The Answer

Blues-influenced hard rock band the Answer first formed in 2000 after guitarist Paul Mahon, an 18-year-old resident of Northern Ireland, enlisted the assistance of bassist Micky Waters to assemble a group. Waters already possessed extensive experience on the Belfast club circuit through multiple cover outfits, while Mahon had absorbed practical lessons about the music industry from his father, a longtime trumpeter in an Irish show band. Drummer James Heatley and lead vocalist Cormac Neeson completed the lineup.

Following an initial period of rehearsals and songwriting, the Answer began performing live in 2001 and secured a notable slot opening at Ireland’s Witness Festival in 2002. The band signed with the U.K. division of Albert Productions in 2005, leading to the June 2006 release of their debut album, Rise. The record received strong notices from Kerrang! and Classic Rock, posted solid U.K. sales, and achieved genuine success in Japan. After touring alongside Deep Purple, Paul Rodgers, the Rolling Stones, and the Who, the Answer issued a 2007 expanded edition of Rise that added a bonus disc of previously download-only tracks.

In 2008 the group maintained a demanding itinerary that included an appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival and support slots for AC/DC on the European portion of the Black Ice world tour. Between those commitments they traveled to L.A. to begin work on their second album, Everyday Demons, which appeared in 2009. They closed the year with a headline U.K. run and started recording their third album in early 2010. In 2011 the quartet released the concert DVD 412 Days of Rock ’n’ Roll documenting their AC/DC dates, then quickly followed it with the studio album Revival. New Horizon arrived in September 2013, and Raise a Little Hell followed in March 2015. After completing a U.S. tour in support of the latter, singer and lyricist Neeson welcomed a son born three months premature; the infant remained hospitalized for four difficult months before the family could bring him home, an ordeal that shaped the band’s next album, Solas, issued in autumn 2016.