Doing festivals means a lot of days off. Or rather, it doesn’t.

Following Rock am Ring, the band party headed off in a convoy of vans through quite the most dramatic thunderstorm I can remember since the Dubai show a few years back.

As the crew saunter down to Venice for a few days off, the fellas head back into the Beehive to give it some on a new track. I remember chatting to Rik Simpson at the end of the Viva recording about songs that came along late in the recording process – the last minute wonders.

Rik thought that it was probably something to do with the pressure being off a little, with the shape of the record being established and the urgency gone – but with the creative flow still very much in effect. Apparently some of the biggest tunes have come this way.

Maybe getting in front of a crowd and having a couple of great shows jolted something? Perhaps the relief of getting through the birthing of the show brought with it new inspiration?

Who indeed knows? But amidst the multitude of other jobs being done at the Beehive in the service of the new album, the walls in my office have been vibrated for the last three days by the sounds of the band thrashing through a new number.

Markus claims they’ve played this one straight and that it’s all the better for it. I have to admit I’ve not been in the main room at all these last few days – I’ve been tinkering with cameras, so I’ve actually as little idea as you as to what exactly it sounds like.

What I do know, however, is that you can say what you like about these fellas, but they ain’t shy of putting the hours in.

R42