Cover Feature Rip it up and start again: Biffy Clyro

It was three short years ago that Biffy Clyro took on the biggest challenge of their careers so far, and strode defiantly on stage to meet the expansive crowds lying in wait as they headlined Reading & Leeds. It both feels like a lifetime ago and just a blink of an eye. Now, in 2016, they’re back on home turf - where it all began - getting ready to face their next challenge.

Hardened Scotsmen they may be, but after six months spent in Los Angeles, it’d be fair to say that the Ayrshire weather is taking some getting used to. The band have only just recently put seventh album ‘Ellipsis’ to bed over on the other side of the world, and the Scottish version of spring is, unsurprisingly, a little more nippy than California’s. They’re back at their base – a rehearsal space simply known as their “farm” in the middle of who knows where – and have already had one practice. The results were, let’s say, interesting…

“I mean, we were in here yesterday and we played through the entire new album…” offers frontman Simon Neil, who pauses to glance at his bandmates. “It sounded awful.” The trio erupt with laughter. “We’d been in the studio for six months and it all sounded amazing, there were so many beautiful textures, and then we came in here!” The comforts of home weren’t giving Biffy any illusions. “So, we got a wee fright yesterday!”

The band’s last record helped them reach a new peak: ‘Opposites’, a hefty double-album that wrapped up their second musical trilogy, was about as huge as they come. With a phenomenal touring schedule topped off with headliner slots at festivals worldwide, they found themselves playing to tens of thousands of people every night. By the time things slowed to a halt and they got back to the farm, it was a bit of a shock to the system.