There are stars aligning, and then there are cosmological convergences threatening to reshape universal fabrics. Yungblud is currently in the midst of the latter.
It’s much, much more than just ‘a good year’; if anything, 2025 might be the most important year of Yungblud’s career. And that’s not even including Idols as a pivot to Britpop and alt-rock that cleared the entire rest of his catalogue. No, what will come to define Yungblud going forward is his appearance at Back To The Beginning, Black Sabbath’s final extravaganza where his cover of Changes kinda brought the rock world to its knees. Suddenly, punk’s performative child-minder was legitimised wholesale in the eyes of true rockmen, becoming friends with and heir apparent to Ozzy Osborne himself. You can argue he’s been milking that, but, like…wouldn’t you? If the architect of heavy metal as we know it today invited you that tightly into his inner circle, you too would be screaming it from the rooftops at every chance you got.
And when you think of it, that’s basically the premise of One More Time. Yungblud has the clout now to fraternise with some of the biggest and most legendary names in rock history, so why not get some quick use from it? This doesn’t need to be good; it existing is enough. Plus, no one expects any great shakes from Aerosmith in late 2025. Their last album, Music From Another Dimension! in 2012, was no good, so if nothing else, a sensible team-up like this can go towards lifting them out of the boomer-rock quagmire for a little while. Steven Tyler was basically like the Yungblud of his day, anyway—a larger-than-life yeller with an enormous gob to facilitate said yells.
A word of note, first and foremost: don’t expect any sort of bipartisan collaborative effort. This is plainly an Aerosmith work with some extra Yungblud added in. Thus, the creative direction is absolutely on brand for a band in their 55th year of existence—hard rock with some liberally-slathered-on gloss on My Only Angel; a country-flavoured pivot on Wild Woman that’s none too surprising; and a remix of one of their classics (in this case, Back In The Saddle) to simultaneously yearn for the good old days and self-affirm that they’re still up to snuff. The lyrics, too, are digestible classic-rock balladry that neither singer finds too strenuous. For Yungblud, he tends to punch higher than this as a standard; for Tyler…well, the triple threat of Cryin’, Crazy and Amazing is a bar that’s not just casually knocked over.
The likelihood is that One More Time won’t contain your new favourite Aerosmith or Yungblud song. Hell, it’s up for debate whether or not it’s even more than the sum of its parts. But it’s also the kind of vanity project that’s so harmless in its intent that it’s impossible to feel ill will towards. It’s the benefit of being an EP, as a lightweight, self-contained release that can be separated from both collaborators’ usual calibres. In that light, it’s kind of fun to hear Yungblud play a more archetypal hellraiser on Wild Woman, or just bark and scream himself silly over a mighty Joe Perry solo on Problems. He also holds his own generally well on Back In The Saddle, made more impressive when considering it’s a remix, not a re-recording, so this is prime Steven Tyler he’s pitted against. There’s no act of heresy committed upon the original classic, no matter what some fans may bellyache.
Granted, when that’s in such close quarters with the crustier, creakier, 77-year-old Tyler of today, you can’t not notice the difference. Those shrieks are coming from a much younger man, clearly. And while there is the same temptation to razz the old guard that comes from most new releases like this, ultimately, the low-stakes, almost jammier feel of One More Time leaves it less warranted. For what’s required—and when there’s someone else with the same repertoire to pick up the slack—it’s alright. And that’s the attitude that benefits this EP the most. Again, it’s totally throwaway and really only here to show off how stuffed Yungblud’s address book has gotten, but that’s a purpose it serves well. If nothing else, it’s taken Aerosmith out of their decade-plus-long dry spell, and in a way that’s sufficiently decent for this far in. Maybe Yungblud really is the next rock god; he’s working miracles already.
For fans of: Aerosmith, Yungblud (ish), the idea of a combination of the two
‘One More Time’ by Aerosmith & Yungblud is out now on Capitol Records.
Words by Luke Nuttall
