Britain rules the (air)waves, as these great rock test tracks prove
FEATURE
Nobody rocks like the British. Beneath our mannered exteriors and illusions of refinement and reserve lies a single heart beating to the common rhythm of rock. Nothing tests a system like a great rock track, and we Brits’ natural inclination towards experimentation and progressivism lends itself perfectly to a rich culture of challenging, complex and often utterly bizarre musical output. For getting the best out of your speakers, you could do worse than our pick of great British rockers.
Foals Inhaler
A track that starts with a warping plucky guitar and fairly low-key vocals soon becomes a crashing, thunderous rock anthem with Yannis Philippakis practically screaming the lyrics over a truly addictive guitar riff. It’s an excellent way to test the dynamics and timing capabilities of your system thanks to its range of dramatic volume shifts and persistent drum beat.
Motörhead Ace Of Spades
At the core of this crunching beast of a tune is Lemmy’s over-driven bass guitar, locked in with the relentless drum hits and tenacious guitar riff. A good system will keep things knitted together even as the band sound like they are constantly on the very edge of a train wreck, such is the runaway sense of abandon the song conveys. It should be easy to pick out the clacking woodblock that accompanies the drums in the breakdown (what Lemmy referred to as the ‘tapdancing section’) and the off-kilter cymbal crashes, and you should pretty much be able to tell how many cigarettes Lemmy had smoked that day from the growling huskiness of his gravelly vocals.
Yes Owner Of A Lonely Heart
Rock isn’t all about screeching guitars and wailing frontmen (or vice versa), and here rock’s definition is stretched far across the musical spectrum. Trevor Rabin’s meaty guitar intro hints at a hefty rock workout before the almost disco-esque sensibilities take over. Into the mix come thumping drum sounds, almost incongruous samples and a relentless, bassy hook. Not only do you want everything to feel as though it has space amid the contrasting layers and textures, you need to make sure your system is keeping up with the funky, driving beat.
Queen Hammer To Fall
Despite their sometimes ludicrous theatricality and operatic influences, there is a Queen song for every situation – and chances are it’s a stone-cold belter. While we could have chosen from the dozens of cast-iron classics, Hammer To Fall hits you like a mallet to the cranium. Let your system lo
