Ricky Warwick teams with a rock legend and takes aim at fake salvation!
- Rock Metal Machine
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
RICKY WARWICK
Ricky Warwick has released the new single ‘Seek Zen Destroy’, which features legendary guitar player Phil Collen from Def Leppard on guitar and backing vocals. The track is taken from his forthcoming album Fire & Vengeance, which is coming out September 4th via Earache Records. The album will be available across multiple colour vinyl variants, signed editions, exclusive bundles and more, and is available for pre-order here.
The new single gives a nod to the 70’s funk and soul legends Warwick loves such as The Isley Brothers, Funkadelic and Earth, Wind And Fire but lyrically, "’Seek Zen Destroy’ is about the way control gets dressed up as comfort.” Ricky says. “The song takes a swing at hypocrisy, fear, fake salvation, and the modern habit of selling people peace while quietly robbing them blind. It starts with old-world repression, the idea that even joy and dancing can be policed, then pulls that same spirit into the present day, where spirituality, rebellion, identity, and even truth itself gets branded, packaged, and sold back to us.
“At its heart, it’s about people being fed fear, flags, excuses, and easy answers, while real freedom keeps getting pushed further out of reach. “Seek Zen Destroy” is the contradiction: everyone claims to be searching for peace, enlightenment, and meaning, but the machinery around us is built to divide, distract, and consume. It’s a song about trying to find something real in a world full of false prophets, stolen language, and beautifully marketed bullshit.”
‘Seek Zen Destroy’ follows the release of the explosive title track, which came out in May and the accompanying video captures the reality of life on the road - candid backstage moments, travelling, stage walks, live crowds and the grit and camaraderie that fuel Ricky Warwick & The Fighting Hearts night after night. Watch the video, directed by Mark Hylands, here.
Driven by raw guitars, defiant energy and Warwick’s unmistakable voice, Fire & Vengeance captures the spirit of resilience and rebellion that has defined his career for decades. The album also features special appearances from Phil Collen (Def Leppard), Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake / The Dead Daisies), Charlie Starr (Blackberry Smoke) and Darren Holden (The High Kings).
Speaking about the album, Ricky says, “I wanted to make an album that captures everything I love about rock’n’roll - its power to bring people together, to make us dance and connect with one another, even in a world that often feels consumed by fire and vengeance. At its core, this record is about finding hope and unity in the chaos.”
It’s a record that showcases a musician at the very peak of his powers, able to switch from tattooed blue-collar anthems to Stones-y balladeering and even the traditional Irish music that surrounded him growing up in County Down, Northern Ireland. Lyrically, he’s up there with the very best – a working-class poet whose songs combine the autobiographical, the observational, the political, the cynical and the heartfelt.
From fronting The Almighty and leading Black Star Riders to his acclaimed solo work alongside Ricky Warwick & The Fighting Hearts, Ricky Warwick has remained one of rock’s most respected and enduring voices and one of rock’n’roll’s last true rebels.
Having spent almost 40 years marching to no beat other than his own, Fire & Vengeance comes just 18 months after the #25 UK album Blood Ties, a record that saw Warwick return home to his native Northern Ireland after almost 20 years living in California.
Working quickly has given the 10 songs that make up Fire & Vengeance their undeniable energy. “I’m not one of those guys who needs to disappear into a cabin in the mountains with all this fancy gear,” Warwick says. “All I need is a room and a guitar, and the ideas come. It’s a working-class thing, something I had instilled in me when I was a kid.”
To celebrate the release, Ricky has just announced a nine date run of in-store shows in September before a full tour across the UK and Ireland in November.
Ricky adds, “I cannot wait for you to hear ‘Fire & Vengeance’ in full. Thank you for rocking with me all these years - here’s to many more together!”
NEW ALBUM
FIRE & VENGEANCE
OUT SEPTEMBER 4TH VIA EARACHE
PRE-ORDER HERE
IN-STORE TOUR – SEPTEMBER 2026
Sun 6 Sept Crash – Leeds
Mon 7 Sept Jacaranda Baltic – Liverpool
Tue 8 Sept Assai – Glasgow
Tue 8 Sept Assai – Edinburgh
Weds 9 Sept Beyond Vinyl – Newcastle
Thurs 10 Sept Rough Trade – Nottingham
Fri 11 Sept Rough Trade – Den, Street
Sat 12 Sept Bacchus – Kingston
Sun 13 Sept Vinilo – Southampton
FIRE & VENGEANCE TOUR – NOVEMBER 2026
Thu 5 Nov Limerick – Dolans
Fri 6 Nov Dublin – Grand Social
Sun 8 Nov Belfast – Limelight 2
Tue 10 Nov Edinburgh – La Belle Angele
Wed 11 Nov Wolverhampton – KK’s Steel Mill
Thu 12 Nov Nottingham – Rescue Rooms
Fri 13 Nov Manchester – Gorilla
Sat 14 Nov Newcastle – Anarchy Brew
Wed 18 Nov Southend – Chinnerys
Thu 19 Nov London – 100 Club
Fri 20 Nov Norwich – Waterfront
Sat 21 Nov Cambridge – Mash
Sun 22 Nov Bristol – Thekla
Wed 25 Nov Portsmouth – Kola
Thu 26 Nov Trecco Bay – Planet Rockstock
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