Thursday, 28 May 2026
RIFFOLOGY

Riffology — long-read deep dives into how rock albums got made

Front cover of ZZ Top's Tres Hombres, showing the album title and band name in stencilled Old-West block lettering across a parchment-coloured field above a sepia-toned border.

Album Deep Dive

Tres Hombres by ZZ Top: The Complete Story

Tres Hombres by ZZ Top, released July 1973 on London, took the Houston trio to No. 8 on the Billboard 200. Produced by Bill Ham and cut at Ardent with Terry Manning, the album gave the world La Grange, the Waitin / Jesus segue and the famous Mexican feast gatefold.
Front cover of Exile on Main St. by The Rolling Stones, Robert Frank's black-and-white sideshow collage from his 1958 photobook The Americans. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

Exile on Main St. by The Rolling Stones: The Complete Story
Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin – The Complete Story | Riffology Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin – The Complete Story
Front cover of America's Least Wanted by Ugly Kid Joe, the band's mascot drawn as the Statue of Liberty raising a middle finger. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

America's Least Wanted by Ugly Kid Joe: The Complete Story

Latest stories

All stories →
Front cover of Drops of Jupiter by Train, showing the album's illustrated celestial artwork. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

Drops of Jupiter by Train: The Complete Story
Front cover of Yourself or Someone Like You by Matchbox Twenty (1996): a Katrin Thomas photograph of Frank Torres walking alone down a sun-bleached road, his long shadow stretching behind him. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

Yourself or Someone Like You by Matchbox Twenty
Front cover of A Boy Named Goo by Goo Goo Dolls (1995), a photograph by Gellert of a small child with blackberry juice smeared across his face and hands. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

A Boy Named Goo by Goo Goo Dolls: The Complete Story
Front cover of R.E.M.'s 1991 album Out of Time, featuring Doug and Mike Starn's photograph Yellow Seascape with Film and Wood Blocks behind a large rounded title banner. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

Out of Time by R.E.M.: The Complete Story
Front cover artwork for Into Oblivion by Lamb of God, released 13 March 2026 on Century Media and Epic Records.

Review ·

Into Oblivion by Lamb of God: Album Review
Front cover of MTV Unplugged in New York: Frank Micelotta's photograph of Kurt Cobain hunched over his 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic guitar, eyes closed, wearing the olive-green Manhattan mohair cardigan that has since become as famous as the album itself. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

MTV Unplugged in New York by Nirvana: Complete Story
Little Angels - Big Bad and Back Tour

Feature ·

Little Angels Are Back: Big Bad & Back Tour Announced for November 2026
Front cover of The Better Life by 3 Doors Down: a moody, blue-toned photographic portrait designed by P.R. Brown of Bau-Da Design Lab, with the band's name and album title set across the image. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

The Better Life by 3 Doors Down: Complete Story

Album Deep Dives

More deep dives →
Front cover of ZZ Top's Tres Hombres, showing the album title and band name in stencilled Old-West block lettering across a parchment-coloured field above a sepia-toned border.

Album Deep Dive ·

Tres Hombres by ZZ Top: The Complete Story
Front cover of Exile on Main St. by The Rolling Stones, Robert Frank's black-and-white sideshow collage from his 1958 photobook The Americans. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

Exile on Main St. by The Rolling Stones: The Complete Story
Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin – The Complete Story | Riffology Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin – The Complete Story
Front cover of America's Least Wanted by Ugly Kid Joe, the band's mascot drawn as the Statue of Liberty raising a middle finger. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

America's Least Wanted by Ugly Kid Joe: The Complete Story
Front cover of Drops of Jupiter by Train, showing the album's illustrated celestial artwork. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

Drops of Jupiter by Train: The Complete Story
Front cover of Yourself or Someone Like You by Matchbox Twenty (1996): a Katrin Thomas photograph of Frank Torres walking alone down a sun-bleached road, his long shadow stretching behind him. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

Yourself or Someone Like You by Matchbox Twenty
Front cover of A Boy Named Goo by Goo Goo Dolls (1995), a photograph by Gellert of a small child with blackberry juice smeared across his face and hands. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

A Boy Named Goo by Goo Goo Dolls: The Complete Story
Front cover of R.E.M.'s 1991 album Out of Time, featuring Doug and Mike Starn's photograph Yellow Seascape with Film and Wood Blocks behind a large rounded title banner. Podcast

Album Deep Dive ·

Out of Time by R.E.M.: The Complete Story

Reviews

All reviews →
Front cover artwork for Into Oblivion by Lamb of God, released 13 March 2026 on Century Media and Epic Records.

Review ·

Into Oblivion by Lamb of God: Album Review

Lamb of God's twelfth album is their angriest in a decade: ten lean songs, Art Cruz's first sober record, and a US Hard Rock number one.
Front cover of Megadeth's self-titled 2026 album: the band's mascot Vic Rattlehead engulfed in flames against a white background, the artwork that has earned the record the nickname the White Album.

Review ·

Megadeth by Megadeth: Album Review

Megadeth's self-titled seventeenth and final album: Mustaine, LoMenzo and a debut from Teemu Mantysaari deliver the band's first ever US number one.
Kreator-Krushers-Of-The-World-Artwork

Album Deep Dive ·

Krushers Of The World by Kreator – album review

Riffology Score: 82/100 Kreator’s sixteenth album, Krushers Of The World, isn’t just a celebration of four decades
Front cover of Alter Bridge by Alter Bridge, the bands self-titled eighth studio album released January 2026 on Napalm Records.

Review ·

Alter Bridge by Alter Bridge: Album Review

Alter Bridge cut their self-titled eighth album at Eddie Van Halens 5150 Studios with Michael Elvis Baskette. Riffology Score 87/100.