Phil Collen, lead guitarist for Def Leppard, is readying the release on August 2nd of an album by Manraze – a trio he fronts along with ex-Sex Pistol Paul Cook and Simon Laffy. I had an early listen a few months ago and in my opinion, the record is brilliant.

What I wrote about it recently: “The intro chords come at you as if the ghost of Mick Ronson is being channeled from the rock ‘n’ roll heavens. Evoking glitter, glam, punk, and arena-ready metal, Manraze‘s ‘Over My Dead Body’ [on iTunes May 31st] seems familiar but also as fresh as a bite from a spider from Mars.

The new single from Manraze has a lot of people talking, and with good reason: instant classics are hard to come by these days. When you look at the group’s lineup, it’s no wonder that the forthcoming ‘punkfunkroostrock’ features a blizzard of authentic, gutsy, sparkling rock ‘n’ roll that harkens back to the glory days of the early and mid 1970s.”

When I left for the Arctic in June, Phil let me take a song with me – “Edge of the World” – I wanted to shoot some footage up there and cut it to this amazing piece of music. It just seemed like the proper thing to do, given the drama of both the scenery and the music. Here’s the piece: