Get new Skunk Anansie album The Painful Truth on white splatter vinyl, exclusively through Classic Rock

Skunk Anansie vocalist Skin in 2025, next to a vinyl copy of new album The Painful Truth
(Image credit: Rob O’Connor | Frontier)

Skunk Anansie have announced their long-awaited new album The Painful Truth, and you can get it on white splatter vinyl exclusively through Classic Rock.

The British rock icons will put out their first LP in nine years on May 23 via Frontier Records. You can pre-order your exclusive vinyl to ship on that date now through the Louder webstore – and there are only 300 copies in stock, so act fast!

Vinyl copy of new Skunk Anansie album The Painful Truth

(Image credit: Future)

Skunk Anansie formed in London back in 1994 and quickly became figureheads of the UK rock scene. Their debut album, 1995’s Paranoid & Sunburnt, mixed alt-rock melodies with the urgent messaging of punk and reached number eight on the British charts. It also cracked the top 20 in four other countries.

The even more in-your-face Stoosh doubled down on that success, spawning the band’s three highest-charting singles: All I Want, Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good) and Brazen (Weep).

Since then, led as always by uber-charismatic frontwoman Skin, Skunk Anasie have retained their status as one of their country’s most successful rock acts. In 2004, they were recognised in The Guinness Book Of British Hit Singles & Albums for spending an overall 142 weeks in the charts, and they continue to tour.

The band will precede The Painful Truth’s release with a tour of the UK and Europe that starts at the Coliseu Porto Ageas in Porto, Portugal, on February 28. They’ll then hit the British and European festival circuit from May through to August. See all dates and details via their website.

Earlier this month, Classic Rock’s sister mag Metal Hammer interviewed Skin, and she offered a very unfiltered take on social media hate, which the band address in The Painful Truth single An Artist Is An Artist.

“We are the creators, and sometimes you guys need to [shut the] fuck up and enjoy or not enjoy,” the singer stated. “But you don’t also need to comment and destroy the artist and take something away from the artist. And you don’t need to put out your first ignorant thought and write that down as a comment.”

Vinyl copy of new Skunk Anansie album The Painful Truth

(Image credit: Future)
Matt Mills
Contributing Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Prog and Metal Hammer, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Guitar and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.