Album Review: Roger Waters – This is Not a Drill – Live from Prague

To simplify matters greatly – and at the inevitable risk of ironing over some important exceptions – it’s fair to say that when it came to Pink Floyd, Roger Waters was the primary lyricist. Guitarist David Gilmour, on the other hand, was that band’s musical center of gravity, combining a strong melodic sense, mellifluous voice and emotionally evocative guitar work.

Those two forces coexisted uneasily for much of the band’s post Syd Barrett run, 1968-83. The band split thereafter, and Waters and Gilmour’s mutual antipathy has long since ruled out any chance of reconciliation, musical or otherwise. Yet both men have continued on with distinctly different and creatively fertile careers post-Pink Floyd.

It’s worth noting that even if one considers the entirety of that band’s run (1965-94), in 2025 the post-Floyd era represents a lengthier period of time. But the quality of both artists’ work endures, each appealing to a different set of (sometimes overlapping) sensibilities.

Now in 2025, fresh off successful tours, both Waters and Gilmour have released live albums documenting their recent concerts. Both This is Not a Drill (released July 27) and The Luck and Strange Concerts (set for release October 15) are available as 2CD and 4LP sets; companion videos of both releases are also available but are not reviewed here.

Even against the backdrop of many previous live albums from Roger Waters and David Gilmour – not to mention Delicate Sound of Thunder, P.U.L.S.E. and four and a half other Pink Floyd live sets – both of their 2025 live albums should be considered essential purchases for those who appreciate their artistry.

First up – since it was released first – is a look at Waters’ new one.

Roger Waters – This is Not a Drill – Live from Prague
Viewed from one perspective, in recent years Roger Waters hasn’t given the world much in the way of new music. His most recent album of new songs, Is This the Life We Really Want? was released in 2017, more than eight years ago. Unless one counts Pink Floyd’s The Wall and The Final Cut as Waters solo albums (and some would make a case for doing so), he has only made four studio albums of new rock music under his own name. Prolific he is not. But dedicated fans – and almost certainly Waters himself – would argue in favor of quality over quantity, noting that his lyrics are among the most incisive and thoughtful in the rock idiom.

Waters has brought those lyrics and the messages within them to concert audiences the world over. Since leaving the band he co-founded, Waters has mounted seven tours. Many of those have been documented on albums or video releases; This is Not a Drill – Live from Prague is Waters’ fifth live album release.

Though This is Not a Drill presents a concert from the tour of the same name, it is quite different from his previous live album Us + Them. The 2019 release documents shows in Amsterdam and features a very different set list. In contrast, This is Not a Drill is a companion to the concert film of the same name, a remarkable movie in which the visuals are of nearly equal importance with the music. In fact, so central to the film’s power are the visual graphics – presented on a groundbreaking stage setup – that it’s fair to wonder if an audio-only configuration of This is Not a Drill holds up well on its own.

The answer is yes.

While the set list for This is Not a Drill features many familiar titles, Waters and his excellent band present the songs in new, inventive arrangements that recast his lyrics into often more visceral context. These new ways of delivering the songs don’t (and aren’t meant to) compete with the classic arrangements; in the same way that Waters created 2023’s The Dark Side of the Moon Redux, the smoky, seething version of “Comfortably Numb” that introduces the concert brings an enhanced, meditative quality to his words and music. The new arrangement’s use of “seagull” guitar – as featured on Pink Floyd’s “Echoes” – could be a very subtle nod (or even tiny olive branch?) toward Waters’ estranged Pink Floyd band mate David Gilmour. Or not.

Some of Waters’ less-known material figures into the show as well. “The Powers That Be” from 1987’s Radio K.A.O.S. was originally part of that idiosyncratic concept album about capitalism. But in the context of This is Not a Drill, the song takes on larger meaning, and fits seamlessly into the concert’s quasi-narrative. The same holds true for “The Bravery of Being Out of Range,” originally heard on 1992’s Amused to Death; its timeless themes resonate today, perhaps even more than on its original release. And “Two Suns in the Sunset” – easily the best track from the Waters-era Pink Floyd swan song The Final Cut – is nothing short of brilliant and breathtaking in its live version here.

The central concept at the root of This is Not a Drill might be summed up thus: of anti-fascism, anti-corporatism, anti-racism, pro-humanity. Those who don’t consider Roger Waters a sentimental sort might be surprised by “The Bar,” a piece presented in two parts, one mid-concert, the other near its end. Its inclusion marks some of the only new music from Waters, but once again, quality trumps quantity. The song’s message of community and shared purpose is among the most emotionally resonant and inspiring things he’s written.

Waters’ band – including guitarists Dave Kilminster and Jonathan Wilson – is never less than spot-on, delivering the songs with equal parts spine-tingling passion and precision. But save for Kilminster channeling Gilmour-like tones and textures at critical points, the band doesn’t ape Pink Floyd in style or substance. And that’s all to the good, helping make This is Not a Drill an enriching sonic experience that stands equally well with or apart from both its audiovisual counterpart and the catalog of Waters’ old band.

You may also enjoy my review of David Gilmour’s The Luck and Strange Concerts…