A revolutionary rock band that is credited with being one of the earliest pioneers of punk music is releasing new music for the first time in decades despite none of the original members still being alive.
MC5 will release a new album called “Heavy Lifting” on Oct. 18, Ultimate Classic Rock reported. The project will mark the band’s first record in 53 years.
The 13-track album was spearheaded by the band’s founding guitarist Wayne Kramer, who died from pancreatic cancer in February, the outlet reported. The project will feature performances by original MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson, who died after a heart attack in May.
Producer by Bob Ezrin told UCR that the new album is “very heavy.”
“It has a revolutionary message but also a good sense of humor. There’s a little bit of heavy metal. There’s quite a bit of funk. But it is a heavy record,” Ezrin told the outlet. “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 first song off the album “Boys Who Play With Matches,” was released Thursday, June 6. You can listen to the new song below:
The full track list, per UCR, is as follows:
