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February 2026
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97 articles
- February 9
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- Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood wants his music removed from the much-mocked Melania Trump documentary
- "She’d be talking about a song with a really good guitar solo and demand we change it, make it heavier." The trailblazing metal singer who saved an influential band's career and inspired a generation of women in the process
- “We honestly thought that it couldn’t harm us. How wrong we were.” One of the biggest albums of the 1970s would have carried a 'thank you' credit for the band's drug dealer if he hadn't been murdered before the record was released
- The Black Crowes announce UK and Europe summer shows
- Rick Wakeman launches new weekly podcast with comedian Griff Rhys Jones
- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: February 9, 2026
- "What the heck were you thinking, dude? I would fall to my death." Maynard James Keenan has thoughts on Tool soundtracking that terrifying climb up one of the tallest buildings on Earth
- Disney+ review: An all-singing, all-dancing family streaming service with music docs and more
- "When you listen to The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Sabbath, Zeppelin...it would have ruined them!" The one thing from today's music that would have screwed up countless classic albums, according to legendary metal guitarist Zakk Wylde
- “As soon as I heard it, I thought, Yes, that's us, that’s Ozzy's voice." Listen to Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads and Bob Daisley play the blues on a rehearsal tape lost for 46 years
- "All of us are excited to return...with a few surprises in store." One of the biggest bands of the nu metal era just announced their biggest UK shows ever
- "It reminded me of the politics of fear, like we're doing today": How the LA club scene in the 1960s shaped American rock then sparked a revolution
- “The real 10 best albums in the world are lying on cassettes in someone’s drawer. They didn’t get released. It’s all luck”: How to beat fate by scrapping an album over a movie, relating to a suicidal joyriding pilot and feeling for flat Earthers
- "This is not their most exhilarating release, nor probably their absolute finest, but creativity is at an all-time high": Scorpions mix hard rock, pop and metal on the pre-stardom classic Taken By Force
- February 8
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- Immigrant Song, a lost cymbal and a suitcase full of cash: Rare footage of Led Zeppelin on tour in 1972 has surfaced online
- “I heard that Dylan came to hear us in London. I went, ‘Oh, no. Not now – you’re seeing me at my absolute worst’”: The overlooked blues-boogie icon who hung out with Bonnie Raitt, played with the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan and appeared at Live Aid
- “I originally picked the guitar because it was the most obnoxious instrument, but after a while I was like, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of power in this thing’”: Steve Vai gave Devin Townsend his big break in the early 1990s. Decades later they got back together
- “I didn’t realise just how prog Genesis were. I’m pleased I got to see them on their last tour”: When Rivers Meet’s Aaron Bond came late to the prog party
- “The idea came from The Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows. I just played it in a more violent way”: How Ringo Starr, Isaac Asimov and The Devil inspired one of rock’s greatest ever drum solos
- February 7
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- "It was an intense place to be for a gay man in that world." Faith No More's Roddy Bottum on hair metal
- 3 Doors Down frontman Brad Arnold dead at 47
- “I was surrounded by prostitutes, bikers and drug dealers. It wasn’t the ideal environment for anyone, but especially for someone in my position”: The incredible story of the man invented death metal – and cheated death in real life
- “It was amazing to hear keyboards with that kind of power. He really changed my life”: Jordan Rudess would have been a classical pianist if he hadn’t discovered this prog icon
- “Ronnie Van Zant ruled with an iron hand, but he and I never had a moment of confrontation. He let me take over the mic when a song suited my voice”: The Southern Rock legend who quit Lynyrd Skynyrd before they became famous – then rejoined 25 years later
- Here's how to watch Green Day's high voltage (and possibly controversial) Super Bowl 2026 opener from anywhere in the world: Times, streaming options, setlist predictions & more
- “Lars played me the whole song down the phone. He said, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘Are you kidding?!’”: The inside story of the greatest Metallica album Metallica didn’t write
- “He told me, ‘I bet you don’t remember being escorted out last night in a bulletproof bus, do you?’ And no, I didn’t”: The drunken onstage outburst that nearly sparked a riot – and inspired a thrash metal classic
- "I was on my own, out in one of the gnarliest neighbourhoods. You’re scared, thinking, 'How do I get out of here?'" How a song about living in a rat-infested squat helped turn Green Day into one of the world's biggest bands
- “It’s really eerie and mellow and it has pagan poetry on it. There are a couple of songs on there that are so beautiful in a kinda sad way”: The cult album that Evanescence singer Amy Lee wishes she had made – and the one that broke her heart
- "I have decided to take a break." Neil Young cancels upcoming European tour, saying "This is not the time"
- February 6
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- "There are no plans for any physical release of this recording." Steven Wilson announces new live album Impossible Tightrope and launches hi-res audiophile resource
- "This isn’t a contest. This isn’t a gimmick. This is your chance to join." Here's everything you need to do if you want to become the new vocalist for multi-platinum rockers Skid Row
- Ghost’s Tobias Forge says it was a relief when he lost his anonymity: “I can’t eclipse what Ghost is. I’m not interesting enough.”
- The 12 best new metal songs you need to hear right now
- "I have this memory of killing myself, blasting my head off, and then throwing the guitar at the amp over and over." The story behind the most intense song on the most ambitious rock album of the '90s
- “The BBC showed one minute and 10 seconds of it!” Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter: How a banned, censored and divisive single became Iron Maiden’s only UK number one
- “I guess people just don’t think like we do”: Maynard James Keenan thinks Puscifer are in the “third side-project category” but is happy on the side of the underdog
- "James says, 'Kill him!' This guy looks at the two of us and says, 'Who’s gonna kill me?' And James pointed at me." Dave Mustaine looks back on Metallica's wild early days
- "The idea of slowing down is unacceptable to me. I’d rather walk away than be a shadow of my former self." Twisted Sister cancel 50th anniversary reunion tour as Dee Snider quits due to health issues
- A lounge cover of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was “the creepiest thing” Ozzy Osbourne ever heard: “Which coming from him is the biggest compliment”
- Great new prog you must hear from Green Carnation, Magenta, Exploring Birdsong, A.A. Williams and more in Prog's Tracks Of The Week
- “I asked my mum to make me a costume, which I wore all around London. It tapped into the British sense of humour. There’s nothing more ridiculous”: If Death is a rabbit and you're on TV as a Womble, you’re probably Mike Batt
- Steve Hackett's on the front cover of the new issue of Prog, on sale now!
- "The title track features a blistering, grandstanding, once-in-a-lifetime vocal." Jay Buchanan is captivating and contrary on Weapons Of Beauty
- "It was a nightmare to mix, but we got it sounding raw and filthy." The Black Keys announce "primal" new album Peaches!, launch first single
- February 5
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- "I go onstage, I battle death, I die and I come back to life." From sword-waving rat queens to alpha bro-baiting metal singers, the new issue of Metal Hammer has four exclusive covers: Castle Rat, Sleep Theory, President and Paleface Swiss
- "If there was another way around this, I would swallow my pride and say, 'I was able to find some miracle cure.'" Heavy metal legend and Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine on why now is the right time to say goodbye
- "We are watching people be pushed out of their homes here in America, in Palestine, in Sudan, in Iran, everywhere." Turnstile reflect on their historic Grammy Awards triumph and vow to keep making music in solidarity with "voices that are buried"
- "Queen's music doesn't belong to Freddie. It doesn't even belong to Queen any more." Writer/comedian Ben Elton reveals why Robert DeNiro's dream of making a musical about Freddie Mercury's life was vetoed by Brian May and Roger Taylor
- "I was being bombarded with Madonna's image on TV." How a beloved rock band took aim at a pop megastar, sampled Simon & Garfunkel and ushered in a genre-mashing masterpiece with a 90s classic
- "It was this dream song that just turned up as I was waking up one morning. It came to me fully formed." The story of the cinematic classic that kick-started Bob Mould's second life
- "I'm a grownass woman. I’m a female in the world taking care of myself. I can do whatever I want." Femme Fatale singer Lorraine Lewis on relaunching the band, skydiving in a bodysuit and joining OnlyFans
- "It's intense back there. Everybody is nervous. And everybody's really emotional because we know it's the last time." Halestorm's Lzzy Hale on Back To The Beginning: The build-up, the show and the aftershow... and the loss of Ozzy Osbourne
- February 4
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- "There were no rules; ideas could come from anywhere: subtle drum loops, bits of organ or abstract guitar noise, even samples of frogs or crickets." Long-awaited Slipknot project Look Outside Your Window is finally being released
- "He looked at the lyrics and goes, ‘Rock ’n’ roll cocktail – I think I invented that!'" How Queens of the Stone Age got a metal legend to sing on a single US radio would not touch
- “We have the same management, and we both wear masks. Is that it?!” President vocalist blasts comparisons to Sleep Token as “lazy”
- "I started meeting all these really warm, nurturing moms in school…and that wasn’t what I was experiencing at home." The heartbreaking tragedies behind the rise of metal's latest sensations
- “They all chimed in, ‘We want some crazy Spanish guitar. Improvise!’ I thought, ‘I’ve bitten off more than I can chew’”: When Queen pressganged Steve Howe into appearing on Innuendo
- "If they ever approached me, of course I would have done it...but I'm kind of relieved they didn't." Mike Portnoy responds to rumours he was in the frame to join Rush following the death of Neil Peart
- Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson’s next album features Sepultura members and is being recorded at Dave Grohl’s studio
- “The email said, ‘John Cale is looking for you.’ It absolutely terrified me. I thought I was in trouble!” How the Velvet Underground icon voiced a powerful song on Cate Le Bon’s new album
- "When people hear my versions of pop songs, they're shocked. They never expect to hear Adele sound like that." Meet Solomon Hicks, the New York guitarist bringing the blues to a new audience
- “The lyrics were for people on the fringes”: He made a prog album to inspire positivity. Tragically, one song inspired the man who killed John Lennon
- "When Robert Plant introduced me I achieved closure. I had my song back for the first time since 1961." How Bonnie Dobson's post-apocalyptic first song finally found its way home via the Grateful Dead, Nazareth, Jeff Beck, the Allman Brothers and more
- "Not just a world-class guitar player but an all-around creative force." Nine Joe Bonamassa albums you should listen to, and one to avoid
- February 3
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- "This is far and away the best live version of Paradise City I've ever seen": Rare footage of Guns N' Roses playing live in 1987 surfaces online
- "Iʼm not doing it out of guilt. Even if I didnʼt do it, the poverty would still be there." How getting stuck in a "rut", some tempting by Bob Geldof and the most A-list bill in history helped Queen pull off the greatest rock set of all time
- "Having to resort to writing something like this is so embarrassing." The story behind the extremely controversial Nirvana song that almost got them banned and made a US President smash up his own daughter's CD
- "I shifted from Garbage, Radiohead and Silverchair to black metal." The classic 90s album that changed the life of the singer who'd go on to front one of her country's biggest bands
- "I miss Ukraine very much. I missed it even more when I realised that I cannot go back there." The Soviet-born heavy metal singer who had to flee war to make her rock star dreams come true
- "He was a big, burly dude who would go to the beach in a Speedo at 65 years old and hit on women with the most confidence you’ve ever seen." How the death of a loved one, pig squeals and TikTok helped crown a modern metal classic
- No rules. No limits. No quarter. Led Zeppelin: 18 months on the road with the biggest band in the world - only in the new issue of Classic Rock
- Deep Purple announce one-off show at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall
- "We have no use for a standalone singer who doesn't play an instrument, preening themselves like a rock god": Atomic Rooster guitarist Steve Bolton on reviving the band, changing frontmen, and John Entwistle's phallic number plate
- “The school would kick everybody out with hair that touched their ears. Someone on the board found out we were wearing short-haired wigs!” Steve Morse endured educational woes, dodgy gear and jazz snobbery, but knew he could make it as a guitarist
- "The aspects of America that are really magical to us are the things it seems to reject, like black music or the Beat poets": The story of the multi-version David Bowie song that captured his revulsion of American corporate dominance
- February 2
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- "Once you're comfortable in this space, don't overthink it, just enjoy it." A new recording studio at a historic English school has been named after Justin Hawkins
- "A one-man calamity, catastrophe. No trace of sanity, an empty shell": Queen's Roger Taylor releases surprise protest song Chumps and doesn't pull his punches
- "They're lining up six hours before the show. They just scream when you go out on stage as if it's Beatlemania." Nine Inch Nails and Korn love them and they might have invented metal's sleaziest subgenre. This is the story of Health
- New Metallica x Dr. Martens collection are Hardwired to impress… wherever you may roam
- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: February 2, 2026
- What the 2026 Grammys got right about rock and metal this year - and what they got very wrong
- "We've experienced the biggest loss we will ever go through." Kelly Osbourne reveals why the Osbourne family are "closer than ever" following Ozzy's death - and has an emotional reaction to the epic Grammys tribute starring Post Malone and Slash
- “We’re not flower children and we’re not yuppies. We’re somewhere in between – the Van Der Graaf Generation”: They had links to Jethro Tull, Voivod and The Cure. Did you really think Men Without Hats were all new wave and no prog?
- "There was no real sign that it was a big protest song, so most people listened to it and didn’t realise": The story of the anti-war commentary disguised as a four-minute pop song that set R.E.M. on the path to global success and stardom
- "Highly listenable background music." The Alan Parsons Project bake up the ear candy on Eye In The Sky like punk, NWOBHM and new wave pop rock never happened
- “We knew costumes wouldn’t be part of it. Phil wouldn’t have been good in a flower mask”: Peter Gabriel’s exit could have finished Genesis. Instead Phil Collins stepped up and they delivered prog classic A Trick Of The Tail
- February 1
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- "The community we found through punk and hardcore music has given us a safe place to swing in the dark." Turnstile win big in the rock and metal categories at the 2026 Grammys, Yungblud and Nine Inch Nails also winners
- "I was trying to make a butt sex joke and it was dumb." Maynard James Keenan regrets some of the lyrics he wrote on those early Tool records
- “We ended up getting really, really hammered and commanding the stage. We were terrible, but we knew there was something magical about it”: The US band who stepped out of Bon Jovi’s shadow to become hair metal’s last superstars
- "He asked me 'Do you have long hair? Are you willing to wear a dress and high heels? Are you willing to wear lipstick?' Those questions fascinated me." Peter Criss recalls his first conversation with Gene Simmons and the birth of Kiss
- “I had a conversation once with William Burroughs about trance music and riff music, and repetition”: Jimmy Page on the secrets behind his most iconic guitar solo – and the solo he found hardest to play live
- “I wrote it on a piece of paper somewhere on tour, and I thought, ‘That’s an album!’” A glimpse of how Ian Anderson creates Jethro Tull lyrics
- "The ‘bucket’ is all the crap that goes around our head all the time." Peter Gabriel shares new single Put The Bucket Down
- “We played at a punk club in Germany and this guy was pointing a gun at me the whole time. That was uncomfortable!”: The pioneering European metal queen loved by Dio, Lemmy and Gene Simmons
- “The two Johns very began to hate doing TV shows that wanted us to mime. For a band that worshipped Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy and UFO, it became a really big problem”: The huge 80s hard rock hit that drove a wedge between the band that made it
- “The economy of 80s synthpop made it so attractive. Within us were the seeds of something much more musicianly – whether you like it or not”: Tears For Fears sneaked prog into a run of hit singles in 1984 and 85. So why weren’t they at Live Aid?
