If 2024 was a busy year for Massive Wagons, that will seem nothing compared to 2025. Picked by several MetalTalk team members as ones to push on even further, their album, Earth To Grace, was described as “out of sight from every other rock album released this year.” Before Christmas, Steve Ritchie caught up with Adam Thistlethwaite as, from packed UK venues to European tours, Massive Wagons gear up for an unforgettable year.
There is an obvious comrandrie within the Massive Wagons camp. The live social media stream of them playing Dominoes on the road had me querying their rules, and the initial shuffle had me flummoxed. “It got pretty heated.” Adam laughed. “We had a bit of a tournament and it got ugly at one point. But, you know, we’re all friends again now. It’s only dominos at the end of the day.”
They can take any Domino-based frustration out on the stage if required.
“We’ve had a really busy year,” Adam said as 2024 was closing. “This year has been all kinds of shows. A lot of festivals, big and small. A couple of European tours, our own headline European tour in small clubs. A supporting European tour in bigger clubs and venues and now our own UK headline tour.
“We’ve done all kinds of things. I’ve definitely noticed that we seem to have hit a new level of tightness going into this tour. Whether people are picking up on that or not, I don’t know. But I had a few comments saying that we’re sounding better than ever. We just feel very confident at the minute. That’s probably the word I would use to describe how we feel about the live gig stuff at the minute.”
MetalTalk’s Georgia covered the Bristol show. She said it’s impossible to be in a bad mood when Massive Wagons are playing. It must be inspiring for Adam on stage to see all these people smiling back at him while they are having such a great time.
“Absolutely,” he smiles. “That is genuinely a great feeling when you see that you’ve visibly making people have a good time. The set that we’ve chosen for this tour is quite a good time set. It’s quite upbeat and up-tempo, and we did that deliberately. There are a few serious moments, but they’re dotted here and there. But the main vibe is really just having a good time and a party. We’ve got the light show to match. It’s really good at the minute.”
I saw them in Norwich at Epic Studios around this time last year. That was a full house, and everyone smiled. As he has seen the venues get bigger over time, does that give Adam and the band more confidence when it came around to writing Earth To Grace?
“That’s a really good point,” Adam says. “This was the first album we wrote knowing that we’re gonna be playing it, in the UK anyway, in thousand capacity venues and some beyond. It’s definitely made us think bigger.
“Also this time round, with the album production, I guess it was a little less dense than previous albums were, if that makes sense. It’s more easily replicated live to sound like the album. There were not as many guitar layers. It’s just one guitar left, one guitar right. Maybe some stuff going on in the chorus, but really not as much as on previous albums.
“I think the songs on Earth To Grace automatically translate better to the live environment and sound more like that. Maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe the album sounds more like we sound like live? Maybe that’s the more accurate way to put it.”
Either way, it is a really cool way of describing the dynamic, the sound and the energy. It’s such a beautiful album. How does Adam approach riff and songwriting? When on tour, is he a dabbler? Does he have a stock of work in progress parts?
“That never stops, to be honest,” he says. “I haven’t done any serious writing since we stopped writing Earth To Grace. I’ve not sat down and recorded any demos or committed anything to the other lads or anything like that. But I do have a mental stockpile of ideas. A few ideas have gone quickly down on the phone.”
Now they have a bit of time away from live shows, January gives Adam time to get a few new ideas down. “There’s no pressure,” he smiles. “They’ll probably all be rubbish, but you gotta get them out of your system.”
Given the last few years, the partnership with Earache Records has worked really well. “They’re the record label, so they obviously have a massive investment in the music,” he says. “I guess it’s more of a collaborative process. They have ideas, we have ideas, and we generally both have to agree that an idea is a good one in order for it to proceed. There’s no dominating presence in that relationship.
“We’ve done four albums with them now. I’m not sure what’s gonna come next because that’s all we were contracted for. We’re not really sure what’s coming next. But we’ve kind of done our time with them. It’s been six great years and four albums. We’ve gone from being a tiny club band to selling out Rock City and playing Shepherd’s Bush Empire. It’s good. It’s been a really interesting time for the band. We’re focusing more on Europe.”
The last tour was great. Venues were packed, and the package with Florence Black was an awesome one, as they’re a great band to see live as well. “We love those guys,” Adam says. “They got serious ballsy music and they were a good laugh. We’ve crossed paths with them loads over the years and we’ve always said we should do a tour together.
“In all honesty, when this one came around, because their profile is raised significantly, I wasn’t sure if they would really be up for supporting us. But amazing. We’re very grateful that they took the opportunity. It’s just a perfect fit.”
Cam Cole opened the tour, “totally unique, totally different, and it just creates a really solid night from start to finish. Like you said, people going away with big smiles on their faces.”
One thing really cool with Massive Wagons is the way they interact with their fans. It’s not just social media, they take the pre-show meets very seriously. They have in-stores where you bring the mad stuff for them to sign, which looks great fun.
There are the more serious aspects with AndyManClub. There always seems to be something going on with Massive Wagons.
“Well, we’ve got our management really to credit that to,” Adam says. “Terry’s always coming up with great ideas to collaborate with all these different people and keeping us busy. We’ve always taken that genuinely seriously. The relationship with fans, people who like the music, some of them have become friends, I would say, over the years. We don’t take any of that for granted.
“So if there’s any time in the day, like we’re here anyway. I’m not gonna lie. The pre-show, we call it the grand package, is a bit like a VIP golden ticket type thing. But we price it, I think, very fairly and try to offer genuine value for money. It lasts an hour.
“It’s not a handshake and a picture, and then off you go. We play some songs, and we spend some time talking, and then we’ll sign anything that anyone wants. They can get to the merch before anyone with no queue. Then, they can stay in the venue so they can pick the right spot.
“They all sell out and no one ever grumbles about it. So, yeah, there’s stuff like that we take seriously, and it’s important.”
It is important. Massive Wagons do it very well, and they embrace how artists need to keep their name out there these days. People do not just buy the record any more. Now, they want to feel they buy into the whole experience.
“Well, that’s another good point,” Adam smiles. “People invest in the band, and it’s more than the music. They come and watch us, and they say such lovely things, and it’s hard to believe that you’re having this impact on people’s lives. They’ll spend two weeks of their holiday time, following you around being there. That’s how they want to spend their time, and it’s really touching.”
Massive Wagons have a bit of a break, then head into Europe in April and May. Before that, The Monsters Of Rock Cruise leaves from Miami in March. Does that sound as much fun as we think it might be?
“Yeah,” Adam laughs. “There are worse ways to spend a week than on a cruise ship. I actually don’t know the arrangements. I think we’re gonna do more than one show because the cruise lasts five days. I think we might be doing two or three gigs over the five days. I hope we are, to be honest. I hope we’re playing as much as possible.
“Then, as you say, we’re in Europe for three weeks. That’s another headline tour, kind of centralised around Germany because that’s such a great market and rock music over there is still very popular. There’s more of a presence in the media than pop culture. We’re also heading out into Austria, Hungary and Switzerland. It’s gonna be good.
“They’re dead fun these kind of tours because you scale down a bit in venue size and in audience size. But, you know, you get a few hundred people each at these shows, and they’re rowdy, and it’s good. It’s kind of exciting, too, because almost all of these people have never seen you before, and it’s great to go out and hopefully surprise a few people.”
You know that Massive Wagons are going to surprise more than a few people in Europe. I think it is going to be a collection of grand days out across all of 2025.
I would love to be a fly on the wall for those early shows. It would be a joy to be along for that ride.
