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Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums

Uncover the details behind the most iconic albums ever recorded.

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Exploring the Creation of Def Leppard’s Hysteria def_leppard-hysteria
14 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Exploring the Creation of Def Leppard’s Hysteria

Neil Johnson 14 August 2024
Released on 3 August 1987, "Hysteria" by Def Leppard is a landmark rock album that shaped the...
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The Making of Among the Living – Anthrax’s Iconic Album anthrax-among_the_living
13 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Making of Among the Living – Anthrax’s Iconic Album

Neil Johnson 13 August 2024
Released on March 16, 1987, Anthrax's "Among the Living" is a pivotal thrash metal album, cementing their...
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Ace Of Spades: The Album That Redefined Metal motรถrhead-ace_of_spades
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Ace Of Spades: The Album That Redefined Metal

Neil Johnson 12 August 2024
Introduction In the annals of heavy metal history, few albums have left as indelible a mark as...
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Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast: A Metal Landmark iron_maiden-the_number_of_the_beast_(2015_remaster)
14 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast: A Metal Landmark

Neil Johnson 11 August 2024
Introduction In March 1982, Iron Maiden unleashed an album that would transform the face of heavy metal....
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Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness: Smashing Pumpkins’ Ambitious Masterpiece the_smashing_pumpkins-mellon_collie_and_the_infinite_sadness_(remastered)
14 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness: Smashing Pumpkins’ Ambitious Masterpiece

Neil Johnson 11 August 2024
Introduction On a chilly October day in 1995, The Smashing Pumpkins released an album that would shape...
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Rust In Peace: Megadeth’s Defining Thrash Legacy megadeth-rust_in_peace
13 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Rust In Peace: Megadeth’s Defining Thrash Legacy

Neil Johnson 11 August 2024
Introduction Every so often, an album emerges that reshapes the boundaries of its genre. In 1990, Rust...
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Reign In Blood: Slayer’s Game-Changing Album Explored slayer-reign_in_blood
14 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Reign In Blood: Slayer’s Game-Changing Album Explored

Neil Johnson 11 August 2024
Introduction Every so often, an album comes along that doesnโ€™t just push boundaries but rips them apart....
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Master of Puppets: Unraveling Metallica’s Pivotal Album metallica-master_of_puppets_(remastered)
15 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Master of Puppets: Unraveling Metallica’s Pivotal Album

Neil Johnson 10 August 2024
Released on March 3, 1986, Metallica's Master of Puppets is a seminal thrash metal album recognized for...
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Unveiling Megadeth’s Peace Sells: A Thrash Metal Revolution megadeth-peace_sells...but_who's_buying?_(expanded_edition_-_remastered)
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Unveiling Megadeth’s Peace Sells: A Thrash Metal Revolution

Neil Johnson 10 August 2024
Megadeth's "Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?", released on September 25, 1986, is a landmark thrash metal album that...
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Podcast Episodes

Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums Podcast
Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums Podcast

Welcome to Riffology, where a GenX and a Millennial talk about the albums from their youth. Itโ€™s more fun than it soundsโ€ฆ

RIFF059 – Stereophonics – Performance and Cocktails
byRiffology

In this instalment of Riffology, Chris arrives early and fully prepared, a development so shocking that Neil repeatedly checks he hasnโ€™t fallen into a parallel universe. They introduce Stereophonicsโ€™ second LP Performance and Cocktails, whose title came from a business card handed to the band at the bizarre New York club Shine โ€“ a haunt featuring trapeze artists wearing pigโ€™sโ€‘heads. Chris describes the record as a โ€œcomfort blanketโ€ and the pair recall it being one of the touchstones of their schoolโ€‘days, along with Eels and NOFX. They also reminisce about making tapeโ€‘deck radio shows as teenagers, a hobby that foreshadowed their current podcast.

Neil makes the case that Performance and Cocktails is โ€œone of the greatest sounding records.โ€ It is both huge and warm, can be cranked up in a car yet still reveals breathy nuance through headphones, and somehow remains coherent despite being recorded in multiple studios. The album was released on Richardย Bransonโ€™s V2 label, runs a lean 50ย minutes with thirteen tracks, and was produced by Steve Bush and Marshallย Bird. It sold 1.7ย million copies even as Napster ushered in the age of free downloads and propelled the Welsh trio from club dates to arenas. The hosts note how Kelly Jonesโ€™ gritty vocals, Richard Jonesโ€™ bass and Stuartย Cableโ€™s drumming are augmented by producer Marshallย Birdโ€™s keyboards and Astridโ€™s backing vocals. They also relay how Scarlet Page shot the cover photograph beneath Londonโ€™s Westway, with model Lucy Joplin posing after a long night of absinthe and opium.

As usual, the conversation meanders. Between facts, Chris and Neil ponder why Radioย 2 suddenly plays Ozzy Osbourne, debate whether โ€œpostโ€‘Britpopโ€ is an actual genre, and recall how Napster made everyone stop paying for music. A midโ€‘show tangent sees them visit Yorkโ€™s Jorvik Viking Centre to admire a fossilised human poo in a glass cabinet and discuss the educational merits of taking their children to train museums. Later they imagine a future AI scraping their podcast and mistaking their nonsense for historical fact. The episode ends with some gentle ribbing about their blog, the smell of the Northern Line and whether the Hyperloop will ever rival 1990s tiltโ€‘trains. Dry humour and affectionate digressions keep the tone light while the hostsโ€™ admiration for the album remains clear.

RIFF059 – Stereophonics – Performance and Cocktails
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RIFF059 – Stereophonics – Performance and Cocktails
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RIFF058 – Carcass – Heartwork
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RIFF057 – Black Sabbath – Paranoid
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RIFF056 – Oasis – Definitely Maybe and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory
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RIFF055 – Terrorvision – Formaldehyde
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RIFF054 – Feeder – Polythene
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RIFF053 – Manic Street Preachers – Everything Must Go
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RIFF052 – Ash – 1977
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RIFF051 – The Wildhearts – Earth Versus The Wildhearts
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RIFF050 – Gun – Gallus
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