![\"Brian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Brian-May-Dr-Brian-May-Guitarist-Astrophysicist-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
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Credit: Far Out \/ Denis Pellerin<\/p>\n
Fri 12 June 2026 8:00, UK <\/p>\n
Nothing that Brian May<\/a> ever did was supposed to be disposable. <\/p>\n His role in Queen was to help construct every single one of their songs until they sounded perfect, and even if they didn\u2019t always have the best instincts when following trends, there\u2019s hardly any of their songs that could sound any more perfect than they already did once May layered all of his guitars on top of everything. He was more than willing to transform his sound for what the song needed, but every single one of his favourite songs always came back to the heavier side of music.<\/p>\n You have to remember that May was the rock and roll force behind the group, and a lot of his ambition came from wanting to be a big enough band to make the kind of music that Led Zeppelin were making. There are certainly pieces of their songs that are Jimmy Page-coated<\/a>, but both Queen and Zeppelin were on the verge of making heavy metal years before it had a proper name.<\/p>\n Zeppelin and Black Sabbath were probably the closest thing to straight-ahead metal at the time, but Deep Purple tends to get overlooked when talking about the biggest names in the genre. There are still people who will drive Guitar Centre employees crazy every time they try to play \u2018Smoke on the Water\u2019<\/a>, but Ritchie Blackmore was so much more than the author of the simplest riff of all time. He was a guitar genius in every sense of the word, and you can hear him reaching for new things on every Purple album.<\/p>\n Then again, it\u2019s not like Blackmore wanted to go down every single road that Purple went on. Adding a soul element to their sound might have worked on the album Burn, but after working on Stormbringer, he needed a better outlet. He wanted the chance to make more moody music, and when he hooked up with Ronnie James Dio for Rainbow, he could also check \u2018power metal\u2019 off the list of genres that he invented when he came up with the riffs to songs like \u2018Man on the Silver Mountain\u2019.<\/p>\n But May always had a soft spot for when Blackmore worked with Graham Bonnett. The vocalist certainly wasn\u2019t the greatest fit for a band that sang about mythical beasts or anything, but since his entire plan was to get the band on the radio, \u2018Since You Been Gone\u2019 is the best pop song that Blackmore had ever played on. For purists, this was a major sell-out move, but as soon as May heard those roaring guitars, he knew that the song was going to be massive.<\/p>\n And given its inclusion in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, May was convinced that the song was going to be one of the quintessential guitar riffs years down the line, saying,<\/a> \u201cI love \u2018Since You Been Gone\u2019. It\u2019s uncompromising, and it has the perfect element of pop, which is you can sing it, and it\u2019s in your head all day. It\u2019s passionate, it has a real tug on your emotions. But Ritchie\u2019s in it, and Ritchie is powering the whole thing (on guitar). The under solo is just brilliant. They did the immortal version of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Further reading: From The Vault<\/p>\n Because when you think about it, pop was never a bad word for May, and when listening to a lot of the best riffs that Queen ever made, there\u2019s definitely a tip of the hat to Blackmore in some of his tunes. \u2018I Want It All\u2019 is the closest the band came to metal in their later years, and when they played their iconic Live Aid performance, you can definitely hear Blackmore\u2019s influence on \u2018Hammer to Fall\u2019<\/a>, which practically sounds like an inverted version of \u2018Since You Been Gone\u2019.<\/p>\n So while the song isn\u2019t exactly the heaviest offering from Blackmore, \u2018Since You Been Gone\u2019 is a classic example of what heavy rock can sound like when it\u2019s flirting with pop music. There\u2019s no greater thrill than hearing those roaring guitars, but sometimes it\u2019s better to have a song that\u2019s a bit more catchy than playing one riff after another. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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