Music critics once argued about the album "Howl". Two decades later, BRMC are dedicating a tour to the album. In November 2025, the band will be making a guest appearance in Zurich.
BRMC stand for uncompromising, dark rock that is somewhere between garage, blues and shoegaze. Since their formation in 1998 in San Francisco, Robert Levon Been and Peter Hayes have consistently developed their sound. They borrowed their band name from a motorcycle gang from the 1953 Marlon Brando cult film "The Wild One" - the "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club" is the gang that Brando's character belongs to.
The band's first two albums - "B.R.M.C." and "Take Them On, On Your Own" - were committed to classic Led Zeppelin-influenced hard rock, mixed with some slower pop influences. This was followed by the departure from Virgin Music, the separation from drummer Nick Jago and finally the groundbreaking album "Howl" in 2005.
"Howl" divided the music critics. The album marked a clear break in style for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, as the musicians turned away from their previous garage rock and focused more on folk, blues and Americana. Many critics praised this bold step as an innovative development and saw it as a revival of the band. Others saw the album as boring or as a desperate attempt to save their career with acoustic songs that were more like B-sides. Either way, the songs on "Howl" are characterized by reduced arrangements, polyphonic vocals and a dark, introspective mood.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the album with the current "20th Anniversary Tour". Straightforward and direct, the band does not deliver a show for the mainstream, but for everyone who appreciates honest, raw rock.
The concert on November 27, 2025 at the X-TRA offers a rare opportunity to experience the band in an intimate atmosphere - reduced to the essentials: Music, attitude and intensity. Advance tickets go on sale on May 9, 2025 and Live Club members can secure their tickets from May 7.