Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums

The Making of Everything Must Go by Manic Street Preachers

The Making of Everything Must Go by Manic Street Preachers

Neil Johnson 16 June 2025

Everything Must Go by Manic Street Preachers: The Definitive Story When I think about the musical landscape...

The Making of 1977 by Ash 1977

The Making of 1977 by Ash

Neil Johnson 8 June 2025

1977 by Ash: A Landmark in 90s Alternative Rock There are albums that capture the restless spirit...

The Making of Earth Versus The Wildhearts by The Wildhearts

Neil Johnson 1 June 2025

Earth Versus The Wildhearts: The Wildhearts’ Explosive Debut Some albums land like a bomb. Earth Versus The...

The Painful Truth by Skunk Anansie – album review

The Painful Truth by Skunk Anansie – album review

Neil Johnson 23 May 2025

Monster Shop Score: 92/100 Skunk Anansie’s seventh album, The Painful Truth, isn’t just a comeback—it’s a defiant,...

Roar Like Thunder by Buckcherry – album review

Roar Like Thunder by Buckcherry – album review

Neil Johnson 22 May 2025

Monster Shop Score: 81/100 Buckcherry’s eleventh album, Roar Like Thunder, explodes with raw energy and classic rock...

Skeletá by Ghost – album review

Skeletá by Ghost – album review

Neil Johnson 9 May 2025

Monster Shop Score: 85/100 Ghost’s sixth studio album, Skeletá, is a grand, theatrical journey through hard rock,...

The Making of Powertrippin by The Almighty

The Making of Powertrippin by The Almighty

Neil Johnson 4 May 2025

Powertrippin’ by The Almighty: The Full Story Sometimes an album lands at just the right moment. In...

UNATØNED by Machine Head – album review

Neil Johnson 2 May 2025

Monster Shop Score: 75/100 Machine Head’s eleventh album, UNATØNED, is a lean, urgent blast of modern metal...

A Complete History of Rage Against the Machine

A Complete History of Rage Against the Machine

Neil Johnson 23 April 2025

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine is a story of political fervour, musical innovation, and...

Podcast Episodes

Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums Podcast

Welcome to Riffology, where a GenX and a Millennial talk about the albums from their youth. It’s more fun than it sounds…

This week, we fulfil a long-standing listener request (hello, Lindsay) and dig into Manic Street Preachers’ Everything Must Go. Expect the usual blend of forensic music analysis and complete shambles, as we celebrate Lindsay’s loyalty, discuss how long we’ve been doing this (answers vary from three to seventy-five years), and try to work out what day it is.

Chris reveals his secret life as a Download Festival rock star, we reminisce about Monster Shop, Dog House, and all our previous attempts at podcast branding, and then lose several minutes to the technicalities of coin tossing with a key fob. (Spoiler: it does not go smoothly.)

Other highlights: debating the merits of Apocalyptica’s cello-based Metallica covers, the agony of coming up with a new sign-off, and realising—eventually—that Riffology is now an actual thing, at least according to Google.

Dry, meandering, and occasionally insightful, as ever.