Progressive rock’s biggest names are known far and wide, even if the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ignored the genre for almost 15 years after Pink Floyd entered in 1996.
It seemed inevitable that bands like Genesis, Rush, Yes and the Moody Blues would one day get their due. They were all finally inducted between 2010 and 2018, in that order.
Of course, plenty of worthy candidates remain, from King Crimson to Jethro Tull – but what about the progressive rock acts that somehow slipped between the cracks? For every platinum-selling group like Kansas or Emerson Lake and Palmer, there were scores underrated and often influential acts that never got near the Billboard Top 40.
Some actually tried, to vary degrees of cringe, but many admitted little or no interest in the trappings of fame. What could be more prog than that?
There were numerous acts who remained in obscurity because they were a little before their time – though they set the stage for others to find wider fame. In other cases, quite frankly, they may have been just a little too out there.
The best of the best appear in the following list of five prog rock bands that should’ve been bigger:
5. Can
YouTube / Beat-Club
YouTube / Beat-Club
To pigeonhole Can as simply “progressive rock” is kind of a disservice. Their mind-bendingly experimental music also fused Krautrock’s hypnotic grooves, sound collages, jazz, psychedelic rock and a sometimes-indescribable avant-garde vibe. Keyboardist Irmin Schmidt has questioned whether they were ever a rock group at all. But prog has also been a big tent, and Can certainly developed the genre’s fluid composition style through 1971’s Tago Mago and 1973’s Future Days, their best-known records. By the late-’70s and early ’80s, Can’s striking experiments in sound had built the foundation for post-punk and new wave.
4. Camel
YouTube / Sidnei Otavio
YouTube / Sidnei Otavio
Camel boasts member connections to King Crimson, 10cc and the Alan Parsons Project, but never achieved their name recognition or chart success. Well, at least not stateside – where their best showing was No. 118 with 1976’s Moonmadness. Camel has had five Top 40 albums in the U.K., and 1979’s I Can See Your House From Here just missed. Everything revolves around the deeply expressive guitar work of Andrew Latimer, both figuratively and literally: He’s the only constant in Camel’s lineup. That’s grounded the group as they moved from high-concept prog in the ’70s through jazzier detours in the ’80s and back again.
3. Soft Machine
Bips, Getty Images
Bips, Getty Images
Soft Machine provides an analog with King Crimson in that both served as a merry-go-round of talent. Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Alan Holdsworth and Daevid Allen were all members along the way. Soft Machine became an all-instrumental powerhouse with 1971’s skronky Fourth, having left behind psych rock for prog and jazz rock. Such was the turnover, however, that no original member remained by the early ’80s. They also launched a series of offshoot bands, all confusingly starting with the word “Soft.” In retrospect, that might have played a role in Soft Machine’s failure to break through with the mainstream – but it certainly kept things interesting.
2. Van der Graaf Generator
Ian Dickson / Redferns, Getty Images
Ian Dickson / Redferns, Getty Images
In a twist, Van der Graaf Generator wasn’t even popular in the U.K., where they peaked at No. 47 with 1970’s The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other. (Instead, the band’s initial breakthrough came in Italy.) That was fine with frontman Peter Hammill, who said he never wanted mainstream success and then made sure he wouldn’t get it on dark and theatrical LPs like 1971’s Pawn Hearts and 1975’s Godbluff. Both were as outsized and musically cohesive and they were thrillingly weird – and Van der Graaf Generator remained so into the 21st Century, when Hammill jumpstarted the band again.
1. Gentle Giant
YouTube / Shaikoten
YouTube / Shaikoten
Gentle Giant shouldn’t have been surprised when their decade-long run ended in 1980 with little commercial success. After all, the liner notes for 1971’s Acquiring the Taste laid out the band’s intent to “expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular.” Gentle Giant was soon creating sweeping and always varied musical statements. It helped that every core member was a multi-instrumentalist. There was seemingly nothing they couldn’t do on rangy gems like 1972’s Octopus and 1975’s Free Hand – and, it seems, even less that Gentle Giant wouldn’t try. (Even, gasp!, pop music.)
Top 50 Progressive Rock Albums
From ‘The Lamb’ to ‘Octopus’ to ‘The Snow Goose’ — the best LPs that dream beyond 4/4.
Todd Rundgren has a wealth of legendary songs of his own that have powered his career through many decades. But if it hadn’t been for important inspirations like songwriter and producer Burt Bacharach, his path might have been different.
“I was a teenager in my junior high school years, I guess it was, and the Beatles sort of became everything. I didn’t pay much attention to who the composers were of the songs,” he tells the UCR Podcast. “And then ‘Walk on By’ came out. I really liked the song. It had this whole spooky thing and a different kind of sensibility from your typical pop song. So I bought the Dionne Warwick album that contained that song. Right there with my Beatles albums and everything else, it became one of my regular listens.”
Listen to Dionne Warwick’s ‘Walk on By’
“That’s when I became aware of Burt Bacharach as a songwriter and he was also the producer of the record. I also started paying more attention to who was writing the songs, even if it wasn’t [John] Lennon and [Paul] McCartney. So that’s when I got interested in the work,” he explains. “We didn’t have a piano in the house, so when I was in high school, I used to spend after hours in the auditorium, just fooling around on the piano. I discovered my hands and ears tended to go towards those major and minor sevens, the more sophisticated chords that you’d find in a Bacharach song. I realized there was a subconscious influence going on, just from having listened to that Dionne Warwick album so many times. Of course as the years went by and I became more of a serious songwriter, that influence [is still] somewhere in the mix.”
Rundgren is currently taking a deeper dive into Bacharach’s work as part of the tour called What the World Needs Now: The Burt Bacharach Songbook. It’s an outing which he acknowledges has presented him with some challenges. “Burt rarely wrote the lyrics and I don’t know what, exactly the process would be like,” he admits. “You know, whether Hal David would show up with a song, poem, or something like that, and Burt would put it to music. Maybe more likely, Burt had some musical ideas, and then the lyricist would would try and find something that that went along with it.”
He cites “God Give Me Strength,” Bacharach’s collaboration with Elvis Costello, as one example. “I have the responsibility of singing [that] and it’s [clear] that those are Elvis Costello lyrics,” he points out. “It’s that combination of self-pity and anger that [is a] thread through all of Elvis Costello’s lyrics. So I guess Burt is kind of the stable foundation for these things. And then it’s up to the lyricist to paint the picture to which the soundtrack already exists.”
Bacharach Was Apparently a Rundgren Fan
There’s an anecdote that the legendary songwriter and producer came to see Rundgren perform live because he wanted to hear “Hello, it’s Me” live. Unfortunately, that song wasn’t in the set list that particular night and the pair didn’t meet. “I never got to talk to him about exactly why he was there,” he says now. “So I can only make some assumptions. I never had the opportunity to see him in concert, but you know, that’s a different experience. I imagine the audience for a Burt Bacharach concert has a certain amount of deference and reverence for him. They know he’s not a singer, but he’s going to sing anyway. We won’t have the advantage of that [with this current tour]. We’ve got to stand up on our own. I think there will be people there to enjoy it and people [also wondering] how well we’ll capture it. He’s the kind of artist that if you get into him and you get into his songs, you don’t want to hear them screwed with too badly.”
Early reviews suggest that the late Bacharach’s music is in good hands. His former music director and arranger Rob Shirakbari is at the helm, helping to oversee the nine-piece all-star ensemble featuring Rundgren, his Utopia bandmate Kasim Sulton and vocalist Wendy Moten and others. The 22-date tour began with three California shows and will run through Ft. Lauderdale on April 23.
Watch Todd Rundgren Sing Burt Bacharach’s Music
Todd Rundgren Albums Ranked
For more than half a century, the superstar producer has made some of the weirdest records to hit the charts.
Ted Nugent’s newest project involves recovering many of the unique video and audio recordings he’s accumulated throughout his career.
The recently launched Nuge Vault offers members access to “never-before seen or heard concert footage, archival audio, and much more.” In a recent conversation with Sirius XM’s Eddie Trunk, Nugent detailed the process of recovering this archival material, admitting it’s been a “pain in the ass.”
“When Jason [Hartless, Nugent’s drummer] and I were rehearsing for the Adios Mofo tour with Johnny [Schoen, bassist], we were in my big barn in Michigan and there’s just walls and acres, literally acres of boxes and crates and big giant piles of tapes and videos and CDs and cassettes and stacks of photos and, and rehearsals and jam sessions,” Nugent explained. “And I had kind of walked past it every day as I do in my daily life, but Jason stopped and looked at it and started digging into these boxes.”
It was Hartless who spearheaded the Nuge Vault project, working with Nugent to go through his seemingly endless array of recordings.
“And so when Jason started digging into these boxes, his eyes bugged out,” Nugent continued, noting how extraordinary some of the material is. “Because who doesn’t want to hear the recording of Ted Nugent and Eddie Van Halen backstage in California jamming? Or with Billy Gibbons and so many amazing things that have taken place?”
A “jam session with the Mothers of Invention at the Fifth Dimension in Ann Arbor in 1967” was another uncovered gem Nugent pointed out, while expressing his gratitude for Hartless’ determination to bring the Nuge Vault project to life.
“When he shows me this stuff, I get teary eyed,” the guitarist admitted. “I go, God, I remember that. Hanging out with these guys backstage. What a lucky, lucky life. And it’s all chronicled.”
Top 100 Live Albums
These are more than just concert souvenirs or stage documents from that awesome show you saw last summer.
Feature Photo: Bruce Alan Bennett-Shutterstock.com
The Ramones stormed onto the music scene from the gritty streets of Forest Hills, Queens, New York, where four friends—Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy Ramone—united in 1974, sharing a vision to strip rock music back to its raw, powerful core. The band quickly became a staple at the legendary club CBGB, galvanizing audiences with their fast, no-frills performances and becoming central figures in the burgeoning punk rock movement. Their minimalist approach was revolutionary, with concise songs, high-speed tempos, and straightforward lyrics that defied the overly produced rock trends of their time.
Over their influential 22-year career, the Ramones released fourteen studio albums, beginning with their groundbreaking self-titled debut in 1976. Although commercial success eluded them initially, the band gained critical acclaim and built a fiercely loyal fanbase. Notable releases included “Rocket to Russia,” “Road to Ruin,” and “End of the Century,” each showcasing their signature blend of aggressive yet melodic punk. Iconic singles like “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker,” “Rockaway Beach,” and “I Wanna Be Sedated” became punk anthems, resonating across generations and solidifying their legacy.
Despite their initial lack of mainstream commercial success, the Ramones were widely recognized for their profound impact on music history. In 2002, their lasting influence and musical contributions were officially honored when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Additionally, the Ramones earned a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, underscoring their enduring significance within the music industry and highlighting the respect they garnered from both peers and subsequent musical generations.
The Ramones’ unique appeal lay in their unpretentious, authentic approach to music and performance. Their dedication to simplicity, combined with their relentless touring schedule—playing 2,263 concerts over their career—earned them deep admiration from fans worldwide. They maintained an unwavering commitment to their musical style, never yielding to commercial pressures to alter their distinctive sound, a decision that has made them revered as true pioneers and cultural icons.
Beyond music, the Ramones extended their influence into popular culture in unexpected and lasting ways. Their iconic logo and fashion style—black leather jackets, ripped jeans, and sneakers—became synonymous with punk’s visual identity. Additionally, the band’s imagery and music were featured prominently in numerous films, television shows, and other media, broadening their cultural footprint and further embedding them into popular consciousness.
The Ramones also ventured into social advocacy and community involvement. Joey Ramone, notably active in raising awareness and funds for lymphoma research, established a legacy of philanthropy through initiatives like the annual Joey Ramone Birthday Bash, a charity event supporting medical research. These endeavors demonstrated the band’s profound personal commitments and reinforced their reputation as musicians who genuinely cared about making a positive impact.
Ultimately, the Ramones remain beloved in the music business for their revolutionary role in shaping punk rock, their unwavering authenticity, and their cultural legacy that continues to inspire artists across genres. Their groundbreaking music, tireless energy, and genuine spirit ensure they will always hold a revered place in the annals of rock history.
Complete List Of Ramones Songs From A to Z
53rd & 3rd – Ramones – 1976
7 and 7 Is – Acid Eaters – 1993
7-11 – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
A Real Cool Time – Halfway to Sanity – 1987
All Screwed Up – Brain Drain – 1989
All the Way – End of the Century – 1980
All’s Quiet on the Eastern Front – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
Animal Boy – Animal Boy – 1986
Anxiety – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
Apeman Hop – Animal Boy – 1986
Babysitter – All the Stuff (And More) Volume One – 1990
Baby, I Love You – End of the Century – 1980
Bad Brain – Road to Ruin – 1978
Beat on the Brat – Ramones – 1976
Blitzkrieg Bop – Ramones – 1976
Bop ‘Til You Drop – Halfway to Sanity – 1987
Born to Die in Berlin – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
Bumming Along – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Bye Bye Baby – Halfway to Sanity – 1987
Cabbies on Crack – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
California Sun – Leave Home – 1977
California Sun (Live) – All the Stuff (And More) Volume One – 1990
Can’t Get You Outta My Mind – Brain Drain – 1989
Can’t Seem to Make You Mine – Acid Eaters – 1993
Carbona Not Glue – Leave Home – 1977
Censorshit – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
Chain Saw – Ramones – 1976
Chasing the Night – Too Tough to Die – 1984
Chinese Rock – End of the Century – 1980
Chop Suey – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
Come Back, Baby – Brain Drain – 1989
Come Back, She Cried aka I Walk Out – Road to Ruin – 1978
Come On Now – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
Commando – Leave Home – 1977
Cretin Family – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
Cretin Hop – Rocket to Russia – 1977
Crummy Stuff – Animal Boy – 1986
Danger Zone – Too Tough to Die – 1984
Danny Says – End of the Century – 1980
Daytime Dilemma (Dangers of Love) – Too Tough to Die – 1984
Death of Me – Halfway to Sanity – 1987
Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio? – End of the Century – 1980
Do You Wanna Dance? – Rocket to Russia – 1977
Don’t Bust My Chops – Brain Drain – 1989
Don’t Come Close – Road to Ruin – 1978
Don’t Go – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
Durango 95 – Too Tough to Die – 1984
Eat That Rat – Animal Boy – 1986
Endless Vacation – Too Tough to Die – 1984
Everytime I Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think of You – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Freak of Nature – Animal Boy – 1986
Garden of Serenity – Halfway to Sanity – 1987
Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment – Leave Home – 1977
Glad to See You Go – Leave Home – 1977
Go Lil’ Camaro Go – Halfway to Sanity – 1987
Go Mental – Road to Ruin – 1978
Got a Lot to Say – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
Hair of the Dog – Animal Boy – 1986
Have a Nice Day – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
Have You Ever Seen the Rain? – Acid Eaters – 1993
Havana Affair – Ramones – 1976
Heidi Is a Headcase – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow – Rocket to Russia – 1977
High Risk Insurance – End of the Century – 1980
Highest Trails Above – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Howling at the Moon (Sha-La-La) – Too Tough to Die – 1984
Humankind – Too Tough to Die – 1984
I Believe in Miracles – Brain Drain – 1989
I Can’t Be – All the Stuff (And More) Volume One – 1990
I Can’t Control Myself – Acid Eaters – 1993
I Can’t Get You Out of My Mind – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
I Can’t Give You Anything – Rocket to Russia – 1977
I Can’t Make It on Time – End of the Century – 1980
I Don’t Care – Rocket to Russia – 1977
I Don’t Want to Grow Up – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
I Don’t Want to Live This Life (Anymore) – All the Stuff (And More) Volume 2 – 1990
I Don’t Want You – Road to Ruin – 1978
I Don’t Wanna Be Learned/I Don’t Wanna Be Tamed – All the Stuff (And More) Volume One – 1990
I Don’t Wanna Go Down to the Basement – Ramones – 1976
I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You – Ramones – 1976
I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You (Live) – All the Stuff (And More) Volume One – 1990
I Just Want to Have Something to Do – Road to Ruin – 1978
I Know Better Now – Halfway to Sanity – 1987
I Lost My Mind – Halfway to Sanity – 1987
I Love You – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
I Need Your Love – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
I Remember You – Leave Home – 1977
I Want You Around – Road to Ruin – 1978
I Want You Around – End of the Century – 1980
I Want You Around (Original Version) – All the Stuff (And More) Volume 2 – 1990
I Wanted Everything – Road to Ruin – 1978
I Wanna Be Sedated – Road to Ruin – 1978
I Wanna Be Well – Rocket to Russia – 1977
I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend – Ramones – 1976
I Wanna Live – Halfway to Sanity – 1987
I Won’t Let It Happen – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
I’m Affected – End of the Century – 1980
I’m Against It – Road to Ruin – 1978
I’m Not Afraid of Life – Too Tough to Die – 1984
I’m Not an Answer – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
I’m Not an Answer – Too Tough to Die – 1984
I’m Not Jesus – Halfway to Sanity – 1987
Ignorance Is Bliss – Brain Drain – 1989
In the Park – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Indian Giver – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
It’s a Long Way Back – Road to Ruin – 1978
It’s a Long Way Back to Germany – Rocket to Russia – 1977
It’s Gonna Be Alright – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
It’s Not for Me to Know – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
It’s Not My Place (In the 9 to 5 World) – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
Journey to the Center of the Mind – Acid Eaters – 1993
Judy Is a Punk – Ramones – 1976
Kicks to Try – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
Learn to Listen – Brain Drain – 1989
Let’s Dance – Ramones – 1976
Let’s Go – End of the Century – 1980
Life’s a Gas – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
Listen to My Heart – Ramones – 1976
Little Bit O’ Soul – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Locket Love – Rocket to Russia – 1977
Loudmouth – Ramones – 1976
Love Kills – Animal Boy – 1986
Main Man – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
Makin Monsters for My Friends – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
Mama’s Boy – Too Tough to Die – 1984
Mental Hell – Animal Boy – 1986
Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight) – Brain Drain – 1989
My Back Pages – Acid Eaters – 1993
My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes to Bitburg) – Animal Boy – 1986
My-My Kind of a Girl – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
My-My Kind of Girl – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Needles and Pins – Road to Ruin – 1978
Needles & Pins – Rocket to Russia – 1977
New Girl in Town – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
No Go – Too Tough to Die – 1984
No One to Blame – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Now I Wanna Be a Good Boy – Leave Home – 1977
Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue – Ramones – 1976
Oh Oh I Love Her So – Leave Home – 1977
Out of Here – Too Tough to Die – 1984
Out of Time – Acid Eaters – 1993
Outsider – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Palisades Park – Brain Drain – 1989
Pet Sematary – Brain Drain – 1989
Pet Sematary (Bill Laswell version) – Brain Drain – 1989
Pinhead – Leave Home – 1977
Planet Earth 1988 – Too Tough to Die – 1984
Poison Heart – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
Psycho Therapy – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Punishment Fits the Crime – Brain Drain – 1989
Questioningly – Road to Ruin – 1978
R.A.M.O.N.E.S. – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
Ramona – Rocket to Russia – 1977
Rock ‘n’ Roll High School – Road to Ruin – 1978
Rock ‘n’ Roll High School – End of the Century – 1980
Rockaway Beach – Rocket to Russia – 1977
Roots of Hatred – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Scattergun – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
She Belongs to Me – Animal Boy – 1986
She Talks to Rainbows – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
She’s a Sensation – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
She’s the One – Road to Ruin – 1978
Sheena Is a Punk Rocker – Rocket to Russia – 1977
Sitting in My Room – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
Sleeping Troubles – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
Slug – Rocket to Russia – 1977
Slug – All the Stuff (And More) Volume 2 – 1990
Smash You – Too Tough to Die – 1984
Somebody Like Me – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Somebody Put Something in My Drink – Animal Boy – 1986
Somebody to Love – Acid Eaters – 1993
Something to Believe In – Animal Boy – 1986
Spiderman – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
Spiderman – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
Stares in This Town – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
Strength to Endure – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
Street Fighting Man – Too Tough to Die – 1984
Substitute – Acid Eaters – 1993
Surf City – Acid Eaters – 1993
Surfin’ Bird – Rocket to Russia – 1977
Surfin’ Safari – Acid Eaters – 1993
Suzy Is a Headbanger – Leave Home – 1977
Swallow My Pride – Leave Home – 1977
Take It as It Comes – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
Take the Pain Away – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
Teenage Lobotomy – Rocket to Russia – 1977
The Crusher – ¡Adios Amigos! – 1995
The Job That Ate My Brain – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
The KKK Took My Baby Away – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
The Return of Jackie and Judy – End of the Century – 1980
The Shape of Things to Come – Acid Eaters – 1993
This Ain’t Havana – End of the Century – 1980
This Business Is Killing Me – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
Time Bomb – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Time Has Come Today – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World – Ramones – 1976
Tomorrow She Goes Away – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
Too Tough to Die – Too Tough to Die – 1984
Touring – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
Touring – Mondo Bizarro – 1992
Unhappy Girl – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
Wart Hog – Too Tough to Die – 1984
We Want the Airwaves – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
We’re a Happy Family – Rocket to Russia – 1977
Weasel Face – Halfway to Sanity – 1987
What’d Ya Do? – Subterranean Jungle – 1983
What’s Your Game – Leave Home – 1977
When I Was Young – Acid Eaters – 1993
Why Is It Always This Way? – Rocket to Russia – 1977
Worm Man – Halfway to Sanity – 1987
Yea, Yea – Road to Ruin – 1978
Yea, Yea – All the Stuff (And More) Volume 2 – 1990
You Didn’t Mean Anything to Me – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
You Should Have Never Opened That Door – Leave Home – 1977
You Sound Like You’re Sick – Pleasant Dreams – 1981
You’re Gonna Kill That Girl – Leave Home – 1977
Zero Zero UFO – Brain Drain – 1989
Albums
Ramones (1976): 14 songs
Leave Home (1977): 14 songs
Rocket to Russia (1977): 17 songs
Road to Ruin (1978): 16 songs
End of the Century (1980): 13 songs
Pleasant Dreams (1981): 19 songs
Subterranean Jungle (1983): 19 songs
Too Tough to Die (1984): 17 songs
Animal Boy (1986): 12 songs
Halfway to Sanity (1987): 12 songs
Brain Drain (1989): 13 songs
All the Stuff (And More) Volume One (1990): 5 songs (not previously released)
All the Stuff (And More) Volume 2 (1990): 4 songs (not previously released)
Mondo Bizarro (1992): 14 songs
Acid Eaters (1993): 13 songs
¡Adios Amigos! (1995): 15 songs
Check out our fantastic and entertaining Ramones articles, detailing in-depth the band’s albums, songs, band members, and more…all on ClassicRockHistory.com
“Musicians can get upset with each other, but you’re family. Chris Squire and I were like brothers – he was Darth Vader and I was Obi-Wan Kenobi!” Jon Anderson’s time-travelling solo album 1000 Hands
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Jon Anderson’s 2019 solo album, 1000 Hands: Chapter One, featured rescued material dreamt up 30 years earlier with Yes bandmates, along with a stellar supporting cast. That year, as the world appeared to spin ever more strangely, Prog asked how the hippy dreamer still fitted in. His thoughts, as ever, were intriguing.
If filmmakers can take World War I footage and resurrect it so it appears to have been shot last week, then music producers can do the same with demos from the turn of the 1990s. You can pick up a thread of ideas you had nearly 30 years ago, dust them off and weave them into something that sounds like it was produced yesterday.
That’s one of the approaches taken by Jon Anderson on his new solo album, 1000 Hands: Chapter One. It contains material based around ideas old and new that the former Yes frontman kept in his vault, and among those are tracks co-written and played on by Alan White and Chris Squire, shortly after the short-lived ABWH project was merged back into the Yes fold at the start of 1991.
They were rescued via the curious technique of baking, whereby brittle, deteriorated tapes can be made playable again – albeit only once – in low-temperature ovens, and their contents transferred to a digital format.
The album got its name for a reason; there’s a scrolling list of artistic credits that looks more suited to a star-studded Hollywood movie. “I wanted to invite as many people as possible to perform on these songs,” Anderson explained on a Facebook post last year – and he got his wish.
Further cameos come from Toto’s Bobby Kimball on backing vocals and legendary funk horn section Tower Of Power. The chief architect is undoubtedly producer Michael Franklin, who, while putting the album together last year, suggested even more lower-profile but no less able invitees to the party.
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“Every couple of weeks there’d be somebody else,” Anderson recalls. “Like Zap Mama, these amazing women from Belgium, who I first saw back in the early 90s. I couldn’t believe how good they were, and now all of a sudden here they are singing on the album. It was like my birthday every day, with special guests showing up all the time.”
Planes flying in to feed the starving one day, then flying in the next day to deliver the bombs. What are we doing?
While the risk of a too-many-cooks situation was averted, Anderson recalls getting involved in a musical broth disaster when the oldest songs on 1000 Hands were being demoed. He dates his work with Squire and White to sessions at Big Bear Studios with producer Brian Chatton in 1991, referred to as the Uzlot sessions. His fruitful reconnection with his former bandmates as ABWH was mutating into an ill-advised oversized incarnation of Yes, the eight-piece cut-and-shut vehicle responsible for the relatively unloved 1991 album Union.
Or has he got his dates wrong? He refers to a tour with Japanese ambient pioneer Kitaro as one of the reasons he didn’t complete his the demos, and that took place in summer 1992, which would shift the timeline for the sessions with Squire and White to the spring of that year rather than the Union merger. Producer Jonathan Elias blamed the shortcomings of that album on a lack of songs; but if demoing was going on in early ’91, why didn’t those songs end up being put up for Yes?
“I don’t remember,” says Anderson. “But musicians are like a family. You can get upset with each other once in a while but you’re family. Chris and I were like brothers – he was the yin and I was the yang. He was Darth Vader and I was Obi-Wan Kenobi!”
There’s little danger of 1000 Hands getting the thumbs-down from Anderson fans. It manages an unlikely feat: combining the broad melodic strokes of latter-day Yes with longform song suites and the spiritually-charged lyrics of a diehard child of the 60s.
Twice In A Lifetime – one of three tracks deriving from the 1991 demos, along with First Born Leaders and Come Up – now has violin and accordion in the opening bars before Anderson croons, ‘Twice upon a lifetime was a mystic and a singer, who sang too many songs of love, lost faith in her belief.’ Soon harpsichord-style flourishes decorate a flintier turn in his lyrical flow: ‘Planes fly in with food and love to save the starving millions, while planes fly in to feed the hungry guns of disbelief.’
“It’s just asking a simple question,” he says. “Why can we not share the world? Planes flying in to feed the starving one day, then they’re flying in the next day to deliver the bombs. What the hell are we doing? Everybody feels this way – except those one percenters who seem to have everything organised to build war machines.
I don’t want to say anything; I’d just be feeding a very silly world that’s very Monty Python
“The idea of not being able to share oneness on this planet has been with me since the beginning of the 60s. But in the past 30 years we’ve become a little bit, ‘Oh, okay.’ I think in the next few years we’re going to be going through another big change – and change is good.”
And change is happening, it seems. But in the age of Donald Trump and Brexit, you suspect it’s not the kind of change Anderson had in mind. Now permanently based in California after many nomadic years, how does he view what’s going on in his adopted country? “It doesn’t get much weirder, to be honest. I’m an American citizen, so they can’t throw me out. But I don’t want to say anything; I’d just be feeding a very silly world that’s very Monty Python.”
Did he vote in the Brexit referendum? “No. And I’m still confused – it seems to me like a bunch of bankers asking each other, ‘How much money can we make? Why are the Germans making so much money?’ Guys, haven’t we been here before? Come on! You know, work harder, play harder, be more creative.” We’re not sure where that leaves our hero on the spectrum of opinions across our troubled islands, but maybe he’s not sure either.
Jon Anderson – First Born Leaders [OFFICIAL AUDIO] – YouTube
Those aren’t the only direct-sounding statements you’ll hear on this album. An ear-pricking line from First Born Leaders blends unlikely instrumentation such as steel drums as it concludes: ‘Everybody wants what they cannot have.’ “You bet. It’s more true now than ever,” he says.
A more typically oblique lyric can be found on the nine-minute Activate, a song guest flautist Ian Anderson described as “a long, epic song… very much in the progressive rock tradition.” The key line is, ‘The answer to the proposition 35-42 – everything within the law begins and ends with you.’
In contrast to his old approach of leaving his more puzzling statements open to interpretation, Anderson is happy to explain: “It comes from something you see in America. You’ll see a lot of cards in gardens from local government candidates saying: ‘Proposition 32 – say no! Proposition 61 – say yes!’ That line in the song is just saying we’re all unique and we’re all connected throughout this world.
If you become nothing but materialist and do nothing but boozing, you become empty
“And writing songs activates me; wakes me up. I get very dormant surrounded by materialism and things like that. There’s nothing wrong with it; but if you become nothing but materialist and do nothing but boozing, you become empty, I think. Unless you go and watch a football match and life changes… Hey, it was great to see the games this weekend, wasn’t it? Some great games in England recently. I watch a lot of Spanish football as well…”
The subject takes a sharp turn. Prog thinks we’ve digressed considerably, but maybe that stream of consciousness is a reflection of a man who is still, at heart, a hippie dreamer; yet also an avowed internationalist, who speaks with an accent floating somewhere between Los Padres and Lancashire, and who describes his current home as “very quiet, much like Accrington, surrounded by hills and woodland… but the weather is better.”
As befits such a multi-faceted man, 1000 Hands is an unashamedly eclectic listen. Come Up is another expansive journey that begins with loungey cascades of jazz piano – aided by some sterling work from Corea, Cobham and Ponty – before being joined by steel drums; a combination that surely shouldn’t work, but does.
Later there’s a full-on hands-to-Heaven gospel chorus from Zap Mama, while Anderson offers the kind of lines that you’d expect to hear 45 years ago: ‘Some come to tempt you with visions of the Eastern world, some come to tempt you with their own reality/only you can break the rule of contemplation, these words are purely loved in speculation.’
We find that thought on the same album as some disarmingly straightforward songwriting. Makes Me Happy is reggae-tinged, horn-spattered sunshine pop, then I Found Myself is particularly striking: a sweet acoustic paean laced with flourishes of violin and backing vocals from the inspiration of the song – Anderson’s wife Jane.
“It’s about finding yourself when you find your true soulmate; it’s like a dream come true,” he says. It should of course be unbearably saccharine, but once again the gamble pays off.
I never stop… I’ve got about a dozen projects on the go. It’s what I do
Live shows are planned, but meanwhile new material is constantly being created.“I’m working on something now that’s probably over two hours long,” he says. “It’s a story within a story, and I’m doing about four of them at the same time. I’ve been working on that for 15 or so years.”
You wonder if, like the ‘Uzlot’ sessions, it might end up semi-permanently on the backburner, but that’s the way Anderson has always done things. While we’re on the phone, pauses to open the door; in comes someone he’s demoing tracks with in his home studio.
At 74, retirement doesn’t seem an option. “I never stop,” he admits. “I’m so busy writing songs and create new projects. I’ve got about a dozen projects on the go. It’s what I do. I’m a creative lunatic!”
Johnny is a regular contributor to Prog and Classic Rock magazines, both online and in print. Johnny is a highly experienced and versatile music writer whose tastes range from prog and hard rock to R’n’B, funk, folk and blues. He has written about music professionally for 30 years, surviving the Britpop wars at the NME in the 90s (under the hard-to-shake teenage nickname Johnny Cigarettes) before branching out to newspapers such as The Guardian and The Independent and magazines such as Uncut, Record Collector and, of course, Prog and Classic Rock.
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.
It’d be hard to imagine that Bleed From Within once peddled run-of-the-mill deathcore, but from 2013’s Uprising they started their evolution towards becoming the UK’s premier modern metal outfit – and seventh album Zenith lives up to its lofty title.
Opener Violent Nature charges in foaming at the mouth before locking into an iron-clad double kick groove. Its flirtation with choral elements makes for epic bridges, segueing into the kind of pit fodder that would get tens of thousands moving at Download. From there, the album continues to affirm Bleed From Within’s supremacy. In Place Of Your Halo celebrates their native Scotland with an atmospheric bagpipe section that feels right at home with the breakdown it accompanies, while God Complex’s four-on-the-floor stomp and gang chants are made to boom out alongside huge blasts of pyro.
There are stunning vocal melodies from guitarist Steven Jones, as on the opening of A Hope In Hell, but he really comes into his own vocally on closer Edge Of Infinity. It starts off in gorgeous near-power ballad territory, before reaching a bombastic conclusion. BFW also bring in some major league guests, such as Mastodon drummer/vocalist Brann Dailor, whose croon gives Immortal Desire its haunting chorus. The tasteful use of symphonic and string elements, like on the melodeath-laced title track, help cement Zenith as the Scots’ most grandiose outing yet.
Expectations were high after the excellent double- punch of 2020’s Fracture and 2022’s Shrine, and Zenith still eclipses them. Chained To Hate offers one of their most savage callouts of ‘I will fucking hang you’, while Known By No Name’s pulsating electronic beginning and tremendous, choir-led chorus makes it truly colossal. Bigger, bolder, brasher, Zenith doesn’t just raise the bar for Bleed From Within, but dares everyone else to match its vitality, fury and lofty ambition.
Zenith is out this Friday, April 4, via Nuclear Blast
Will’s been a metal obsessive ever since hearing Trivium’s Ascendancy way back in 2005, and it’s been downhill ever since. Since joining the Metal Hammer team in 2021, he’s penned features with the likes of rising stars Lake Malice, Scowl and Drain, and symphonic legends Epica. He’s also had bylines in Stereoboard, covering everything from Avenged Sevenfold to Charli XCX.
Having confirmed themselves as one of the most exciting British metal bands of their generation with last year’s exquisite debut album, Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell, the hype around Heriot shows no signs of abating. With a headline UK tour due to kick off this month, we sat down with frontwoman Debbie Gough for a quick catch-up to chat being BFFs with Slipknot, guitar shop toilet disasters and more.
Heriot have certainly had a wild few years. What’s the most starstruck you’ve been?
“We watched Slipknot side-stage at Graspop. It was such a weird scenario, because we were getting ready to leave the festival, and suddenly I got a message from V-Man [bassist Alessandro Venturella], saying, ‘I’ve got passes for you and your camp if you want to watch us.’ They gave us a tour of the stage and introduced us to everybody. That felt so crazy!”
Slipknot are fans, then?
“Well, V-Man is. Ha ha ha! I’m not sure about the others.”
What’s the worst show you’ve ever played?
“We did one where everything seemed to go wrong. I started screaming and the front row was shouting at me, ‘Your mic’s not on!’ We had to restart, then my guitar strap broke. For whatever reason I didn’t have my spare guitar onstage. There was a door side-stage to get to your gear, and it was locked. I had to do the foot-on-the-monitor thing and hold my guitar up the entire show. It was miserable!”
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We’ve seen a lot of people wearing Heriot shirts at gigs in the UK. But have you ever seen someone wearing your merch in an unexpected place?
“I did see someone in a pub in London in a Heriot cap, but I was really weird about it. Ha ha! I didn’t want to do that thing of, ‘Hey, nice cap!’, so I kind of went the other way because I was like, ‘I don’t know what to say!’ Then I felt really bad about it! But I’m sure they weren’t bothered at all. I just thought, ‘I don’t want this person to feel like they have to talk to me.’”
Your guitarist, Erhan Alman, once said Heriot don’t have any metal on their songwriting playlist. Is that true?
“He might not! For Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell, I had a playlist of Nails, Oathbreaker, Power Trip, Billie Eilish, Wand, Sophie and Labrinth.”
In 2023 you did a Jackson Guitars advert with Marty Friedman, Misha Mansoor, Dave Davidson and the like. Did you learn anything playing alongside those master guitarists?
“It was one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever been a part of. Marty Friedman, zero ego. He just wanted to talk about, like, ‘Who are your favourite guitarists? What are you listening to?’ And he has such an insane right-hand picking technique! His guitar didn’t have a tremolo arm on, but he didn’t need one! He just bent the strings like that himself. That was crazy.”
You used to work in a guitar shop in Birmingham. Any fun stories from your time there?
“Somebody did a very, very violent shit up our window one day. It was the most explosive diarrhoea you’ve ever seen in your entire life! Ha ha ha! And there were bracelets in the pile of poo. It was like cow shit, or the mud at Download last year.”
Bracelets?!
I presume somebody must have had them on their wrist and then, in their distress of having to shit at the window, probably threw their arms down.”
So you didn’t actually see this happen?
“This is the next bit of the story! I logged into the CCTV and I went through the entire day and the entire night before, and I couldn’t see anything! I spent so long trying to find the culprit and I could not find him!”
Who cleaned it, in the end?
“My workmate did. He got the bleach bucket out and did it himself. What’s funny is my boyfriend works for a drum company, so he knew our shop really well. Before he started working there, he wouldn’t believe me when I’d come home and tell stories like this. Then, when he started dealing with our shop, he was like, ‘Oh my god…’ Ha ha ha!”
We were so hoping you were going to say this is how you met. That would have tied this all together in such a lovely bow.
“I’m afraid not. Ha ha ha!”
Heriot’s UK tour kicks off this month. Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell is out now via Century Media. They also play Bloodstock and 2000 Trees festivals this month
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The Darkness – Permission To Land
(Image credit: V2 Records)
Blacken My Thumb That Sure Ain’t Right Girls Best Friend Messin’ Around Cherry Lane Get Up! (Don’t Fight It) Hong Kong Fury What I’ve Lost You Can’t Find Me Don’t Come Knocking Lucille I Got No Words
The Datsuns relocated to the UK in 2002, looking like Led Zeppelin with ironed hair, and sounding much the same. The trousers were tight, the guitars were wielded like weapons and, with a garage sound closer to The MC5 than to Crowded House, the fact that The Datsuns are from New Zealand was easily overlooked.
Two years later a second album arrived. It was a collection of sweaty, fuzzed-up rock, this time produced by (and also with keyboards by) ex-Zep man John Paul Jones. Outta Sight/Outta Mind didn’t have the immediacy of tracks like Harmonic Generator or Motherfucker From Hell (from their eponymous debut) but it was a raucous 40 minutes filled with strident guitar breaks and Plant-esque lung bursts that adhered to all the right rock clichés without once encroaching into Darkness territory.
Blacken My Thumb was a vicious opener, and the pace didn’t relent from there. Messin’ Around was pure ZZ Top with its low-slung riffs and no-nonsense drumming, Get Up! (Don’t Fight It) was cartoon punk – like I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction in a tearing hurry – and Hong Kong Fury was a future live favourite with its Who bass flurries and mantra-like chorus.
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge – My Chemical Romance
Dark Matter – IQ
Disclaimer II – Seether
Hot Fuss – The Killers
Undermind – Phish
Gettin’ in Over My Head – Brian Wilson
A Ghost Is Born – Wilco
Houses of the Molé – Ministry
Inferno – Motörhead
Power of the Blues – Gary Moore
Unbreakable – Scorpions
Will to Death – John Frusciante
The Cure – The Cure
The Eye of Every Storm – Neurosis
The Gorge – Dave Matthews Band
Hollywood Potato Chip – The Vandals
In Between Evolution – The Tragically Hip
This Magnificent Distance – Chris Robinson
Mojave – Concrete Blonde
Revival – The Reverend Horton Heat
Watch Out! – Alexisonfire
We Are Not Alone – Breaking Benjamin
White2 – Sunn O)))
What they said…
“The simple fact is this: how can you sit through the V8 revving of Blacken My Thumb and still want to intellectualise rock? It should make any self-conscious critic pitch forward onto the carpet, shuddering and sobbing, “Oh Jesus, oh Jesus!” The only thing your thesaurus is good for here, dweeb, is for soaking up the juice after the Thorogoodly rockin’ Messin’ Around has pummeled you into a fine, bloody mist. (Stylus)
“Antipodean hairies The Datsuns’ strategy for that ‘difficult second album’ has been to come back as even more purified retro than they were before. Outta Sight/Outta Mind‘s cover imagery reeks of the 1970s; the rear cover loudly proclaims ‘produced by Jean Paul Jones’ – of Led Zeppelin. Layers of screaming guitars do their best to insist that the Stooges and Deep Purple never did this stuff better.” (The Guardian)
“This might be ok if there was a tune to pick up on or, like The Darkness, some hint of irony. That Sure Ain’t Right and You Can’t Find Me have an agreeable shade of glam, but even the promisingly-titled Hong Kong Fury remains stuck to their pedestrian blueprint of third division boogie. In other words, for people awaiting that second Jet album, this should prove a welcome distraction from their crayons. For the rest of us it’s a look of bemusement and a scratched head.” (Yahoo!)
What you said…
Gary Claydon: One of a plethora of ‘The -‘ bands that cropped up around the turn of the century, The Datsuns relocated to London from their native NZ in time for the release of their debut album. There was quite a buzz around them and the debut showed some promise with its raw, garage take on early 70s hard rock, with an obvious nod to the likes of The Ramones. They were also one-third of an Antipodean assault that threatened world domination but was, ultimately, doomed to fail. Jet had some moderate success but in the end barely made it off the runway, The Vines withered and died (much of it self-inflicted), and The Datsuns came blasting down the motorway slip road only to find themselves conked out and stuck on the hard shoulder a mile later.
The ‘difficult’ second album is a disappointment. Not exactly bad but certainly not good. The problem with being determinedly retro in outlook is, if you’re not careful, you’re in danger of backing yourself into a musical cul-de-sac. You have to be really good at it or start making your own imprint. The Datsuns do neither. John Paul Jones’ production rounds the edges a little but that’s not necessarily a good thing as some of the raw quality is lost. There is nothing here as memorable as the raucous Motherfucker From Hell on the debut. Lyrically, much of it is pretty feeble and you’d like to think it’s mostly tongue-in-cheek, but there seems to be a lack of self-awareness, and much of it comes across as outdated cock-rock posturing.
In the end, The Datsuns simply petered out. The Hives were much cooler, The Darkness funnier and bands such as The Donnas and BRMC were simply better. Another to take at face value, in which case it’s 40 or so minutes of uncomplicated garage rock. Bottom line, though, is – it’s very aptly titled.
Greg Schwepe: If The Datsuns’ Outta Sight/Outta Mind delivered on one thing, it was 40 minutes of high-energy Kiwi rock. Enough to keep me motivated and power through a mind-numbing treadmill run after the weather forced me indoors. “OK, Datsuns, work your magic here.”
The 12 songs vary from fast “punky” guitar fests to stuff that kind of sounds like sped-up “sludgy” Sabbath. Lots of riffs and licks to stick with you. And I’ve said this before, why is it for me all New Zealand and Aussie bands all seem to have this great attitude of “hey, let’s all rock and have a good time” vibe about them?
Favourite tracks turned out to be Hong Kong Fury, Cherry Lane and Lucille.
If this is to be my only interaction with The Datsuns (and probably will be), then job well done. Had I bought this back in the day, I could see this one getting played over and over, enjoying the varied but consistent songs. But I could also have seen myself dutifully buying their next release, playing it a few times, then going, “Hmmm… nice group, but a little bored now… next!” 8 out of 10 on this one for me.
Chris Elliott: It’s okay. It huffs and puffs for a while – doesn’t offend – but I have no real desire to hear it again. Like a rawer version of The Strokes – just as referential.
Tom Coleman: Good album, not as good as the first, but still a solid listen.
Nigel Mawdsley: I’ve not heard much by The Datsuns. First impressions of this album is that it sounds like The Clash incorporating chunky rock riffs! Worth another listen.
Mark Veitch: Even if this had been released in the 70s it would have been as dull as dishwater.
Brian Carr: Dave Grohl helped me gain some level of understanding and appreciation for punk music, but that still doesn’t mean I like it. The punky vocals on Outta Sight/Outta Mind by The Datsuns might have led a younger me to dismiss the record straight away and I would have missed out on some fairly killer riffage – the guitar definitely doesn’t sound punk. Ultimately, it’s our second straight album that I like musically, but dislike due to the vocals.
Final score: 5.92 (26 votes cast, total score 154)
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“She was looking at her pill bottles. I knew she was going to die so I was like, ‘Put it down. Live right now’”: Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher wrote songs for Emperor Of Sand at his mum’s deathbed
(Image credit: Jimmy Hubbard)
A family tragedy fuelled the creative fires behind Mastodon’s seventh album Emperor Of Sand. In 2017 Prog met Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher to discuss the band’s proggiest release since Crack The Skye.
He’s out there somewhere: a lone figure in the middle of the desert. He doesn’t know how to go forward and he can’t go back. Eddies of sand swirl up around him until he disappears out of sight and becomes part of the landscape, a speck of sand among the endless swell of dunes. The sun’s almost at its highest and there’s no water and no shade.
Then, at the periphery of his vision, something moves on the horizon. He shades his eyes to make out the figure that’s approaching. His skin suddenly prickles, turning cold in the sweltering heat. Run, he thinks, but to where? The desert reaches out beyond until it falls into the sky. And the shadow is almost upon him.
“People always get lost in our songs and on our records; there’s always a character trying to find something or someone. It’s like dreams, confused, ‘Where the hell am I?’” Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher is also far from home. He’s flown from Atlanta to the UK, and Prog is sitting with him on the fourth floor of his label’s London office off Kensington High Street. Drummer Brann Dailor is seated next to him.
They’re here to talk about their seventh album, Emperor Of Sand, its concept and genealogy – and the bogeyman who haunts the grooves of the record and the dreams of the album’s protagonist. “He’s a metaphor, some kind of Grim Reaper,” says Dailor. “Not a good feeling from that guy, the Emperor.”
It’s a concept album with the hero on the run from a death sentence, with a fate worse than that haunting his every step among the endless dunes. So far, so fantastical – and so very Mastodon. But as Kelliher says: “It all came from a very real place.”
Mastodon – Show Yourself [Official Music Video] – YouTube
While the band were making the record, his mother was dying of cancer. He talks now about sitting by her bedside as she slept. After he’d fed her and held her hand, he’d put his headphones on, plug his guitar into his computer and write and play at her side as her life force diminished, bringing songs to life even in the throes of death. “I had to do something to stop myself going crazy,” he says. “To stop from crying my eyes out.”
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There’s a cancer ad here in the UK where the patient is portrayed as vulnerable and lost in a faceless, icy tundra, the wind ripping at his clothes, the snow blinding his eyes until a nurse reaches out to him and brings him back to the world. Given Kelliher’s predicament and the fate of his mother, it’s not too difficult to make the transition from a frozen world to the baking sands of an arid, dusty hell.
“That’s how I felt when I lost my ma to cancer,” says Kelliher. “She was wandering lost in her own mind. If you can get a message out of the lyrics and the record and everything it’s, ‘Live in the moment, because you never know.’ When you get handed that death sentence, you’re searching for something – ‘What can I do? Where can I find a cure? What doctors can I call?’ Every day my ma was looking at her pill bottles, and I knew she was going to die, so I was like, ‘Put it down; don’t worry about it. Live right now.’ It’s the little things you get caught up in. You never know when your time’s going to be up.”
There are kids going, ‘My dad turned me on to you guys.’ I’m like, ‘How old are you? How old am I?!’
Bill Kelliher
The old adage goes that art comes out of adversity, and the death was the spark that lit Mastodon’s creative fire. In Emperor Of Sand they’ve made an album that typifies the unique place they occupy in modern music. It’s enigmatic and driven, with a brilliant, almost compressed sheen; it oozes melody but clanks and hammers like an old steam train taking a hill. It’s full of surprises.
It’s 17 years since Dailor and Kelliher left Victor, New York, and movedto Atlanta to form Mastodon with bassist Troy Sanders and guitarist Brent Hinds. It’s 15 years since they released their debut album Remission. Though it lacked some of the subtlety and grace of their later work, its ferocity was to be admired and not ignored. Displaying a fascination with ‘Elephant Man’ Joseph Merrick, it helped define some of the band’s frenzied tropes.
“We keep evolving,” says Kelliher, “but it’s subconsciously. We’re human beings; we’re getting older – we’re experiencing more things. If you put that first record next to this record, it’s two totally different bands because we’re totally different people.”
Mastodon – Steambreather [Official Music Video] – YouTube
In the space between their first and latest albums they dropped pills, drank liquor, touched the sky, and sang about Moby Dick, colonies of Birchmen and a Blood Mountain. They played prog, rocked out, made metal and crafted their art. In summer 2014 they released Once More ’Round The Sun, an album that embraced their experimental bent and spiraling, escalating arrangements with a newer, more cohesive sense of songwriting. It was an altogether sharper and more focused Mastodon.
“With the last few records, we’ve seen girls at the front screaming and singing along to the songs – I never expected to see that,” says Kelliher. “There are kids there going, ‘My dad turned me on to you guys.’ I’m like, ‘Your dad? How fucking old are you? How old am I?!’ But I feel that each record has to outdo the last and keep going on a trajectory to a different place – which I feel we do. I like this area we’re in right now; I love the type of songs we’re doing.”
For Emperor Of Sand they took a slight U-turn and reached out to producer Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine), who first worked with Mastodon on 2009’s Crack The Skye. “We were thinking maybe Tony Visconti at first,” says Dailor. “We were loving the new Bowie record – it reminded the world how great Visconti is too. I went to New York and I was going to meet with him, but I didn’t do it. I wasn’t sure where everyone in our band was at; are we really going to go to New York to do a record? It just seemed like a bad idea. Bill was going through a horrible situation; Troy was going through some stuff as well, I didn’t have the best situation going on, Brent was butterflying around, doing his GTO band…”
Brendan O’Brien said, ‘You guys are writing pop music: it’s like a bunch of crazy people writing pop songs!’
Brann Dailor
“And Brendan’s from the Atlanta area,” says Kelliher. “We wanted someone we could trust and we had a studio in mind, The Quarry, in Kennesaw. It’s a drive, but we could still sleep in our beds every night. We needed that base to make it work.”
“I think it was important for us to have some familiarity – and let’s not forget, it’s Brendan O’Brien!” says Dailor. “He understands that fine line between prog, catchy melodies, metal… He said, ‘You guys are writing pop music: it’s like a bunch of crazy people writing pop songs!’”
Picking up where they’d left off with O’Brien wasn’t a problem. “It was like seeing an old friend,” says Kelliher. “‘Let’s all make a beautiful record together.’ He was very excited about it and was there hands-on 24/7 – the band needed that. I felt more camaraderie with Brendan on this record, just because of where I was in my life. With Crack The Skye it was mostly Brent, his riffs and his songs that we all helped put together. It was more his vision, him and Brendan. With this it was kind of the other way around. I felt closer to it; not in control of the ship necessarily, but getting my input in and bouncing ideas off him. It was great.”
“Also, he’s very committed to a fast decision,” says Dailor. “Even when it comes to deciding where you’re going to eat! He has this spontaneity: ‘Did you say you had an idea for this vocal part? Go sing it; great, let’s keep it – that works, let’s finish it.’ And it doesn’t have to be perfect as long as it has the energy, which he’s great at capturing. On Crack The Skye he was like, ‘Let’s get into some percussion.’ I was like, ‘I don’t play percussion,’ but then I did!”
Bassist Troy Sanders has stated that Emperor Of Sand “ties into our entire discography,” adding: “It’s 17 years in the making, but it’s also a direct reaction to the last two years. We draw inspiration from very real things in our lives.”
Dailor reflects that the lead protagonist dies, and is yet saved, at the story’s end. Whether it’s an allegory for the ravages of cancer and the loneliness and suffering brought on by terminal illness, or simply the story of a lost soul trying to find his way through endless desert sands with Death at his shoulder, the message is implicit: Mastodon are moving forward, progressing ever further. Here they come, blinking into the light.
Mastodon – Clandestiny [Official Music Video] – YouTube
Philip Wilding is a novelist, journalist, scriptwriter, biographer and radio producer. As a young journalist he criss-crossed most of the United States with bands like Motley Crue, Kiss and Poison (think the Almost Famous movie but with more hairspray). More latterly, he’s sat down to chat with bands like the slightly more erudite Manic Street Preachers, Afghan Whigs, Rush and Marillion.
Sum 41 have released a cover version of Rage Against The Machine‘s 1999 hit single Sleep Now In The Fire.
The Canadian punk heroes drew the curtain on their career in January of this year, wrapping up a lengthy farewell tour in their home country.
But they have also treated fans with a couple of new recordings for the Spotify Singles series – the RATM cover and a new version of Landmines, the song originally released on 2024 album Heaven :x: Hell.
In a statement, Sum 41 say: “Recording these Spotify Singles has been an incredible way to celebrate with our fans around the world. We’re so grateful for their support and excited to share this special session with everyone.”
Sleep Now In The Fire was released as the second single from Rage Against The Machine’s 1999 album The Battle of Los Angeles. It was accompanied by an iconic video, directed by politically outspoken documentary maker Michael Moore.
The video sees the band performing in front of the New York Stock Exchange, resulting in Moore being arrested and the band members entering the building before the Stock Exchange’s titanium riot doors came crashing down.
It became headline news, with conservative commentators lining up to criticise Rage Against The Machine. It was even referenced in the presidential debate that evening, with future President George W. Bush angrily condemning their actions.
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Guitarist Tom Morello later said of the video and the controversy: “In retrospect it felt like a historic victory against evil. It was a pretty spectacular, historic rock’n’roll thing we made. They don’t make them like that anymore.”
Sum 41 – Sleep Now in the Fire (2025) (NEW SINGLE) – YouTube
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