When Feeder released Polythene back in 1997, their debut album which produced five singles that remain fan-favourites to this day, the Welsh group were hailed as the UK’s answer to The Smashing Pumpkins. In similar ways to Billy Corgan and co., it was Feeder’s mix of heavy metal and dream pop that made them stand out of the crowd, appealing to rock fans of almost every kind. It’s why, in the decades since, they’ve shared stages with everyone from U2 and The Rolling Stones to Queens Of The Stone Age and Slipknot.
Feeder’s new release Black/Red is their first-ever double album – and, much like mid-’90s Smashing Pumpkins twin-masterpiece Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, it takes listeners on a journey through hard riffing and kaleidoscopic reverie. As singer/guitarist Grant Nicholas explains, this is a band that still have plenty left to say…
“We’re lucky to have been going for 30 years and still feel creative,” he says. “I’m writing as much, if not more, in 2022 and then got cold feet, thinking we should just stick to a really good rock record. So I had all these ideas left over and more were coming. It felt like a body of work that belonged together, almost a trilogy in ways. It’s been one big journey!”
