Earache Records [Release date 27^th March 2026]

For anyone who has seen Massive Wagons live, you will know that the band onstage is an unstoppable juggernaut with enough energy to power a medium sized town for a week. So, it’s quite a task to capture that live power on record, but ‘Live At The Great Hall’ does just that.

Recorded over two nights at the Great Hall in Lancaster University, a venue that had been unused for forty years, this was a celebratory homecoming for the band. The two shows sold out quickly and the fans in attendance were more than happy to provide the backing soundtrack to make this recording something special.

The album starts off with ‘Back To The Stack’ with a hyper Baz encouraging everyone to raise their drinks to the late and much missed Rick Parfitt. The guys then take things up a notch with a blistering rendition of ‘Pressure’ which charges along like an express train on greased rails, driven on by the twin guitar attack of Adam Thistlethwaite and Stevie Holl.

‘Tokyo’ then slows the pace a bit and the crowd get a chance to raise their voices on the chorus which they do with gusto. Crowd favourite ‘A.S.S.H.O.L.E’ follows with yet more audience participation and a disbelieving Baz waxing lyrical in the mid-section about their return home and playing in the Great Hall.

Adam then cranks out the unmistakable opening riff to ‘Missing On TV’ a song that proves beyond doubt the ability of the band to write a catchy, melodic masterpiece. Baz then advises the crowd to ‘Please Stay Calm’, advice they chose to ignore by the sound of things!

‘Fun While It Lasted’ and ‘The Good Die Young’, complete with another extended crowd participation section, keep things rocking along nicely before the guys lead us into the ‘House Of Noise’. This is one song that is a mainstay of any Massive Wagons live set and the Lancaster crowd sing along with every word.

One song that lives up to it’s name is ‘Bangin’ On Your Stereo’ which encourages you to reach for the volume knob and turn it up to 11. One of my personal favourites, the glorious ‘In It Together’, follows and really captures the spirit of the Lancaster shows. This song finds band and crowd in perfect harmony, especially on the intro as they sing along with Adam’s guitar parts, and is the perfect song to round out the main set

That just leaves an encore of ‘Nails’ to round out the album and bring things to a heavy rocking climax with no head left unbanged!

This is a fantastic album that really captures the essence of Massive Wagons live and in the raw. Anyone who has seen the band live will know exactly what went down in the Great Hall on those two nights in 2025, but if you have yet to have the experience then grab this album and find out what you have been missing.

Bangin’ On Your Stereo? You bet!

*****

Review by Dave Wilson

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

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April 12

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Power Plays w/c 16 March 2026

THE DEVIL WEARS NADA Brat With A Baseball Bat (Eonian Records)
ARANDA You Don’t Wanna Know (indie)
MYRATH Breathing Near The Roar (earMUSIC)
DELBHOY KENNEDY Sky’s The Limit (Flip Flop Records)
ALL THEM WITCHES Starting Line (BMG)
HER FURY Use And Abuse (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 16 March 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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