are shown walking down San Francisco’s streets with a leashed pitbull leading the way. It marked the arrival of Machine Head and their modern blend of metal, with roots in thrash, but with layers of groove metal and more. The music wasn’t only dependably hard, but creatively ambitious, potential that would fully show itself a decade later on career peaks such as The Blackening and Unto The Locust.
In 1999, some followers heard the band veering away from groove metal and into a controversial nu metal sidetrip with The Burning Red, but others heard a searing and merciless self-examination by Robb of his own dark places, a personal story that dealt with harrowing sexual abuse in his youth, cutting his own skin, and later on included an especially intense period of self-destruction (alcohol, ketamine) that immediately preceded the recording.
Robb has been a family man for years now. His eldest son, Zander, is 20, and the youngest, Wyatt, is 18 and about to graduate high school. Neither are musicians, though Zander was credited with being part of a children’s choir back in 2011 on Unto The Locust. But they have embraced other aspects of the life.
When Robb brought them out last year to Hellfest in Clisson, France, where Machine Head were the Friday night headliners, his boys were right up front crowdsurfing. “It was such a moment to watch my youngest coming over the rail, just raging,” the singer recalls with a grin.
The new Machine Head album follows 2022’s Of Kingdom And Crown, a critical and popular success that hit No.1 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart, and marked a real comeback following the disappointing response to 2018’s nu metal-ish Catharsis. (After that album, longtime drummer Dave McClain and guitarist Phil Demmel quit.)
Of Kingdom… was also the band’s first concept album, set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland as two antiheroes face personal tragedy and hunger for revenge. Robb knew another concept album wasn’t likely to follow.
“I’d been trying for years to do it and I finally got lightning in a bottle,” he says of his feelings of accomplishment after Of Kingdom…. “I’m like, ‘Don’t tempt the gods. You can’t do it two times in a row.’”
Even so, he sensed a theme emerging in some lyrics on what became Unatoned, after witnessing a number of divorces among some of his longtime friends, a trend he found deeply upsetting.
“The pandemic kind of split people apart, and a bunch of people ended up breaking up after really long relationships,” Robb says. “It was very jarring and it was very hard. People want you to take sides and it sucked, because these are longtime friends – decades-long friends.”
One of the songs that came out is the agonised Bonescraper, with crushing guitars, beats and soaring choruses amid the vocal rage, as Robb vents words of frustration and heartbreak: ‘Love is just a loaded gun / Compromise will get you nowhere / Arguments, and pointless warfare / The price of love is the price of heartache / Your tongue a knife pointing every mistake.’
At one point, he shared the album in progress with his good friend Mike Schleibaum, guitarist from Washington, DC melodic death metallers Darkest Hour. “He’s one of the best dudes ever. And when I played it for him, he was like, ‘What the fuck, Robb? You are so pissed! You literally sound like it’s you against the fucking world. You sound like a band on their first record.’”
Machine Head also stretch out in other new ways on Unatoned, including on Not Long For This World, the first Machine Head track to feature all clean vocals amid the slicing riffs. But the biggest leap comes on album closer Scorn, a dramatic ballad with soaring musical and emotional flourishes. He had the help of Jordan Fish, former keyboardist and producer of Bring Me the Horizon, and a regular Flynn collaborator since 2014’s Bloodstone & Diamonds, plus co-producer Zack Ohren, to make it happen. Another frequent collaborator, Joel Wanasek, helped Robb translate to piano song ideas originally sketched out on guitar.
“For the last 15 years now, I’ve wanted to write a Coldplay/ Elton John-style piano ballad, because I’m a total sucker for the Coldplay/Elton John piano ballad,” Robb explains. “And I’ve failed for 15 years. It always turned out super-corny and super-stupid and ridiculous.”
What finally changed was a bit of inspiration that struck during a 3am writing session, as he reflected on the election year unfolding around him in 2024.
“I was writing about how I don’t believe in Trump, but I think the Democrats are a bunch of spineless pussies, and I feel lost in the middle somewhere.”
Machine Head have always been outspoken, challenging listeners with messages on lingering racism in the US and other societal failures, but they have never been an overtly political band, much less a partisan one.
“We’re a band from Oakland. We’re a band from the streets. We’ve sung about the streets, and I tried to avoid taking a political stance one side or the other,” Robb says, before going on to refer to the shanty town we drove past. “East Oakland’s been the same, and it don’t matter who is the fucking president. The ghetto’s been the ghetto and it ain’t changed.”
MACHINE HEAD – UNBØUND (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) – YouTube
Our final stop is Almanac Beer Co., a brewery and tap room built inside a 30,000 square foot former naval hangar in Alameda, with an elegant redwood bar and outdoor beer garden, and room enough for several hundred drinkers. Robb orders a rousing and perfectly timed coffee stout and sits outside.
It’s about 4pm, so the place is mostly empty ahead of the after-work rush hour. As Robb sips his drink and snacks on spicy chicken tenders, the PA overhead plays Seals & Croft’s gentle 70s hit Summer Breeze. Following an especially successful album can be a daunting task, and Robb has been in this situation before, most famously after 2007 tour de force The Blackening.
Metal Hammer named it ‘album of the decade’, and it’s often likened to Metallica’s Master Of Puppets. With that, Machine Head’s metal legacy was secure – but how could anything follow The Blackening and not be overshadowed?
“Look, I’d rather be the guy who wrote The Blackening than the guy who didn’t!” Robb says with a laugh. “But to some degree, it’s a gift and a curse, because you gotta follow up that record. And all anybody does is compare it to that record – that is not an unfair thing to do, it’s just what people do. I learned that you gotta go someplace else. And maybe at first it doesn’t stand apart, but I’m really confident that this record will stand apart and be its own album in the Machine Head catalogue.”
Under his leadership, that attitude has kept Machine Head an essential player through the inevitable ups and downs in sales and chart action, changing tastes, and the abrupt rotation of band members. It’s earned his band an organic following built on respect and loyalty, not passing trends or the sheer cultural domination of thrash heroes like Metallica and Slayer. Machine Head have thrived by willingly stepping into unexpected territory – and through the occasional chain-link fence.
“One of the hardest things to do in a band is to find your own lane, and to stick at it,” Robb concludes over his glass of black stout. “All of my favourite bands were heavily evolving bands – The Beatles, The Cure, even Slayer on those first five albums. Metallica, too. Nothing wrong with playing it safe. But for me, I gotta go someplace else.”
Unatoned is out now via Nuclear Blast. Machine Head headline Rockstadt, Wacken and Bloodstock festivals in August.
Steve Appleford is a Los Angeles music journalist who has also written for Rolling Stone, Revolver and the Los Angeles Times. Over the years he’s interviewed major artists across multiple genres – including Black Sabbath, Slayer, Queens of the Stone Age, System of a Down, KISS, Lemmy, the Who, Neil Young, Beastie Boys, Beyonce, Tom Jones, and a couple of Beatles.
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.
Volbeat found their groove several albums ago and have stuck with it ever since. That groove is a mash-up of two parts metal, one part punk rock, and one part good old-fashioned rock’n’roll of the kind frontman Michael Poulsen was weaned on by his late dad.
They’ve tweaked the formula since – notably in the case of Michael’s voice, meaning there’s a lot less ‘James Hetfield strangling a goat’ in the singing department these days – but it’s still recognisably Volbeat. It’s a formula that works. It might not have kicked the Danes to the same level as Michael’s heroes-turned- patrons Metallica, but a return to Wembley this year proves their success in the UK is catching up with that in mainland Europe. And it’s deserved, too: their frontman is a hell of a songwriter, one of the best in action today.
They’d be stupid to upset the applecart at this stage, and so it proves. As well as its reliably meaningless title, God Of Angels Trust is exactly what’s required from a Volbeat album: that mix of greaser-boy surliness, cap-sleeve t-shirted muscularity and stonking radio-friendly melody. Like 2019’s Rewind, Replay, Rebound and 2021’s Servant Of The Mind, this ninth album has one foot in the band’s metal past and one foot in their more commercial present.
Unlike so many metal musicians today, Michael isn’t scared of writing actual tunes. The verses of Acid Rain have the yearning melody of a mid-80s Bruce Springsteen song before it explodes into a massive chorus, and Time Will Heal is an anthem so arena- ready you’ll be automatically digging into a £20 note for a pint of piss-weak beer and a soggy hotdog without even leaving the house. Demonic Depression’s monstrous riff sounds like it was carved from sessions for the singer’s death metal throwback side-project Asinhell, but its chorus is pure gold once more. At the other end of the scale, In The Barn Of The Goat Giving Birth To Satan’s Spawn In A Dying World Of Doom hitches its predictable metalbilly retread to a title that’s trying way too hard.
Yet sometimes a successful formula can be shackling. This far in, it does feel like they need to shake things up a little. God Of Angels Trust is a good album. Sometimes it’s a great one. But ultimately it’s another Volbeat album, nothing less but nothing more either. They’ve not made their Master Of Puppets, Reign In Blood or ’68 Comeback Special yet, and until they do, they’re not going to join the pantheon of heroes Michael Poulsen is clearly desperate to sit among.
Those multitudes who are already onboard aren’t going to complain about God Of Angels Trust. Those who would rather chew off their own feet than listen to their heavy metal Shakin’ Stevens shtick aren’t going to be converted. It’s job done with this one, no argument, but let’s mix it up a little next time around, fellas.
God Of Angels Trust is out this Friday, June 6. Read a special interview with Michael Poulsen in the new issue of Metal Hammer, out now
Dave Everley has been writing about and occasionally humming along to music since the early 90s. During that time, he has been Deputy Editor on Kerrang! and Classic Rock, Associate Editor on Q magazine and staff writer/tea boy on Raw, not necessarily in that order. He has written for Metal Hammer, Louder, Prog, the Observer, Select, Mojo, the Evening Standard and the totally legendary Ultrakill. He is still waiting for Billy Gibbons to send him a bottle of hot sauce he was promised several years ago.
Feature Photo: Mhstubbs11, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Formed in 2007 in the small East Texas town of Palestine, Whiskey Myers has emerged as one of the most authentic and successful Southern rock bands of the modern era. What began as childhood friends learning guitar together has evolved into a powerhouse six-piece outfit that has sold hundreds of thousands of tickets, topped charts, and garnered millions of streams—all while remaining fiercely independent.
The band’s unique sound blends Southern rock, country, blues, and soul, drawing inspiration from legends like Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, and Waylon Jennings. Their red-dirt country roots run deep, but they’ve never allowed themselves to be confined by genre boundaries.
After years of building a dedicated following through relentless touring on the Texas/Red Dirt scene, Whiskey Myers gained widespread attention when their music was featured in Kevin Costner’s hit TV series “Yellowstone” in 2018. This exposure catapulted their albums into the iTunes Top 10 country charts and expanded their fan base dramatically.
Throughout their career, Whiskey Myers has released six studio albums, culminating with 2022’s “Tornillo,” which saw them expand their sonic palette with horns, gospel backing vocals, and string arrangements. Their commitment to musical authenticity and independence has earned them critical acclaim and a fiercely loyal following that continues to grow with each release.
Cody Cannon
Born and raised in Palestine, Texas, Cody Cannon serves as Whiskey Myers’ lead vocalist, acoustic guitarist, and primary songwriter. Cannon’s journey to musical stardom began when he and childhood friend John Jeffers started learning guitar together, inspired by the Southern rock and outlaw country they grew up listening to.
What sets Cannon apart as a frontman is his distinctively gritty, soulful voice that conveys raw emotion and authenticity. His vocal style perfectly complements the band’s Southern rock sound while remaining uniquely recognizable.
As the band’s principal songwriter, Cannon crafts lyrics that tell compelling stories of working-class struggles, relationships, and life in the South. His writing draws deeply from personal experiences and observations, giving Whiskey Myers’ songs an authenticity that resonates with fans.
Despite the band’s growing success, Cannon has maintained a humble approach to fame. In interviews, he often emphasizes that the band simply focuses on creating music they love rather than chasing commercial trends or fitting into specific genres.
Cannon’s leadership has been instrumental in guiding Whiskey Myers’ career decisions, including their choice to remain independent rather than signing with a major label. This commitment to artistic integrity has allowed the band to maintain creative control over their music and career trajectory.
John Jeffers
A founding member of Whiskey Myers, John Jeffers serves as the band’s lead guitarist, slide guitarist, lap steel player, and occasional vocalist. Born and raised in Palestine, Texas, Jeffers and Cody Cannon began their musical journey together as childhood friends learning to play guitar.
Jeffers’ guitar work is a defining element of Whiskey Myers’ sound. His proficiency with lead guitar, slide guitar, and lap steel brings versatility to the band’s music, allowing them to shift seamlessly between hard-driving Southern rock anthems and more introspective ballads.
As a songwriter, Jeffers has contributed several key tracks to the band’s catalog, including songs on their 2022 album “Tornillo.” His writing complements Cannon’s, helping to create the band’s distinctive voice and perspective.
Beyond his musical contributions, Jeffers has been a driving force in the band’s decision-making process, including their choice to self-produce their two most recent albums. This move gave them greater creative control and helped define their mature sound.
Jeffers’ commitment to musical authenticity aligns perfectly with the band’s ethos. In interviews, he has emphasized that Whiskey Myers never plans their sound but allows their songs to develop organically, regardless of genre constraints.
Cody Tate
Cody Tate joined Whiskey Myers early in the band’s formation, bringing additional guitar firepower as both a lead and rhythm guitarist. Before joining the group, Tate was a co-worker and friend of Cody Cannon, and his addition helped solidify the band’s core sound.
Tate’s dual capabilities as both a lead and rhythm guitarist create a powerful dynamic with Jeffers, allowing Whiskey Myers to craft intricate guitar harmonies and trade solos. This twin-guitar attack has become one of the band’s sonic signatures.
As a vocalist, Tate contributes backing harmonies that enrich the band’s sound, adding depth to Cannon’s lead vocals. This multi-layered vocal approach enhances their live performances and studio recordings alike.
Tate has also contributed to the band’s songwriting, helping to craft their distinctive blend of Southern rock, country, and blues. His musical influences and sensibilities have been an important part of Whiskey Myers’ creative process.
Throughout the band’s evolution, Tate has remained a constant presence, helping to maintain their musical identity even as they’ve expanded their sound with each successive album.
Jeff Hogg
As Whiskey Myers’ drummer since their formation, Jeff Hogg provides the rhythmic foundation for the band’s hard-driving Southern rock sound. A friend of the other founding members, Hogg was recruited when they decided to form a more serious band.
Hogg’s drumming style perfectly complements Whiskey Myers’ music, combining power and precision with the loose, groove-oriented feel essential to Southern rock. His ability to shift between aggressive rock beats and more restrained, soulful rhythms gives the band versatility.
Throughout the band’s six studio albums, Hogg’s solid timekeeping and dynamic sensitivity have been crucial elements of Whiskey Myers’ sound. His rhythmic interplay with bassist Jamey Gleaves creates the pocket that allows the guitarists and vocalists to shine.
As one of the original members, Hogg has been present for every step of Whiskey Myers’ journey from playing small venues in East Texas to headlining major festivals and venues across the country. His steady presence has helped maintain the band’s musical identity.
In the studio, Hogg’s contributions go beyond just keeping time; his creative drumming choices and ability to serve the needs of each song have been instrumental in shaping Whiskey Myers’ recorded output.
Jamey Gleaves
Bassist Jamey Gleaves joined Whiskey Myers later in their career, replacing original bassist Gary Brown. Gleaves brought professional experience and technical skill that helped elevate the band’s rhythm section as they expanded their audience and sound.
Gleaves’ bass playing provides both the harmonic foundation and rhythmic drive that anchors Whiskey Myers’ music. His grooves lock in perfectly with Jeff Hogg’s drumming, creating a solid platform for the band’s guitars and vocals.
On more recent albums like “Tornillo,” Gleaves’ funky, soulful bass lines have become more prominent, helping to push the band’s sound in new directions while maintaining their Southern rock roots. His playing on tracks like “John Wayne” showcases his ability to craft memorable, melodic bass parts.
In live performances, Gleaves’ energy and precision help drive the band’s high-octane shows. His stage presence complements the other members, contributing to Whiskey Myers’ reputation as an exceptional live act.
As a newer member, Gleaves has successfully integrated into the band’s tight-knit dynamic, respecting their established sound while adding his own musical personality to their evolving identity.
Tony Kent
Rounding out Whiskey Myers’ current lineup is Tony Kent, who handles percussion, keyboards, and occasionally cowbell. Kent’s addition to the band brought new textural elements that have helped expand their sonic palette beyond traditional Southern rock instrumentation.
Kent’s percussion work complements Jeff Hogg’s drumming, adding rhythmic complexity and depth to Whiskey Myers’ music. This percussion layering is particularly evident on their more recent albums, where the band has explored a wider range of sounds and styles.
As a keyboardist, Kent provides harmonic support and atmospheric textures that enrich the band’s arrangements. His contributions allow Whiskey Myers to achieve a fuller, more nuanced sound both in the studio and live settings.
The versatility Kent brings to the band has been especially important as they’ve evolved their sound on albums like “Tornillo,” which incorporated horns, strings, and gospel influences alongside their Southern rock foundation.
Though less in the spotlight than some other members, Kent’s musical contributions play a vital role in creating the rich, layered sound that has come to define Whiskey Myers’ mature work.
Check out more Whiskey Myers articles on ClassicRockHistory.com Just click on any of the links below……
![Killswitch Engage - Starting Over [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9-rIHFbOSDQ/maxresdefault.jpg)
![Killswitch Engage - Cut Me Loose [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/x-hfXnHemyc/maxresdefault.jpg)
![Killswitch Engage - The Arms of Sorrow [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EluzTj88tWU/maxresdefault.jpg)
![Killswitch Engage - In Due Time [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HANCzu70us4/maxresdefault.jpg)
![Killswitch Engage - My Last Serenade [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/OoQrwKJtv_c/maxresdefault.jpg)
