Back in 2022, Detroit proto-punk legends MC5 announced that they’d be releasing their first album in 51 years, Heavy Lifting, that year. That didn’t end up happening, and since then band leader Wayne Kramer and drummer/last surviving member Dennis Thompson both passed away, and now the band says it’s officially coming out on October 18 via earMUSIC (pre-order) and new single “Boys Who Play With Matches” is out now. Listen below.
The album features contributions from both Wayne and Dennis, the former of whom co-wrote 12 of the 13 songs alongside vocalist Brad Brooks, who joined the band in 2022. It also features appearances from Tom Morello, Slash, Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath, Living Colour’s Vernon Reid, Alice In Chains’ William Duvall, and more.
There’s also a bonus edition of the album that features previously unreleased live recordings from the 2018 MC50 tour that featured Wayne Kramer with guitarist Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), drummer Brendan Canty (Fugazi), bassist Billy Gould (Faith No More), and vocalist Marcus Durant (Zen Guerrilla).
The album’s producer, Bob Ezrin, said, “It’s very heavy. It has a revolutionary message but also a good sense of humour. There’s a little bit of heavy metal. There’s quite a bit of funk. But it is a heavy record, and it’s a guitar record left, right and centre.”
“Just a wall of guitars most of the time, and mostly driven by Wayne and his ethos. It’s a snapshot of a guitar man at the height of his powers. We all feel a responsibility to make sure that his work is heard, and he is celebrated. We poured our hearts into the project.”
The day after the album comes out, MC5 will receive the Musical Excellence Award from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Tracklist
1. ‘Heavy Lifting’ (feat. Tom Morello)
2. ‘Barbarians At The Gate’
3. ‘Change, No Change’
4. ‘The Edge Of The Switchblade’ (feat.William Duvall & Slash)
5. ‘Black Boots’ (feat. Tim McIIrath)
6. ‘I Am The Fun’ (The Phoney)
7. ‘Twenty-Five Miles’
8. ‘Because Of Your Car’
9. ‘Boys Who Play With Matches’
10. ‘Blind Eye’ (feat. Dennis Thompson)
11. ‘Can’t Be Found’ (feat. Vernon Reid & Dennis Thompson)
12. ‘Blessed Release’
13. ‘Hit It Hard’ (feat. Joe Berry)
Additional Tracklisting (2CD/2LP):
1. ‘Ramblin’ Rose’
2. ‘Kick Out The Jams’
3. ‘Come Together’
4. ‘Motor City Is Burning’
5. ‘Borderline’
6. ‘Gotta Keep Movin”
7. ‘Future/Now’
8. ‘Poison’
9. ‘Shakin’ Street’
10. ‘Sister Anne’