Article
March 4, 2026
THOM
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Song 03: "What Lies Ahead" (3rd March 2026)

We've actually been waiting for the third Peter Gabriel track for o\i for three years. At least. Let us explain…

Bright-Side Mix
Dark-Side Mix
Bandcamp Version

The third track for o\i is surprisingly short. It has been known since 2014, when an unfinished version without any real lyrics was played at the last 12 concerts of the Back To Front Tour. Since the complete version was also performed a few times during the i/o Tour in 2023, many expected it to be released as a bonus track in the Bandcamp subscription on the last full moon of the same year. Apparently, however, Gabriel had other plans for the subscription and also for the song. So it is only now being released.

It takes a rather detached look at all inventors, at all visionaries who try to look creatively and tirelessly into the future. Who doesn't think of Gabriel's description of his father as a technical innovator who anticipated many developments early on? Gabriel also confirms this connection – and since it was Gabriel's son Isaac who came up with the beginning of the vocal melody, What Lies Ahead can certainly be considered a three-generation song.

However, Gabriel also points out that the song generally refers to people who want to creatively shape the world. For him, this also involves a certain spirituality.

Lyrics

The text remains quite associative. It makes fewer clear statements and creates more lyrical sketches.

The song consists of only two verses. The first draws us into a snapshot: on a hill, to a place of work, to a mast in the sky that catches lightning.

The second verse completely changes the situation, addressing a person with "you" who is described as "pulled from nowhere" and "forged in failure". It says that this person can see very clearly "what lies ahead."

Also the general theme is briefly touched upon again: "You now see the world now all connected, flowing as a brain."

All thoughts then come together in the final section, which movingly states: "What lies ahead is forming in your hands."

Artwork

On the image for What Lies Ahead intricate ornaments in dark red can be seen, revealing a depiction of a woman with her vulva very wide open. The title of the work is Birth Tear/Tear and it's by American artist Judy Chicago.

Born in 1939, she has been a pioneer of feminist art since the 1970s. Birth Tear/Tear dates from 1982 and is part of the Birth Project series, which is dedicated to different aspects of the birth process. Its grandeur, its violence.

Also significant is Chicago's installation The Dinner Party (1974-79), which highlights well-known women from mythology and history, or her Holocaust Project (1985-93), which depicts the genocide of the german Jews and the universal vulnerability of human beings.

Judy Chicago's website provides further insights into her decades of extensive work.

Birth Tear/Tear and What Lies Ahead are completely different in terms of the dimension of suffering and pain they tell. They also deal with a completely different way of bringing something into the world. Nevertheless, there is a strange connection – it makes the artwork suitable for Gabriel.

You can find out more about the o\i artworks and the artists behind them in our separate article.

Bright-Side Mix – 3rd March 2026

Written by Peter Gabriel
Published by Real World Music Ltd / Sony Music Publishing
Produced by Peter Gabriel
Mixed by Mark 'Spike' Stent
Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios
Engineering by Oli Jacobs, Katie May, Dom Shaw, Richard Chappell
Assistant engineering by Faye Dolle, Dom Shaw
Additional engineering by Stefano Amerio
Orchestral engineering by Lewis Jones
Orchestral assistant engineering by Tom Coath, Luie Stylianou
Recorded at Real World Studios, Bath and The Beehive, London, British Grove, London, ArteSuono Studio, Cavalicco (UD), Alfvénsalen, Uppsala, Sweden

Bass – Tony Levin
Trumpet – Paolo Fresu
Cello – Linnea Olsson
Backing vocals – Peter Gabriel
Vocals – Peter Gabriel

Orchestral arrangement by John Metcalfe, with Peter Gabriel
Choir arrangement by Dom Shaw, with Peter Gabriel
Violin – Everton Nelson, Richard George, Natalia Bonner, Cathy Thompson, Debbie Widdup, Odile Ollagnon, Ian Humphries, Louisa Fuller, Martin Burgess, Clare Hayes, Charles Mutter, Marianne Hayne
Viola – Bruce White, Rachel Roberts, Fiona Bonds, Peter Lale
Cello – Ian Burdge, Caroline Dale, Tony Woollard, Chris Worsey, William Schofield, Chris Allan
Double bass – Chris Laurence, Lucy Shaw, Stacey Watton
Choir – Orphei Drängar

Length 2:52

Available on Bandcamp

The Bright-Side Mix of the track certainly confirms that Gabriel wanted melody and harmonies to be the center, rather than groove, as is so often the case with him. In addition, What Lies Ahead derives its effect from its brevity, which comes across as almost radical.

Music

The structure of the song is simple. There are two verses, each with eight lines, two of which form a melody that is repeated in the following two lines. That's all, nothing more. No chorus, no bridge – just a separating instrumental section in the middle and a simple closing part.

The arrangement does not strictly follow the repetitive structure, but (once again) undergoes continuous development throughout. From the beginning with deep humming male choir voices, it moves on to plucked string additions and bass interjections, to lively accompaniment, and then back to lying lines at the end.

Gabriel's voice is very prominent, clear and, with its distinct reverb, also solemn.

The interlude is carried by the orchestra and overlapping cello figures. At first, the accompaniment remains exclusively in the lower registers. It is not until the second verse that the strings introduce higher notes and everything becomes more agile and intricate.

The overall impression of the piece remains soft and friendly, maintaining a melancholic mood throughout, but without descending into dark abysses.

Personnel

The idea to start with male vocals came from Brian Eno. The Swedish choir Orphei Dränga was chosen for this, which was also featured on This Is Home on i/o. Only briefly heard there, it now makes its real appearance here, creating an atmosphere that Gabriel describes as "strange, powerful, and emotional."

John Metcalfe once again contributed the orchestral arrangement, which remains modest but unmistakably bears his signature.

In addition to these two ensembles, only three other musicians are listed: Tony Levin contributes the distinctive bass figures. Then there is Linnea Olsson, who was already part of Gabriel's band on the Back To Front Tour. He says he really likes her warm style on the celloand so she was asked to play several layers for the interlude.

And then Paolo Fresu is mentioned once again. He can't really be heard, but he certainly couldn't be left out here. Gabriel became aware of him in 2020 when Fresu published a soulful instrumental version of What Lies Ahead online, which then prompted Gabriel to want him on i/o.

Gabriel also says that he deliberately wanted to do the song without his usual instrument, the piano.

Dark-Side Mix – 18th March 2026

Words and Music by Peter Gabriel
Published by Real World Music Ltd / Sony Music Publishing
Produced by Peter Gabriel
Mixed by Tchad Blake
Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios
Engineering by Oli Jacobs, Katie May, Dom Shaw, Richard Chappell
Assistant engineering by Faye Dolle, Dom Shaw
Additional engineering by Stefano Amerio
Orchestral engineering by Lewis Jones
Orchestral assistant engineering by Tom Coath, Luie Stylianou
Recorded at Real World Studios, Bath and The Beehive, London, British Grove, London, ArteSuono Studio, Cavalicco (UD), British Grove, London, Alfvénsalen, Uppsala, Sweden

Bass – Tony Levin
Trumpet – Paolo Fresu
Cello – Linnea Olsson
Backing vocals – Peter Gabriel
Vocals – Peter Gabriel

Length 2:54

Somewhat surprisingly, the Dark-Side Mix of What Lies Ahead was released on 18 March – 24 hours earlier than expected.

As this track dates back to the production period of i/o, and the two mixes were most likely already finished in 2023, the differences between them aren't quite as noticeable this time around. There are no divergent gimmicks such as fading or trimming of passages. The differences lie once again in the details, but they do make a difference.

Music

The overall structure of the traqck is, on the whole, identical to the Bright-Side Mix. Here too, it begins with just the male voices, followed by the addition of bass and plucked strings, a cello interlude, and the slightly more prominent string accompaniment in the second half. Yet everything is softer in this arrangement, blending together more seamlessly.

Levin's bass has a smother tone and remains more unobtrusive, as it does not stand out as much from the rest. The vocals are also significantly less prominent, set more broadly within the soundscape and appear consequently less loud. We saw a similar difference in the two previous o\i pieces already.

The cello interlude gives a more organised impression, as its various layers are more clearly distinct from one another. Incidentally, in the upper register during the second repetition, Fresu's trumpet can actually be heard here.

The string elements in the second half, meanwhile, seem less exaggerated, particularly the little flourishes that keep popping up. They, too, sound softer overall.

With What Lies Ahead, you almost get the feeling that the world has been turned upside down: whereas usually it's the Bright-Side Mix that allows all the elements to flow into one another, and the Dark-Side Mix that brings them to the fore and isolates them, here it's the other way round. This time, the accompaniment tends to form a unified whole. As a result, the Dark-Side Mix isn't quite as sharp in its effect. Nor is it quite as sweet. It seems more cohesive. Which in no way detracts from its emotional depth.

Bandcamp Version – 24th March 2026

Words and Music by Peter Gabriel
Engineering by Oli Jacobs, Katie May, Dom Shaw, Richard Chappell
Pre-production engineering by Richard Chappell
Produced by Peter Gabriel
Recorded at Real World Studios, Bath and The Beehive, London

Bass – Tony Levin
Trumpet – Paolo Fresu
Cello – Linnea Olsson
Piano – Tom Cawley
Keyboards – Peter Gabriel
Backing vocals – Peter Gabriel
Vocals – Peter Gabriel

Length 2:56

Just ahead of the rising crescent moon, the bonus version of What Lies Ahead is released. It is titled Bandcamp Version, which suggests it may have been created exclusively for this subscription.

Musically, it is an interim version that already contains much of the final version, but is also quite different in some respects.

Music

This Bandcamp Version begins very quietly. Just piano and a familiar-sounding, deep hum. Yet this is not the final choral singing, but largely a simpler vocal arrangement. The piano accompaniment feels delicate. Quite different from, say, the 2014 live version. This is surely also because it was recorded with Tom Cawley, a professional pianist who knows how to play his notes with just the right touch.

Interestingly, the instrumental passage between the verses is shared equally by the cello and a muted trumpet. Both play just a single part. Unlike in the final version, where the cello layers several parts on top of one another and the trumpet is merely just one element within that. Here, both instruments come into their own, complementing in perfect harmony. They also make a further appearance at the end of the second verse and in the closing section.

Thanks to this generally simple accompaniment, the song sounds quite different from the final mix. Softer, airier, more ethereal.

Personnel

The number of performers has also been scaled back. Most notably, there is no orchestra – and no male choir. According to the credits, the voices heard at the beginning (and occasionally later on) are exclusively Gabriel's. The Orphei Drängar ensemble is not yet featured, suggesting that the recordings with them were made after October 2022.

However, Linnea Olsson on the cello can already be heard (as yet only "recorded remotely", as it says) – and for the first time, Paolo Fresu's trumpet has also been included in the mix.

Choosing Tom Cawley to play the piano (he is, after all, already known from Scratch My Back and also from i/o) was a good decision. His contribution does not appear in the final mixes, because – as already mentioned – Gabriel deliberately wanted to do without his usual instrument for this song. It's nice that it can still be heard in this Bandcamp Version after all.

Video: live in Verona – i/o The Tour – 27 March 2026

Surprisingly, Gabriel released a live version of the track as a video. The clip was recorded in Verona in 2023 during the i/o Tour. It should therefore not be seen as a preview of Anna Gabriel's eagerly awaited concert film, as that was filmed in the USA. This is also evident from the footage, which consists almost entirely of close-ups and is presumably compiled from shots for the live screens. There were no additional cameras for wide shots of the stage or the venue atmosphere.

–

Author: Thomas Schrage

Links
Full Moon video for What Lies Ahead:

Song-background on petergabriel.com
Website of Judy Chicago
Paolo Fresu's instrumental version of What Lies Ahead (2020) on Youtube.

Discuss this track in our forum here.