Mad Max are one of the pioneers of melodic metal from Germany. The band from Münster got their start in 1982 with their debut album Heavy Metal, but it was Night of Passion, released in 1987, that put Mad Max on my recordplayer. With Jürgen Breforth and Axel Kruse, two members of the classic lineup… Continue Reading →
Spanish Love Songs have announced the details of their fifth full-length album, ‘Future Nausea’, the follow-up to 2023’s ‘No Joy’.
The record will be released on November 03 via Pure Noise Records.
Vocalist/guitarist Dylan Slocum had this to say about what the album represents for him:
“When I first sat down to work on the record, I basically told everybody I just wanted to make a big rock record, whatever our version of something like Born in the U.S.A. would feel like if it could exist. But as much as I wanted to make a major-key-sounding album, I wanted it to be as angry politically as it could be. More angry than sad. I actually think this is the least sad record we’ve ever made.”
The artwork looks like this:
Whilst the tracklisting is more like this:
1. Future Nausea 2. Good American 3. Welcome To Hell 4. New Fears 5. Living Blues 6. Jan666 7. Doom Tripping 8. Shadowland 9. No Dreams 10. Future Nausea Pt.2 11. See You on the Way Out 12. Until the Sun Explodes
You can also check out the first taste of the album now in the form of ‘Good American’. A pure and powerful piece of heartland rock and roll, pulling on as much Bruce Springsteen earnestness as emo intent it also holds a heavy core. One that speaks to the way that things have turned out as much as how it feels like there is no hope for things going back to the way they were either.
Dylan had this to say about it:
“The military complex is a complicated, terrible thing that preys on economic instability and desperation, all under the guise of patriotism and making people feel like they belong to something greater than themselves.With Trump’s re-election I started seeing stories of Trans soldiers, including some career soldiers my own age, being tossed aside even more callously. It brought back the memories of the vets I met all those years before. From there, the story emerged in each successive verse. A story of what life looks like after the institution you believed in deems you surplus to needs.
It’s an angry song. Maybe the angriest song I’ve ever written. The recording of it followed accordingly. We wanted to keep it minimal. Loud. It sets the tone for the album and this era of the band. We want everyone dancing and shouting.
About a week after we tracked this song, the US bombed Iran.”
There’s an old saying that if you dig deep enough into traditional British folk, you’ll find murder, betrayals, and dark ritual long before metal ever invented them. Crumbling Ghost understand this better than almost anyone. They’ve been operating under the radar for a while now, earning quiet nods of respect from the likes of Stuart Maconie and Stewart Lee while sharing stages with Hawkwind and Damo Suzuki. Their fourth release, simply titled Four, takes ancient songs and drenches them in heavy, fuzzy stoner rock and doom.
The record kicks off with Bows Of London, and for the first two minutes, it plays like a sweet, delicate folk song. Then out of nowhere, the band steps on the fuzz pedals and a wall of crushing, thick guitar riffs rips right through the acoustic haze. It’s an incredible moment that sets the tone for the rest of the album. Think Fairport Convention playing through vintage Sunn amps, or a pastoral version of Sonic Youth set loose on English folklore.
What sets Crumbling Ghost apart from a band like Green Lung is how they handle the “folk horror” element. Green Lung lean heavily into theatrics and hammer-horror visuals, which is great fun, but Crumbling Ghost take a very different path. Here, the dark atmosphere comes directly from the songs themselves. Tracks like Bill Norrie and The Unquiet Grave don’t need gimmicks; the original lyrics are already terrifying enough, and wrapping them in slow, heavy doom riffs only brings that weight out into the light.
The album has a fantastic flow to it. Instrumental pieces like Valtz Efter Tor Lohne provide a moody breather, while Lovely Joan and Gower Wassail demonstrate how naturally acoustic melodies can bend into heavy psych jams. Last Of All Sleep pulls everything back down into an atmospheric, sombre lull before The Unquiet Grave brings the curtain down.
It’s rare to hear a band blend two distinct genres so effortlessly without it feeling like a trick. Crumbling Ghost have created something genuinely special here, a heavy, beautiful, and deeply eerie record that deserves far more attention than it’s had. 9/10
Oddland – Unilluminate To Illuminate (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]
This is definitely an odd land as this Finnish progressive metal band put all matter of influences into their music beginning the record with saxophone that is met by the chunky modern prog metal of Vola, Haken or tour mates Soen.
Unilluminate To Illuminate is a record about innovation, polarity and that we need “darkness in order to find joy in light”. The complexities of these ideas are explored by a band that are at their creative peak, honed on stage, they have created a record that is conceptual as dynamic, layered progressive metal meets a strong melodic sense.
The stage for experimentation is set with the tribal meets jazz rhythms of Amokinus an intro that gets the album off to a flying start and shifts into the palm muted riffs of Eternal Erode as Oddland define their modern prog metal credentials. For a four piece they play music with layers, even in the vocals the lower and higher ends combine with dramatic, numbers like Soar where string arrangements are used well.
The strings are just the start though as Oddland have multiple instruments you may not associate with metal throughout this record, on Illuminate especially but it is a very metal record as Freefall reminds me a lot of Vola while Act Of Solace and Red Canvas draw from Soen or Katatonia, making it perfect for fans of these bands but never blatant copies.
Unilluminate To Illuminate works with both the dark and light to create it’s prog metal magic, a dynamic record for fans of heavy prog that takes risks but has strong melodic moment. 9/10
Grand – Guilty Pleasure (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]
Swedish melodic rockers Grand bring some Guilty Pleasure with their new album of the same name.
Chorus driven AOR with more hooks than a pirate convention as they set the tone of the record on Wild Heart with some modern AOR balladry, that has been monopolised by Sweden but was born in the 80’s through FM radio.
It’s music that comes from the point where rock and pop collide in some high energy tracks built on a solid rhythm section who along with the melodic keys all come from new members injecting some fresh blood into Grand. As they join the strutting guitar lines and big vocals of the men that founded the group.
With the adding a few new wrinkles since this debut in 2022 as they lean into the likes of Foreigner, Toto and Mr Big, given lush production that sounds great on the swaggering title track, the pop infected Have A Little Faith, as Party Galore brings the blue collar sound of Rick Springfield.
This is very much a Guilty Pleasure from Grand, AOR that is at its shiniest and most radio friendly. 7/10
Nova Riot – Blood, Lies and Lullabies (Eclipse Records) [Spike]
Lipstick-red sigils, heavy low-tuned chugs, and high-gloss pop melodies—Oklahoma’s Nova Riot aren’t trying to hide behind a veil of garage obscurity. They describe their sound as “bubblegum alternative metal,” and while a phrase like that might make traditional purists wince, it’s an accurate tag for what this trio is doing.
On their debut, Blood, Lies And Lullabies, they mix the heavy, cinematic bounce of Spiritbox and Bad Omens with the dark, theatrical pop melodrama of Violent Vira and Poppy. It’s slick, stylized, and unapologetically modern.
Formed in 2024 by vocalist Nova Ray, bassist Orion, and lead guitarist Ares, the band bypassed the usual local dive bar circuit entirely, choosing instead to launch as a polished, studio-ready package. Bringing in veteran King Diamond drummer Matt Thompson to handle the kit behind the boards gives these seven tracks a muscular, relentless backbone that keeps the pop hooks grounded in real, heavy metal weight.
The record opens with Haunting Me, dropping you straight into a mix of pulsing electronic atmosphere and low-tuned guitar riffs before Nova Ray’s vocals take over. She moves easily between polished, soaring melodies and raw, edge-of-breakdown grit. It leads right into Midnight Coven Crush, which is easily the catchiest track on the release. It’s pure witchy pop-metal, built around a thumping rhythm, lipstick sigils, and a chant-along hook that’s bound to stay stuck in your head for days.
The middle section keeps the momentum high with Casket and The Altar, the latter featuring a guest spot from post-hardcore outfit The Bunny The Bear. The electronic layers and dark synths give the heavy breakdowns room to breathe without making the production feel crowded. Like I Meant It brings a venomous alternative rock punch to a breakup narrative, balancing sharp, observational lyrics with driving guitars.
Where the record takes a stark pivot is the final track, Sorry Mom. After six tracks of slick aesthetic and heavy anthems, the band strips away the neon sheen for a painfully direct, uncomfortable look at mental health, addiction, and despair. It’s a heavy emotional crash after the high-energy rush of Through The Storm, showing that beneath all the visual polish, there’s genuine vulnerability driving the songwriting.
At seven tracks, Blood, Lies And Lullabies doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s a tight, confident, and incredibly well-produced debut from a young band that knows exactly who they are and where they want to fit in the modern alternative metal landscape. If you like your heavy music with big melodies, dark atmosphere, and zero apology, this is well worth taking for a spin. 8/10
Great albums do not always get a great welcome. Fleetwood Mac released Tusk after Rumours and suddenly sounded like a band trying to escape its own success. Neil Young followed Harvest with darker, rougher records that frustrated listeners who wanted another “Heart of Gold.” Lou Reed took the audience he had gained with Transformer and handed them Berlin, a grim story about addiction, abuse and a relationship falling apart.
Those records were not failures in the way their early reputations suggested. Fans were reacting to surprise as much as to the music itself. A new album could look terrible simply because it was nothing like the one people had spent the previous two years playing to death.
Time removed most of that baggage. New listeners discovered the records without waiting for another Rumours or Harvest. Musicians started borrowing ideas that critics had once dismissed. Reissues brought neglected albums back into circulation. A few records that had once been treated as mistakes ended up becoming the albums serious fans argued for the hardest.
Here are ten classic rock records whose reputations changed dramatically after release, along with the actual reasons people disliked them in the first place and what eventually brought listeners back.
1. Fleetwood Mac, Tusk
Tusk was a deliberate break from the formula that made Rumours successful
Fleetwood Mac had already made the album every record company dreams about. Rumours sold at a level almost no band could realistically repeat, produced a run of huge singles and turned the group into one of the biggest acts in the world.
Then Lindsey Buckingham decided that repeating it would be boring.
Tusk came out in 1979 as a 20-song double album. Buckingham pushed his material toward rougher recordings, odd drum sounds and short songs that felt much less polished than the music on Rumours. Christine McVie kept writing smooth melodic songs. Stevie Nicks brought “Sara” and “Storms.” The three writers often sounded as if they were making different albums inside the same sleeve.
That contrast is one reason Tusk is much more interesting today than the old “expensive flop” label suggests.
The title track is the obvious example. Fleetwood Mac recorded it with the USC Trojan Marching Band at Dodger Stadium. Instead of following “Go Your Own Way” with another clean radio-rock single, they released a song built around drums, chanting and a marching band.
“The Ledge” sounds almost like a garage recording. “Think About Me” could have been a straightforward hit. “Sara” stretches past six minutes on the original album and creates a completely different mood again.
Tusk still sold millions. The problem was that people compared those millions with Rumours.
We placed it near the top of ranking of Fleetwood Mac albums. That is a much fairer place for it than the old story about a band wasting money in the studio.
If you have never heard the whole album, start with “Sara,” “Think About Me,” “The Ledge” and “Tusk.” Those four tracks explain the record better than any description of its production budget.
2. Paul and Linda McCartney, Ram
Time proved far kinder to Ram than its original reviews
Ram had the bad luck of arriving while the Beatles breakup still felt fresh.
Paul McCartney released the album in 1971 with Linda McCartney credited alongside him. Fans were still arguing about who had caused the Beatles to split. John Lennon and McCartney were publicly taking shots at each other. Every lyric attracted more attention than it probably deserved.
That atmosphere followed Ram into the reviews.
The record itself is playful, strange and packed with ideas. “Too Many People” has real bite. “Dear Boy” piles one vocal harmony on top of another. “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” moves through several different sections and somehow became a No. 1 single in the United States.
Then there is “Monkberry Moon Delight,” where McCartney sounds like he is trying to tear his throat apart over piano, bass and backing vocals.
Nothing about Ram feels carefully designed to prove that Paul McCartney could continue making Beatles records without the Beatles.
That probably hurt it in 1971 and helped it later.
McCartney’s official page for Ram discusses how much the album’s reputation improved after its original release.
Modern listeners also have decades of indie pop, home recording and bedroom production behind them. An album built around personal ideas, odd transitions and unusual vocal arrangements no longer sounds like somebody retreating from professional rock music.
Ram sounds like McCartney enjoying the freedom to make exactly the record he wanted.
For a first listen, try “Too Many People,” “Dear Boy,” “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” and “The Back Seat of My Car.”
3. Lou Reed, Berlin
Berlin is best understood as one continuous and deeply unsettling story
Lou Reed could hardly have chosen a less commercial follow-up to Transformer.
Transformer had given him “Walk on the Wild Side,” “Satellite of Love” and a much larger audience. Berlin gave that audience a story about Jim and Caroline, a couple whose relationship collapses under drugs, violence and misery.
There is no easy escape from the story once the album starts.
“Caroline Says II” deals directly with abuse. “The Kids” uses the sound of crying children. “The Bed” describes the aftermath of Caroline’s suicide in a voice so calm that it makes the song even harder to hear.
The arrangements are surprisingly grand for such bleak material. Piano, strings, horns and backing vocals make parts of Berlin sound almost theatrical.
That combination did not help the album find an easy audience in 1973. Critics attacked it and sales were poor compared with Transformer.
Decades later, Reed returned to Berlin and performed the entire album on stage. Those concerts eventually became the film Lou Reed’s Berlin.
That is a remarkable turnaround. An album once treated as a terrible follow-up eventually became a work fans wanted to hear performed from beginning to end.
Berlin works best when you treat it as one story rather than a collection of separate songs. Start at track one and stay with it. It is not cheerful listening, but that was never the point.
4. David Bowie, Low
Low helped shape the sound of post-punk and electronic music
Low feels strange before Bowie even reaches the instrumental half of the album.
“Breaking Glass” lasts less than two minutes. “Sound and Vision” spends a long time building before Bowie finally starts singing. “What in the World” races forward with synthesizers, guitar and a nervous rhythm that barely gives the listener time to settle in.
Then side two changes the rules again.
“Warszawa,” “Art Decade” and “Subterraneans” move away from normal rock songwriting and into long, atmospheric pieces shaped by Bowie’s work with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti.
RCA had to sell an album that did not offer many obvious radio songs. Critics also had to decide what to do with a major rock star making instrumental music that sounded cold, sparse and unfamiliar.
A later Pitchfork review of Low explains how unusual the album’s structure remained even after decades of influence.
Later bands made Low easier to hear.
Post-punk musicians borrowed its clipped guitars and detached mood. Synth-pop turned electronic sounds into mainstream pop. Ambient music became far more familiar to rock audiences.
Low no longer sounds like Bowie disappearing into some private experiment. It sounds like a record that anticipated a lot of music that followed.
If you only know Bowie’s bigger singles, try “Sound and Vision,” “Breaking Glass,” “Always Crashing in the Same Car” and “Warszawa.”
5. Neil Young, On the Beach
Years out of print only strengthened the album’s cult reputation
Harvest had made Neil Young a huge star. On the Beach sounds like the work of a man who was not enjoying the job.
The record came out in 1974. It is sparse, gloomy and far removed from the warm country-rock sound many listeners associated with Harvest.
“Revolution Blues” is tense and violent. “On the Beach” sounds exhausted with fame and the music business. “Ambulance Blues” runs for almost nine minutes and wanders through old friends, critics, politics and Young’s own frustration.
The production is plain and dry. Nothing has been polished to make the songs easier to sell.
Its later history helped build the cult around it.
The album was unavailable on CD for years. An official CD release did not arrive until 2003. Fans who wanted to hear it had to find vinyl copies, tapes or unofficial versions.
By the time it returned properly, its reputation had already changed.
On the Beach is now one of the albums people recommend once someone has moved past Harvest, After the Gold Rush and Rust Never Sleeps.
“Ambulance Blues” is the essential track, but “Walk On” is a much easier place to begin.
6. The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St.
The album’s loose, crowded sound became part of its appeal
Exile on Main St. did not receive universally bad reviews. Some critics understood it immediately. The Guardian’s original 1972 review, available in the paper’s archive, was already positive.
Plenty of listeners still struggled with the album.
It is long. Mick Jagger’s voice disappears into the mix in places. Guitars, piano, horns and backing vocals crowd together. Songs do not always have the clean separation people expect from a major studio album.
The first few listens can feel messy.
Then the mess starts becoming the reason the album works.
“Rocks Off” sounds like a band playing at the edge of control. “Tumbling Dice” has a loose groove that cleaner production might have ruined. “Sweet Virginia” sounds dirty and relaxed at the same time. “Happy” gives Keith Richards one of his defining lead vocals.
“Let It Loose” starts quietly and ends with gospel singers filling the track.
AllMusic notes how the album’s reputation grew after its mixed early reception.
Exile does not need to sound clean. Its blues, country, gospel and rock influences are all mixed together. The dirt is part of the record.
7. The Rolling Stones, Their Satanic Majesties Request
The Stones never made another record quite like this one
The Rolling Stones released Their Satanic Majesties Request in December 1967, several months after the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The comparison was unavoidable.
The cover was psychedelic. The arrangements were full of Mellotron, effects and orchestration. Long sections moved away from the blues and R&B that had made the Stones famous.
Then the band quickly returned to a rougher sound on Beggars Banquet.
That made Satanic Majesties easy to dismiss as the album where the Stones temporarily followed a fashion that did not suit them.
The record is uneven. There is no need to pretend otherwise.
It also contains “She’s a Rainbow,” one of the band’s most melodic songs, and “2000 Light Years from Home,” which still sounds eerie decades later. “Citadel” has a sharp guitar sound that is much tougher than the album’s colorful reputation suggests.
A Pitchfork retrospective looks at the album without reducing it to a simple Sgt. Pepper imitation.
The best reason to hear it is simple. The Rolling Stones never made another album like it.
Start with “She’s a Rainbow,” “2000 Light Years from Home” and “Citadel.” If those three work for you, continue from there.
8. Lou Reed, Metal Machine Music
The rise of noise rock and industrial music gave Metal Machine Music a context it lacked in 1975
Metal Machine Music is not a normal Lou Reed album that critics happened to misunderstand.
It is roughly an hour of guitar feedback, electronic noise and sustained distortion.
There are no normal songs. Reed does not suddenly start singing halfway through. Nobody arrives with a chorus to reward your patience.
The reaction in 1975 was exactly what you would expect.
Copies were returned. Critics attacked it. Stories spread that Reed had made the record as a joke or as a way of causing trouble for his label.
The album became easier to place after other musicians explored similar territory.
Noise rock grew into a recognized genre. Industrial music developed a major following. Sonic Youth built songs around feedback, alternate tunings and guitar sounds that older producers would have tried to remove.
Metal Machine Music still is not an easy listen.
Its reputation changed because it stopped sounding completely isolated.
Anyone curious about it should simply start at the beginning. Ten minutes will tell you more than ten reviews.
9. Big Star, Third/Sister Lovers
Big Star found its true audience years after the album was recorded
Big Star’s first two albums barely sold despite excellent songs and favorable reviews. By the time the sessions for Third/Sister Lovers began, the band was already falling apart.
Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens were the main remaining figures. The recordings were made in the mid-1970s, but the project had no clear commercial future.
Even the album title became uncertain. Third, Sister Lovers and Third/Sister Lovers have all been used for different releases.
“Kanga Roo” begins quietly and slowly fills with strange noise. “Big Black Car” sounds tired and distant. “Holocaust” is almost painfully bleak. “Thank You Friends” suddenly sounds bright enough to belong on a different record.
For years Big Star were far more influential than successful.
R.E.M., the Replacements, Teenage Fanclub and many other alternative bands talked about them, covered their songs or clearly borrowed from their sound.
The audience Big Star needed in the 1970s arrived years later.
Third/Sister Lovers became especially important because later indie rock made room for records that sounded fragile, imperfect and emotionally exposed.
Start with “Kanga Roo,” “Big Black Car” and “Take Care.”
10. Black Sabbath, Technical Ecstasy
Technical Ecstasy album cover with Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath entered 1976 with an incredible problem of their own making.
They had already released Paranoid, Master of Reality, Vol. 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage.
Fans expected crushing Tony Iommi riffs, dark Geezer Butler lyrics and Ozzy Osbourne sounding like nobody else on the radio.
Technical Ecstasy changed the recipe.
Keyboards became more noticeable. The production was cleaner. Bill Ward sang “It’s Alright,” a soft song that sounded far removed from “War Pigs” or “Children of the Grave.”
The band also leaned more heavily into hard rock and progressive ideas.
The reaction was divided, and the album still ranks low for plenty of Sabbath fans.
That does not mean it has nothing worth hearing.
“Back Street Kids” gets straight to the point. “You Won’t Change Me” combines heavy guitar with keyboards in a way that feels unusual for Sabbath. “All Moving Parts (Stand Still)” has an odd groove. “Dirty Women” closes the album with one of its best riffs and later became a regular live song.
Technical Ecstasy works much better when you stop asking it to be another Master of Reality.
That is an unfair test for almost any heavy rock album.
Which Albums Changed Their Reputation the Most?
Ram probably has the cleanest comeback story. The critical reaction around it was rough, but it is now regularly discussed as one of McCartney’s best solo albums.
Tusk had another problem. It sold millions and was still treated like a failure because Rumours had set an absurd commercial standard.
Low went even further. The album moved from a strange Bowie release that puzzled parts of his audience to one of the records most frequently mentioned when people discuss his best work.
Exile on Main St. had supporters from the start, but its reputation kept growing until it became a standard answer to the question of the best Rolling Stones album.
Metal Machine Music never became universally loved, and it probably never will. Its comeback happened among critics, experimental musicians and listeners interested in noise rather than the wider rock audience.
Why the Reactions Look Different Now
People who bought Tusk in 1979 had spent the previous two years hearing Rumours everywhere. A listener finding Tusk today does not carry that expectation into the first song.
The same applies to On the Beach. Someone who had just bought Harvest might reasonably have wondered where Neil Young’s accessible country-rock sound had gone. A listener discovering On the Beach now simply hears a dark Neil Young record.
Later musicians also changed the context around several albums.
Post-punk and electronic pop helped listeners recognize what Bowie had been doing on Low. Noise rock gave Metal Machine Music a musical family it did not have in 1975. Alternative bands kept talking about Big Star until people finally went back and bought the records.
Good music sometimes needs the right audience. That audience does not always arrive on release day.
Final Thoughts
Tusk remains one of Fleetwood Mac’s boldest left turns. Berlin is just as dark and uncomfortable as it was in 1973. Technical Ecstasy continues to split Black Sabbath fans because parts of it work far better than others.
Their reputations improved because listeners eventually approached them without demanding another Rumours, Transformer or Master of Reality.
Those traits did not disappear when the reviews improved.
People simply became better at hearing what each record was trying to do instead of judging it against the album they wanted the artist to make.
If you have ignored any of these records because of an old reputation, pick one and play it from beginning to end. Tusk, Ram and On the Beach are particularly good places to start.
You may still hate it.
At least you will make your own opinion rather than relying on a review written fifty years ago.
The mighty English heavy metal crusaders Saxon return with new music, the album Gods Of Thunder that will be out on January 22nd, 2027 via Silver Lining Music. For now, the band has shared its first song, the title track. This will be their 25th studio album. Read more…
Wer behauptet eigentlich, dass der Hamburger Kiez nur für sanften Indie und Hipster-Pop gemacht ist? Am 16. und 17. September2026 integriert das Reeperbahn Festival kräftig Härte in Europas größtes Clubfestival – und wir mischen als offizieller Presenting Partner natürlich ganz vorne mit, um der Reeperbahn den nötigen Anstrich aus Staub, Schweiß und dröhnenden Gitarren zu verpassen!
Den Auftakt macht bereits am Mittwoch, den 16. September, ein echtes Schwergewicht der modernen Szene: Im Uebel & Gefährlich vergeben die Kolleginnen und Kollegen von MoreCore erstmals die MoreCore Music Awards. In neun Kategorien kämpfen 72 Nominierte um die Trophäen – und da feinstes Riff-Gekloppe belohnt werden muss, präsentieren wir von Wacken Open Air sehr gerne die Auszeichnung für die „Best German Band“. Damit eure Favoriten am Ende auch wirklich die Trophäe abräumen, könnt ihr hier direkt beim Online-Voting abstimmen – eure Stimme zählt zu satten 70 Prozent!
Der absolute Höhepunkt folgt jedoch am Donnerstag, den 17. September: Wir übernehmen den Bahnhof Pauli am Spielbudenplatz für unser offizielles Wacken Open Air Showcase! Ab 18:00 Uhr starten wir mit einem entspannten Empfang, bevor ab 19:00 Uhr die Verstärker bis 01:00 Uhr nachts durchglühen. Vier hochkarätige Acts teilen sich das Mikrofon auf der Intim-Bühne:
Die Melodic-Prog-Metalheads von Seers Of Light aus Budapest haben sich ihren Platz nach dem 5. Platz beim diesjährigen Wacken Metal Battle redlich verdient und reisen mit mächtigen Riffs sowie der gewaltigen Stimme ihrer Frontfrau an.
Direkt um die Ecke – nur ein paar Kilometer vom Holy Ground entfernt – kommen Grell aus Neumünster angerauscht, um ihren ungezähmten Mix aus Crossover, Rapcore und Punk abzuliefern.
Wer auf fette Modern-Metalcore-Wände steht, darf sich auf die Berliner von Seven Blood freuen, die nach ihren gefeierten Abrissbirnen auf der Wacken Cruise und dem Summer Breeze bereit für die Kiez-Escalation sind.
Abgerundet wird die unheilige Nacht von den Gothic-Rockern WISBORG, die mit ihrem aktuellen Album Phantomschmerz beweisen, wie hochenergetisch und düster 90er-Vibes im modernem Gewand klingen können.
Streicht euch das Datum fett im Kalender an, kommt im Bahnhof Pauli vorbei und Horns up – wir sehen uns auf der Reeperbahn!
With ‘Wait And See‘, Kai Hansen releases the third single from his upcoming solo album ‘Born With A Hammer‘. After the speed, freedom and rock’n’roll spirit of ‘Welcome To Life‘, the new track turns towards the heavier side of the album and immediately feels darker, tighter and more intense. Stream – here At its core, […]
Roger Daltrey has spoken about the difficulties The Who have experienced with the drummers they’ve used since Keith Moon died in 1978.
“It’s never been the same since Keith died,” Daltrey tells Joann Butler, in an interview with Life Minute TV. “I can’t pretend it has. We were firing on all cylinders. We could throw anything out there and make something of it. That kind of disappeared when Keith died.”
Moon was replaced by former Faces drummer Kenney Jones, who played with the band for a decade, before Simon Phillips took his place for the band’s US tour in 1989. Zak Starkey joined in 1996, and remained until his protracted dismissal last year. The Who’s 2025 American Farewell Tour was completed with American drummer Scott Devours behind the kit.
“We tried Kenny Jones, who is a great drummer, but a straight drummer just does not work with The Who,” says Daltrey. It just does not work. But Zak Starkey, he’s not Keith Moon, but he comes very close.”
“We love Zak,” says Daltrey. “We do love Zak. Sometimes the road doesn’t love Zak. It gets on top of him, so it becomes difficult, but we love him.”
“We did the rehearsal to see if we can possibly do shows next year, still hit the notes, still get the drive. Who music demands an incredible amount of drive, and without that, it would be like Herman’s Hermits without Herman.”
Daltrey is currently on his A Great Night Out tour in the US – full dates below.
Sep 04: Santa Rosa Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, CA Sep 05: Reno Grand Theatre @ The Grand Sierra Resort, NV Sep 09: Nashville Ryman Auditorium, TN Sep 11: New Buffalo Four Winds Casino, MI Sep 12: New Lenox Performing Arts Pavilion, IL Sep 15: Milwaukee The Riverside Theater, WI Sep 17: Lewiston Artpark, NY Sep 20: West Springfield The Big E, MA Sep 22: Port Chester The Capitol Theatre, NY Sep 24: Washington The Theater at MGM National Harbor, DC Sep 25: Bensalem Parx Xcite Center, PA Sep 27: New York The Town Hall, NY Sep 29: Medford The Chevalier Theatre, MA Oct 02: Brookville Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, NY Oct 03: Selbyville Freeman Arts Center, DE
Trold is yet another folk band that I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing at Wacken Open Air. They’re from Denmark, and this is what we talked about….
Benedetta
I’m here with the fantastic Trold. How are you doing today, guys?
Trold
Great. First time here, so it was quite an experience to play the Wacken stage just this afternoon. We’re doing good. It was a good experience. It was really great.
Benedetta
So, playing Wacken in its 35th anniversary is something, I think, amazing. How does it feel?
Trold
Yeah, as you say, it is amazing to be here. It’s a dream come true for a band like us to get the opportunity to come here and play for so many metalheads. Get well received. We’ve played six or seven shows in Germany, and this one is already here. It’s great. We’re thankful for the German people welcoming us. They’re very nice.
Benedetta
Do you think that we will ever have some equality between men and women in the metal world?
Trold
I think it’s already there. I mean, females are welcome. At least in Denmark, we’re talking from a Danish point of view. In Denmark, it’s not a thing if you have a female member or not. It’s not a good thing, it’s not a bad thing, it’s just a normal thing. Of course, there are more men, but it’s not because of the gender. It’s just the way it is. No one is excluded for their gender. And I don’t think either some of the all-girl bands and some of the bands that have women in it, they’re not special because they have women in it. It’s just a band. But then again, that’s the Danish point of view. Many bands have females, and we even have full female bands. So I think we have equality in that point of view. Because it’s not a discussion in that point of view in Denmark. It just happens to be more guys in the metal world. Of course, we can see there’s more awareness to that all over the world. Not only in the bands, but also in the environment, the metal environment, the metal community. We did a small tour in the UK with Skyclad. We met up with Becky, the King Diamond bass player. There are many great females in metal. They’re really doing a great job. Some people will book bands by the gender. You can’t escape from that. Both in the female direction and in the male direction.
Benedetta
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. Is there anything else that you want to add to our viewers and readers?
