18 November 2025
Newsdesk
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC) is commemorating the 20th anniversary of their seminal third album, 'Howl,' with a special deluxe box set re-release, arriving on January 30, 2026, via PIAS. The news coincides with the band’s highly anticipated 22-date headline tour across the UK and Europe, their first since 2017.
Originally released in 2005, 'Howl' marked an unexpected and critical curveball for the band. Moving away from the dense, reverb-laden, guitar-driven noise that defined their previous work, BRMC embraced an altogether different sound, incorporating elements of folk, blues, and gospel music.
The shift was met with widespread critical praise, earning the album the No. 7 spot in Q Magazine's ‘Highest Rated Albums Of 2005.’ NME described it as "Steeped in country, folk and gospel, ‘Howl’ is a primitive cry from the heart of a distant Americana," while Spin commented that the scaled-back sound showed the group "doesn’t want to hide behind feedback any longer." The Guardian lauded the release, noting that "The songwriting and performances are consistently gripping."
The ‘Howl’ 20th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set is a collector’s dream. It features a 3LP set on white vinyl, including the original studio album, 'Howl Sessions,' and five previously unheard demos and alternate mixes. The set also contains a comprehensive photobook with over a hundred unseen photos from the Howl era, along with the original handwritten lyrics.
Other formats available include a 2x black vinyl LP set and a single CD of the original studio album.
The tour, which runs throughout November and December 2025, sees the band—Robert Levon Been, Peter Hayes, and Leah Shapiro—performing sold-out dates in cities like Copenhagen, Berlin, and London (Troxy on December 17th), bringing the spirit of 'Howl' back to the stage.
