The Arctic Monkeys released their third album, Humbug, last week and it’s just ok.  Multiple songs don’t jump out at you when you first listen to the record, which makes it seem like it’s going to be difficult for the band to find a second single.

But the Monkeys’ first single off Humbug is a song called “Crying Lightning” and it’s fantastic.  It mixes the band’s punk style with Josh Homme-influenced guitar sounds and Alex Turner’s witty lyrics.  Most importantly, though, it features another outstanding performance by drummer Matt Helders, who is one of the best drummers in the world.

If you’re looking to watch a live performance of “Crying Lightning”, check out their Big Day Out performance.  If you’re interested in listening to Humbug in its entirety, I would say to go on YouTube or one of the 1,000 music streaming websites to get a taste before you purchase the CD.

Let me know what you think.

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.

The Arctic Monkeys were forced to leave the stage during their first festival on their current tour to promote their third record.

The British band were mid-way through their set at Open’er Festival in Poland on July 2 when, all of a sudden, the sound on the main stage completely shut off.  The band didn’t realize they didn’t have sound because their monitors were still fine.

A few moments later, the band figured out that the sound had shut off completely on stage and they were ushered off for 10 minutes while the problem was fixed.  According to officials at Open’er Festival, the problem was with the Monkeys’ sound board.

The Monkeys returned to chants of “Arctic Monkeys” by the crowd and blasted into “If You Were There, Beware”.

The Arctic Monkeys’ set was also memorable because they played four new songs off their upcoming third album, which was produced by Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme.  For more about the band’s set, including the complete tracklisting, check out NME.

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Arctic Monkeys are putting the final touches on their third studio album, which was produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme.  By collaborating with Homme, it seems like Alex Turner and the rest of the Monkeys were looking to evolve and record a much darker record. They even drew inspiration from Black Sabbath.

“We went to Latitude, ripped it up, wrote on our faces and eventually wrote some songs,” frontman Turner said to NME. “We spent the first day there on the most complicated riff you’ve ever heard.”

The band’s new record will be much more aggressive, Turner says: “It [the riff] goes round in seven-and-a-half-time. We used it in the end, it’s on an intro. It was like Black Sabbath.”

I’m pumped for the new Arctic Monkeys record; how about you?  Expect a new Monkeys record at the end of August.

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This post was written by Eric Van Dril.  For more of his writing, check out RipcordNews.com.