CREDIT: BROOKS REYNOLDS
Big Wreck is coming back to London, bringing along with it a new album called Ghosts. The band will be playing at London Music Hall on October 9.

I write about random things a lot. I write a lot about random things. We have a rich history here in London of some spectacular live music events and festivals, countless unforgettable memories as tied in to our scene and its monuments as anywhere in the country.

Usually it’s impossible to know in advance when something so memorable is going to happen, however, when it comes to live music, we typically have a few safe bets and hot tickets roll through the city per year. Next week’s show at the London Music Hall featuring Big Wreck and Royal Tusk promises to be one such event, so consider this to be your invitation to a memorable concert experience.

The consensus the last time that Big Wreck played the London Music Hall was that the band was a knockout, with guitarists Ian Thornley and Brian Doherty in particular putting on an absolute clinic – the level of technical skill on display and sonic palette at their disposal made for an unforgettable show.

Of course, it was on that kind of rock and roll show that Big Wreck first made their reputation when they first formed back in 1994. Thornley and Doherty first met at the Berklee College of Music in the Boston area, forming a musical kinship with then members Dave Henning and Forrest Williams. The band released its debut album in 1997, which did well on both Canadian and American rock charts.

Even after the band separated, it was that chemistry between the guitarists that sparked the latest iteration of the band. They reconnected a couple of years back and soon Doherty was filling in on stage, inspiring a national tour featuring a combination of the two acts that would soon merge into the band we know today.

Released this past June, Ghosts is the latest album and newest chapter in the band’s history. The band demonstrates that it has a deep reserve of material and the chops to back it up, even more than was the case with 2011’s Albatross, this new album benefits from the strengths of the support cast – guitarist Paulo Neta, bassist Dave McMillan and dummer Chuck Keeping – as they explored archived ideas and concepts together as a complete unit.

“I’ve never really been like, ‘okay, time to go write an album!’” Thornley said, reflecting on the early stages of the album. “I’ve always stockpiled ideas and things that I’m working on, sometimes just snippets or a sort of framework. A riff, or a change here or there. If I’m not touring I’ll start working on these ideas and taking them further and further.”

“Some of them grow up to become songs ... we go digging through that stuff and decide, which is the strongest and most authentic in terms of where we’re at or which speaks to us the most, then honing in them and trying to find out what [the songs] want to do, if you will.”

Ghosts is a powerful and fresh statement that captures the Big Wreck sound we love – due in part to the return of producers Nick Raskulinecz and Eric Ratz – yet contains shadows of the band’s past. Many will harken it as a return to form, but Thornley says rather that the band simply gave the material room and time to grow naturally.

“Usually the best idea wins, you know? You have to be that way, it’s not about ego or anything like that,” he said. “It’s about what the song wants, it’s not what we want – what does the song want, and what is in my ability to reach for?”

In fact, the album and this new edition of Big Wreck have become more dynamic and precise than that former version of itself; the band that performed Edgefest ’99 in Barrie, Ont. was laid back and playful. A strong unit that brought something new to the game without question, but in contrast, today’s Big Wreck are a symphony, exhibiting the meticulous timing and explosive delivery of prog rock bands with a fraction of their numbers.

For more on Big Wreck or their latest album Ghosts, visit bigwreckmusic.com or follow @bigwreckmusic on Twitter. Their show on October 9 with Royal Tusk is 19- plus and tickets are $29.50 from ticketfly.com.

And for more of the latest music news, album streams and concert previews, follow this column on Twitter @fsu_bobbyisms. There are great concert options almost every night this week – treat yourself to a night out before you head home for Thanksgiving, you’ve earned it. I’m out of words.