Black Mountain

After six years away, Black Mountain return with what some might call their definitive album.

• The rock canon has many anti-heroes, Black Mountain being the latest. In the past, Can’s ‘Tago Mago’ established that the only rule in rock and roll is that there are no rules. Pink Floyd’s prodigious output in the 70s showed us that architecture can be cool, while delinquent proto- metallers Black Sabbath demonstrated that you can make a lot from not that much. Now Black Mountain teach us that you don’t have to be afraid of the past to move bravely into the future, defining what it is to be a classic rock band in the new millennium.

• ‘IV’ is an unapologetically ambitious record made by a group of musicians who are at the peak of their powers.