Riffology

Krushers Of The World by Kreator – album review Kreator-Krushers-Of-The-World-Artwork

Krushers Of The World by Kreator – album review

Neil Johnson 9 January 2026

Monster Shop Score: 82/100 Kreator’s sixteenth album, Krushers Of The World, isn’t just a celebration of four...

Alter Bridge by Alter Bridge – album review Alter Bridge - Alter Bridge - Artwork

Alter Bridge by Alter Bridge – album review

Neil Johnson 9 January 2026

Monster Shop Score: 87/100 Alter Bridge’s self-titled eighth album is a thunderous celebration of everything that makes...

Siamese Dream: Unveiling The Smashing Pumpkins’ Vision The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream - Original Album Art

Siamese Dream: Unveiling The Smashing Pumpkins’ Vision

Neil Johnson 3 January 2026

The Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream, released in 1993, is a pivotal alternative rock album blending grunge's rawness...

Wisconsin Death Trip: Static-X’s Iconic Debut Static-X Wisconsin Death Trip Album Cover

Wisconsin Death Trip: Static-X’s Iconic Debut

Neil Johnson 27 December 2025

Introduction In 1999, Static-X burst onto the late-’90s metal scene with their debut album Wisconsin Death Trip,...

A Deep Dive into Tool’s Undertow (1993) Undertow album cover by Tool

A Deep Dive into Tool’s Undertow (1993)

Neil Johnson 14 December 2025

Why Undertow Still Hits Tool’s debut album Undertow arrived on 6 April 1993 through Zoo Entertainment, produced...

Prong’s Cleansing: A Deep Dive into the 1994 Album Prong - Cleansing - Album Art

Prong’s Cleansing: A Deep Dive into the 1994 Album

Neil Johnson 14 December 2025

Introduction Prong’s 1994 album Cleansing stands as a cult classic of 90s metal – a groove-laden, industrial-tinged...

Wisconsin Death Trip (25th Anniversary Corrosive Edition) by Static-X – album review Static-X Wisconsin Death Trip Album Cover

Wisconsin Death Trip (25th Anniversary Corrosive Edition) by Static-X – album review

Neil Johnson 3 December 2025

Monster Shop Score: 89/100 Static-X’s Wisconsin Death Trip (25th Anniversary Corrosive Edition) is more than just a...

Lights, Camera, Revolution – Suicidal Tendencies’ 1990 Crossover Thrash Classic Suicidal Tendencies, Lights, Camera, Revolution! Album Cover

Lights, Camera, Revolution – Suicidal Tendencies’ 1990 Crossover Thrash Classic

Neil Johnson 30 November 2025

Lights…Camera…Revolution! is the fifth studio album by American thrash/punk band Suicidal Tendencies, released in the summer of...

L7’s Bricks Are Heavy: Heavy Riffs, Feminist Fury, and a Legacy Built to Last L7 - Bricks are Heavy Album Art

L7’s Bricks Are Heavy: Heavy Riffs, Feminist Fury, and a Legacy Built to Last

Neil Johnson 23 November 2025

In April 1992, as grunge and alternative rock were exploding into the mainstream, Los Angeles quartet L7...

Podcast Episodes

Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums Podcast

Remember when payday meant choosing which CD or vinyl you were blowing it on? Standing in HMV doing the mental maths, convincing yourself two albums was basically essential. Riffology is Neil and Chris chasing that feeling again, one classic record at a time.

This is a show about the albums that raised us —
Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Motley Crue, Def Leppard,
Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Pink Floyd, Radiohead,
Skunk Anansie, Gojira, Soulfly and the rest.
If it’s 25+ years old, loud and iconic, we’re in.

Each episode is two Gen X mates diving into studio sessions, producer chaos and band drama plus the joy of taped-over cassettes, dodgy car stereos and sitting on the floor with a record sleeve.

We nerd out when we should: Albini vs Vig, room-miked vs close-miked,
Neve consoles, dynamic-range disasters and those “how did this get approved?” moments.

If you grew up when albums were events, this is your place. Some weeks it’s an old favourite; other weeks it’s something you abandoned in ’94. Either way, Riffology’s here to talk rubbish, tell stories and remind you why these records mattered.

When Running Out of Time Turns Into Your Biggest Ever Hit

Hosts: Neil & Chris
Duration: ~71 minutes
Release: Not scheduled

Episode Description

Neil and Chris dig into REM’s landmark 1991 album Out of Time, the record that accidentally turned a cult band into a mainstream phenomenon. Named in a last-minute panic when Warner Brothers rang demanding a title, the album somehow managed to sell over 20 million copies without a single tour date to support it. That’s either genius or extremely good luck, and the boys aren’t entirely sure which.

What strikes them most is how strange and adventurous the album actually is underneath those two massive singles. Mandolins, strings, saxophone, flugel horn, a guest rapper, and vocal duties shared around the band, this is a record that didn’t sound like anything else in 1991, sitting oddly alongside Nirvana, Metallica and Guns N’ Roses in a year dominated by big rock statements. And yet somehow it connected with everyone.

What You’ll Hear:

How Losing My Religion was never meant to be a single, Warner Brothers hated it, and the band insisted anyway
Michael Stipe’s improvised single-take vocal on Country Feedback and why it was never re-recorded
The album’s unusual recording locations including Paisley Park, Prince’s Minneapolis studio
Why Neil used to use this album and Automatic for the People as hi-fi demonstration records in audio shops
The rejected album titles including Imitation Crab Meat, Cat Butt and Trolling for Olives
Peter Buck’s mandolin playing, entirely live with mistakes left in, and why that matters

Featured Tracks and Analysis:

The episode gives particular attention to Losing My Religion, Country Feedback, Half a World Away and Shiny Happy People. Neil reflects on the album’s remarkable sonic quality across any playback system, from cheap earbuds to expensive separates, and both hosts note how the record flows beautifully despite containing songs that are wildly different in style, tempo and instrumentation. The shift away from driven electric guitars toward a more baroque, Americana-influenced palette is a central thread throughout.

Tangential Gold:

A lengthy detour into the price of vinyl at HMV Burton, Discogs as the only sensible alternative, and Leo’s orthodontist appointments as the catalyst for all of it
Chris’s college sound engineering years, learning to mix on gear that still sits in the corner of his old college gathering dust
Neil accidentally setting fire to an anechoic chamber at Loughborough University with a soldering iron
The great tangy Jelly Tots versus black and red Fruit Pastels debate, with thanks to listener Lynsey for the sweet delivery

Why This Matters:

Out of Time is one of those albums that sounds like it should not have worked commercially and yet became one of the defining records of the early 90s. Neil and Chris capture why it still resonates, not as a nostalgia piece but as a genuinely unusual, carefully crafted piece of work that sits outside the trends of its era entirely.

Perfect for: REM fans revisiting a classic, anyone curious about how a five-minute mandolin track with no chorus became a global hit, and listeners who enjoy thoughtful album discussion with a healthy amount of sweet-based digression.