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October 2026

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247 articles

October 22
- "I will miss all of you with all of my heart." The Offspring guitarist Noodles to step away from live performances to deal with "a sudden and fairly serious health issue"
- "Freddie resonated with the madness… he wasn't afraid of it." Murder, obsession and Victorian art: the story of Queen's The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke and the painting that inspired it
- "The ASPCA would turn up like, ‘You cannot set a German Shepherd on fire in this show.' Are you kidding?" Rehab, religion and slaughtered chickens: an audience with Alice Cooper
- "The unmistakable sound of That Guitar and the bludgeon of Those Riffs can only mean that the fire still blazes." Tony Iommi keeps the Black Sabbath flame burning on From The Dark
- “I don’t know what people were complaining about online. I thought they nailed it”: Dragonforce’s Herman Li loves every version of Dream Theater
October 21
- "My last word on Trump and his bunch of cronies is they should be put in jail." Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain says he turned down the opportunity to play golf with Donald Trump
- "Angine is preparing its bullock cart and announces a new ride!" Microtonal sensations Angine de Poitrine announce mammoth 2027 Concerts de Musique world tour
- "The guys didn’t know how sick Ozzy was. Nobody knew." Sharon Osbourne kept Black Sabbath in the dark about doctors' warnings that their Back To The Beginning farewell show could kill Ozzy Osbourne
- “It’s a cover band with original members. I’m part of that band and I’m not there”: former Nightwish singer Floor Jansen doesn’t mind her old band After Forever coming back – just don’t call it a reunion
- "It's like Heathcliff digging up Cathy's corpse and dancing with it in the cold moonlight." The strange tale of the outrageous "erotic" 80s power ballad that Broadway legend Andrew Lloyd Webber called "the greatest love song ever written"
- “This has been such a fun way to reconnect with my friend”: former Killswitch Engage bandmates Howard Jones and Adam D detail new project Burn Eternal, sign to Metal Blade Records
- “The music of mythical England at its bloodiest, plugged into an alternative national grid of stone circles, ley lines, political dissent and wanton hedonism”: Julian Cope’s Fried is punk in approach but prog in outlook
- "Both a celebration of where it all began and an invitation to imagine what comes next." Jean-Michel Jarre announces 2027 Oxygene & Beyond arena tour
- "It’s like being thrust into a psychedelic, high-energy party at an alien souk." Extra-terrestrial planet-shakers Angine de Poitrine serve up joy unconfined at their latest London landing
- “They transplanted themselves to the world of krautrock, complete with motorik beats, droning backing notes and minimalist leads”: The Human League’s Dare is a prog album hiding in plain sight
- "I want to be here to watch my daughter grow up." Singer-songwriter Ryan Hamilton launches GoFundMe page after being diagnosed with rare form of cancer
- "The Bad Boys from Boston are back!" Aerosmith post first rehearsal photos ahead of Hollywood Bowl comeback
- The Rolling Stones release upbeat, sax-powered single Who You Callin' Crazy
October 20
- Nirvana's Nevermind passes AC/DC's Back in Black to become the sixth best-selling album of all time
- "We will have the honour of honouring the local spirits together." Pagan folk mystics Heilung announce first tour dates since going on hiatus
- “I spent two weeks touring Mexico at 17. I didn’t tell my mum until I was 26”: the black metal teenager who turned down opening for Type O Negative’s Peter Steele because he had to go to school
- “Guys in the music industry are afraid to come up and talk to me. It’s kinda lame”: Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine explains why he wasn’t at Black Sabbath’s Back To The Beginning – and why the thrashers probably won’t have their own star-studded farewell show
- “I got fed up with the whole Western thing and went to Thailand. I came home, camped out in the studio and I had the album at the end”: What Ozric Tentacles’ Ed Wynne learned after his music teacher gave up on him
- “He pours about three-fourths whiskey and tops it off with a little Coke. And then he stirs it with his finger”: Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl remembers recording with Motörhead legend Lemmy Kilmister
- Watch Metallica play Reload rarity Devil’s Dance live for the first time in 18 years at Las Vegas’ Sphere in new pro-shot footage
- “The jokes and stories start to flow. You become invested in the whole thing. You realise: ‘This is a band! We should go and play this for the world’”: When Stewart Copeland, Adrian Belew and Mark King created prog punk group Gizmodrome
- "I love that band. I feel like they've never made anything bad." Rival Sons' Scott Holiday picks the soundtrack of his life
- Direct from the Delta to Dartford and beyond: The 30 greatest British Blues Rock albums ever
October 19
- "There's nothing better than jamming with friends." The Pretty Reckless launch video for new version of About You with Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Pat Smear
- Watch Bring Me The Horizon's Oli Sykes and Spiritbox's Courtney LaPlante perform collaboration If The Sun Burns Out Tonight at Valorant Champions Grand Finals opening ceremony in Shanghai
- "I love a challenge. I love being scared. It's an intense thing." How one star of the new box office-topping Street Fighter movie channelled Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Deftones and Nick Cave to get into the mindset of a super villain
- “It pulled the whole album together and gave us an idea around which to hang the broader concepts”: How Pink Floyd made High Hopes
- "I didn’t need the group after losing my boy. When things go left of centre, who wants to sit backstage for hours with people you’ve been stuck with since 1968?" Robert Plant says that the death of his son changed his relationship with Led Zeppelin
- "There's so much about heavy metal as a subculture that has similarities to religion." Six things you need to know about rising UK doom metal heroes Green Lung
- "It's a full circle moment." Bon Jovi announce London Hyde Park show for 2027 as first BST headliner, alongside stadium shows across Australia, the US and Canada
- "It’s going to be a great time for everyone." Rock legends Toto announce 2027 UK and Ireland tour with support from Todd Rundgren
- "Such claims are not made with our blessing." Sleep Token break silence to release statement condemning other bands claiming to be affiliated with them
- "A Welsh Allman Brothers? Who knew?" Man rope in Queen's producer but still sound American on Winos, Rhinos & Lunatics
- “A lot of people say, ‘We came for him, but stayed for the trio.’ That’s encouraging”: How to bring Yes and King Crimson giant Bill Bruford out of retirement, by the guy who did it
- Classic Rock Tracks Of The Week: October 19, 2026
October 18
- Politician calls for Marilyn Manson's removal from Slipknot show over sexual misconduct allegations
- James Hetfield has a custom guitar made of wood from his band's rehearsal garage. But what did he name it? Test your Metallica knowledge with this ridiculously hard quiz
- “Every record is a success. If you can get more than one person on board with an idea, that’s success. It’s hard to get people to agree on anything”: When Geoff Tate looked back on Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime and its sequel
- “Hey, they’re yelling at God. I think he can take it.” Shock rock godfather Alice Cooper can see his influence on death metal – and he think it’s great
- "We write about life, the joyous and tragic events." Triggerfinger are huge in Europe, and some people say they sound like sex
- “Plenty of outliers were ready to hitch intelligent music to rich narratives”: Even in the 90s the concept album refused to die, as David Bowie, Radiohead, Mansun, Camel, and others proved
October 17
- Iron Maiden wanted a horror icon to appear on The Number of the Beast, but rejected his £25,000 fee. Who was it? Test your knowledge with our quiz
- “The audience would be hardcore skinheads at violent shows. They certainly didn’t want a female. You name it, it happened to me”: What kept Jarboe with Swans until she was stupefied with exhaustion?
- "Bad news for you guys. You don't exist." Lamb Of God's Randy Blythe deleted his social media accounts to avoid trolls
- "We've spanned continents. We're like migratory birds." Meet Getdown Services, the self-proclaimed best band in Britain
- Metal Hammer's tracks of the week: October 16 2026
- “The flute felt stupid. I forgot all about it. Then I saw Thijs van Leer of Focus do all the things I’d been told not to”: They call Bobbie Dazzle a glam rocker, but she calls herself prog too
- Watch Metallica perform ...And Justice for All at Las Vegas Sphere
October 16
- "And there were Barack and Michelle Obama saying, 'Oh, Rodrigo and Gabriela!' and hugging us." Rodrigo Y Gabriela on the new album, outrunning the long arm of the law, and the pleasures/perils of busking
- “I always felt a bit sorry for Peter Gabriel. We would gang up on him, and Tony Banks was at the forefront”: How Genesis ex Anthony Phillips helped build the band, lost his mojo, quit and started to rebuild himself
- "Prince said, I just would like to talk guitar. I said, You've come to the right place." ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons on his first meeting with Prince, and the astonishing performance which made him re-think everything he thought he knew about Prince
- "Never believe that there is something wrong in your life. You are where you’re supposed to be." Deep Purple legend Glenn Hughes offers some philosophical life advice as he recovers from 10 hour open heart surgery operation
- "I'm about amps, guitars, singing. As long as I can sing and write and play guitar, the sky's the limit." A tribute to Ace Frehley, the teen wannabe who became a global superstar with Kiss
- “I ran to the bathroom and threw up. Darrell’s standing there with a shot waiting for me. ‘Now you have more room!’” Anthrax’s Scott Ian remembers chaotic tour with Pantera
- "We can’t get everywhere but we can try!" Iron Maiden announce surprise 2027 North American tour, including headline set at Sonic Temple festival
- Marantz MCR-60n DAB CD player review: an all-in-one system that’s small in size but huge in scope
- "The comments and the judgment have got too much." Architects singer Sam Carter posts emotional statement responding to recent criticisms of his live performances
- "People say to me when I'm working with a producer, 'Does he tell you if it's no good?' And I'm not sure." Paul McCartney on the difficulty of getting genuine feedback as a legendary artist, and why he's scared to ask Bob Dylan to collaborate
- "I stand up. I leave. I'm like, 'I'm done with this band. I can't do this anymore.'" Trivium's Matt Heafy reveals why he almost quit the band last year - and who talked him out of it
- Get a limited edition Pallas t-shirt and signed lyric sheet with our great new bundle
- Steven Wilson bids you welcome to the village on the cover of the new issue of Prog, on sale now!
- “It is personal. It’s not just another album. It’s an awful thing to say, but in theory it could be the last thing you leave”: Why Rick Wakeman made Return To The Red Planet
- "I hope this works, because we're two-point-eight million dollars down the pan already." The true story of Pink Floyd's The Wall tour: Power grabs, bad blood, sackings and bitter dysfunction
- KK's Priest release cover of Judas Priest classic Never Satisfied with Tim "Ripper" Owens – but fans slam the AI-assisted video
October 15
- "A bit of shaman, a riot of colour, unreasonable guitar, bass and drums, and tunes you can hold onto." U2 announce Carnaval De Luz Presents: The Greatest Show On Earth world tour
- "Everyone thinks it's the notes: no, it's the time signatures." The Pretty Reckless star Taylor Momsen on the challenges she faces singing Chris Cornell's songs with Soundgarden
- “He’s got an IQ of about three.” Roger Waters launches astonishing attack on James Hetfield over past political statements, following the Metallica frontman’s controversial words at The Sphere in Las Vegas
- “I’m slightly afraid of him. I’d never have the nerve to introduce myself, and I’m sure he’s never heard of Spandau Ballet”: Gary Kemp’s respect and fear for Robert Fripp, the higher-plane pioneer who “turned up the weird”
- "That’s what Nightwish does: it keeps surviving." Chart-topping albums, bitter public break-ups and some of the most epic metal songs ever created: Tuomas Holopainen reflects on 30 years of Nightwish
- Pink Floyd share newly restored Hi-Res footage of Echoes from 1973 cult-classic surf film Crystal Voyager
- “His music, his heart and his spirit are still here with us.” The new issue of Metal Hammer is a tribute to legendary Metallica bassist Cliff Burton
- "I’m the first artist they've allowed to walk out of the tunnel!" Watch Tetrarch guitarist Diamond Rowe make history by shredding Metallica in front of 70,000 NFL fans before the Atlanta Falcons vs Baltimore Ravens game
- “I was 18 when I recorded it, so we didn’t know anything about writing, about recording, about singing”: ex-Nightwish singer Floor Jansen on her worst album – and the prog metal deep cut which makes her cry
- “It was a hard decision to make”: Floor Jansen parts ways with Nightwish
- "This music feels grounded in the present, shaped by who we are and how we're living now." Blondie announce 12th studio album High Noon, share single Spectral Eyes
- "Where he really gets you are the songs of heartbreak." Richard Thompson's mastery of Fender and folk shines on Hippies, Thugs And Heroes
- "There was simply too much more to say about Mars - musically and spiritually." Rick Wakeman outdoes Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos on Return To The Red Planet
- "We're all in this together. Can we agree?" Nikki Sixx proclaims Mötley Crüe shows to be politics-free zones
October 14
- "We've had some fantastic shows there over the years." Steve Harris announces British Lion residency at historic London pub
- "I told myself the dream was over many, many, many times." How Alter Bridge and Slash frontman Myles Kennedy learned to embrace rock stardom in his own way, thanks to some wise advice from his step-father
- "The hospital told me they had to admit me for five days or I was going to lose my leg." The Pretty Reckless' Taylor Momsen shares truth about getting bitten by a venomous spider in Mexico
- Pavlov's Dog frontman David Surkamp dead at 73
- The Rolling Stones announce Foreign Tongues, Loose Lips, a deluxe edition of this year's Foreign Tongues album featuring five additional songs
- “We were trying lampshades on our heads. A shop assistant said, ‘Are you mad?’ I replied, ‘He is but I’m not. Get us a mirror.’ And she did!” What it’s like to be in Jethro Tull, by some of those who’ve done it
- "I thought people were probably gonna hate it." How Nimrod, and its surprise hit single Good Riddance (Time of Your Life), taught Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong to stop caring about dumb punk rock rules
- "I felt a snap and a real sharp, searing pain, and I thought, 'That's it. That's the end of it.'" Ian Hill discusses the on-stage injury that ended his time with Judas Priest
- "Dreams come true." Watch America's Got Talent winner Nene Royal fulfil a dream by joining her favourite band Avenged Sevenfold onstage in Singapore
- Eric Clapton announces return to the Royal Albert Hall – and Birmingham gets a show too
- “We did big, interesting stage productions which cost a lot. When we did a tour we simply couldn’t get the figures wrong”: Genesis built their reputation as a live band, but tickets were so cheap it took them 10 years to break even
- "Queen never really wanted to be overtly political. We looked upon ourselves as entertainers." Roger Taylor on Queen's wild party days, big-money deals, Sid Vicious, his new solo record and why the idea of retirement is horrific
- Steve Hackett announces Best of Genesis and Solo Gems North American tour
- "I was so moved that they allowed me to use this song." Led Zeppelin finally relent as Stairway To Heaven soundtracks the first trailer for Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
October 13
- "I had to look at my phone four times. I thought, there’s no way!" Blink-182's Travis Barker reveals the text he received from Kourtney Kardashian which kickstarted their relationship
- Tool’s Maynard James Keenan says retirement is not an option despite recent hip surgery: “by Christmas I’ll have been in 18 different countries with three different bands, having played 28 shows”
- "Hetfield and Ulrich were determined, as ever, to re-draw the blueprints of what Metallica could be." The best Metallica songs of the 90s
- "We had six different doctors and they advised us not to do the show. They said it would kill him. Ozzy said, I know I’m dying. If I miss a few months of my life, I want to go this way." Sharon Osbourne on Ozzy's farewell live performance
- “Their disconnect was echoed by transmitter static. Songs swapped moods as if governed by a random dial”: A roots band created an album so progressively ironic that a label paid for it twice
- "I’ve had a few friends go now, and you think, Blimey, hang on, I’m 78, how much longer?" Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi says Ozzy Osbourne's death has made him reflect on his own mortality
- "It’s the hottest burning high-passion piece I’ve ever heard in my life." Queen legend Brian May on his favourite guitar solo of all time, and the Queen guitar solo he considers his finest work
- "The crazy thing was that the leather guitar strap still smelled of cigarette smoke from 1982." Tom Morello remembers the day he got to hold Randy Rhoads' guitar – but wasn't allowed to play it
- The Kinks' Dave Davies: The 11 blues songs that changed my life
- "The spark was still there." More than 30 years after Shotgun Messiah’s final shot, Zinny J Zan and Harry Cody return with a new project
- From petty crime and prison to folk legend: Nine Roy Harper albums to listen to and one to avoid
October 12
- "We're not mass appeal yet, hopefully we're still irritating." Why Placebo stopped spilling "blood and spunk" across the planet, and grew up
- "When our first record started to sell, it was weird, and really stressful. Everybody was insecure and tense." How Pearl Jam's intense, combative second album Vs. saved the band's soul
- "Nobody could ever, ever replace Chester." Linkin Park's Emily Armstrong reveals anxieties she held around joining the band - and how she overcame them
- "Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bull****." James Hetfield explains why you won't get any political statements at a Metallica show any time soon
- “You love life so much that you’re going to keep going… the spirit hangs tough, hangs in there”: Yes icon Jon Anderson was close to death in 2008. Naturally, he made an album about it
- “Let me apologize - that was my idiotic son.” Dad says sorry on behalf of son who entered women-only mosh pit at Sex Pistols gig, following clash with frontman Frank Carter
- "He may have been the fourth most talented member of any Van Halen lineup he was in, but he was always the most fun." David Lee Roth self-diagnoses his own genius on Eat 'Em And Smile
- Classic Rock Tracks Of The Week: October 12, 2026
- "One of the most exquisite songs I've ever heard." How a song about a crazy moonshine arrest turned into a multi-million-seller for Bonnie Raitt
October 11
- Incredible long-lost Black Sabbath live session from 1970 surfaces
- “As soon as we got over the laziness, we realised it was a very cool song”: If Kansas’ Kerry Livgren had written Carry On Wayward Son one day later, it might never have been made
- "Luckily, the police chief had never heard of them, and he said, 'OK, that sounds fine.'" How Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and the California Jam banished Altamont's demons
- "I'm not gonna say I'm a really good musician, but I'm really good at being in Lamb Of God." Randy Blythe on doing what he does best
- The wild 1970s glam rock classic inspired by The Beatles, Wagner… and Humphrey Bogart: “We all got the chance at the end to do our own thing. It’s a mad journey with lots of energy and it’s so exciting”
- Rick Wakeman is exploring Mars, performing a piece based on the lectures of Stephen Hawking, and playing a concert for rescued bears in Vietnam. What on earth is going on?
- “They were always putting my records down and saying I was the Antichrist. It turned out they weren’t so holy after all.” How Ozzy opened No Rest For The Wicked with an almighty diss track against a disgraced preacher
- Alice Cooper reveals his reaction to John Lennon’s murder: “That can’t be right. Why him? Why not somebody political?”
- “Some of the finest moments in progressive music as a whole”: King Crimson were only around for half of the 70s. Here’s what they did with the time
October 10
- “We were broke, simple as that. While we were recording the album, the money dried up”: How Judas Priest made the iconic album that saved their career
- Mastodon to release Marrow Deep Bone Dust edition vinyl containing fragments of actual mastodon fossil
- Tom Morello on the future hair metal star who blew him away: “I remember thinking: ‘This is one of the best guitar players in the world, and he’s a high-school kid’”
- Beyond Nirvana: how Sub Pop shed its grunge origins to become one of the world's most daringly disruptive record labels
- “She patiently smiles whenever prog comes up”: Yes’ Jon Davison discovered the Moody Blues when he married John Lodge’s daughter. But she’s not a fan of either band
- "It’s hopeful and joyous and uplifting, and I can cry my eyes out to it." Why In Rainbows is national treasure Charlotte Church's favourite Radiohead album
- "I still can’t believe that an 18-year-old kid wrote some of that." How Stereophonics' gritty, poetic debut album Word Gets Around set the small-town trio up for a big, bright future
- Metal Hammer's Tracks Of The Week: October 9 2026
- "We were invited round to Iggy Pop's for tea. We were the first thing John Paul Jones did after Led Zeppelin." Wayne Hussey looks back on The Mission's debut album, God's Own Medicine
- Ghost’s Tobias Forge brings his long-lost death metal band Repugnant back from the dead
- The essential Aerosmith albums to listen to before their comeback: “When it comes to swagger, attitude and malicious intent, The Bad Boys From Boston rule”
- Brian May on Queen’s epic new concert film and the future of the band: “If Freddie was here we would probably be touring next year”
October 9
- Blackie Lawless on what Kiss got right, why rock'n'roll is disappearing, and the price of fame: "Somebody tampered with the wheels on my car and I nearly crashed on the freeway – I got shot at twice"
- "We got caught in industry hell. It felt like I was dying." How making new album Doomed Lovers rescued Satanic doo-wop duo Twin Temple from "soul-crushing depression"
- "We want to keep his name alive." Power Trip are honouring fallen frontman Riley Gale with their first new songs in almost a decade
- “He considered himself to be made of sound, biologically. Crazy, but realistic – it was very interesting”: The characters and contraptions that inspired Jean-Michel Jarre’s Oxygène
- Nickelback announce huge Everything Under The Sun world tour for 2027
- “We thought to treat it like a pop or rap release”: why blackgaze masters Deafheaven just surprise-released their two-and-a-half heaviest songs – and what to expect from their next album
- "We thought they were joking about subliminal messaging. Next thing we knew, we were on a plane to appear in court." Ian Hill on the Judas Priest songs that have defined his career
- Top new prog from Alcest, Boss Keloid, Scardust and more in Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week
- "I hate to say it, but that time has come." Judas Priest bassist and longest-serving member Ian Hill announces retirement, confirms replacement in band
- "Christian street protesters told us to not go in, that it was Hell in there." Ed Gamble on nu metal, weird subgenres and which metal singer would make the best Celebrity Traitor
- Pendragon to celebrate 50th anniversary with new studio album, tour and weekender events
- “David Byrne had a lot of tantrums when he got to be a star. Fame overwhelmed him. It wasn’t a sane time”: Talking Heads made it big despite themselves, with an ideology that’s undeniably prog
- Queen: Brian May and Roger Taylor on Freddie Mercury's Last Stand - only in the new issue of Classic Rock
October 8
- "This is going to be one for the ages!" Def Leppard announce mammoth tour with Goo Goo Dolls and The Struts, release cover of David Bowie's "Heroes"
- "I wake up, covered in puke, and every inch of my body is in pain. My manager said, You were diving into piles of garbage, screaming at the top of your lungs." Anthrax's Scott Ian recalls the night he first met Lemmy from Motorhead
- Guns N' Roses sign up for all-star California, Dream On: Aerosmith & Friends show
- "Alex and I had been afraid of our own music. We had put our music in a box, and left it as a relic of the past." Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson on reinventing Rush, and life after Neil Peart
- “I do ponder... since he’s not here, could we use AI to put lyrics to some of his music? New lyrics generated from his own lyrics”: The Alan Parsons Project’s Eric Woolfson is gone. His daughter ensures he’s not forgotten
- “No rules! Just riffs!” Grand Theft Auto VI will have a heavy metal radio station featuring Black Sabbath and hosted by Slayer’s Tom Araya and Kerry King – listen to a preview now
- "Morrissey brought an arch sense of the hopeless romantic to the scene." A beginners' guide to 1980s British indie rock
- Trivium detail long-awaited new album Crown In The Grave, release anthemic title track: “we wanted to take everything that makes Trivium what it is, but present it in ways we hadn’t before”
- Get a front-row seat to Liam and Noel Gallagher's explosive 2025 reunion tour – here's how to watch Oasis: Don't Look Back In Anger from anywhere
- "I have actually never said Queen won't ever tour again." Brian May says that his reported comment about Queen ceasing touring was "a misinterpretation"
- Producer Andrew Watt claims that Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler wanted to make one more Black Sabbath album, which isn't how Tony Iommi remembers the discussion
- "We had dinner with Metallica and James Hetfield comes walking up in this ABBA shirt!" Metal's biggest band might also be its nicest - at least according to Avatar's Johannes Eckerstrom
- The Alan Parson's Project's Tales Of Mystery & Imagination debut album to get 50th anniversary reissue
- "It's difficult not to want more ambition from a band who clearly have it in them to deliver something spectacular." Greta Van Fleet deliver more of the same on Palace For The People
- “He got me in a headlock, then I got him in a headlock, and we had a pretend fight. And we had a right old laugh!” Why comedy legend Bill Bailey wants to collaborate with Nine Inch Nails – and the time he ‘fought’ Mastodon’s Brent Hinds
- "We were at the absolute peak of functioning as a band." Watch Queen play Crazy Little Thing Called Love just two weeks before Freddie Mercury's final show
- "As long as our plane doesn't go down we'll be around for ever!" Aerosmith look back over two decades of chaos, heavy addiction and their triumphant sober comeback
October 7
- Aerosmith to return for two all-star nights in Hollywood – with Black Crowes, Heart, Billy Idol, Slash, Run DMC, Duff McKagan, Nuno Bettencourt, Sammy Hagar, Tom Morello and many more
- “People in Israel’s government have said that we should wipe out Gaza. It’s disturbing that they represent me.” Orphaned Land’s Kobi Farhi on meeting Metallica, falling out with Disturbed’s David Draiman – and his 35-year quest for peace
- "My dad and I would drive to his military drills jamming out to Billy Ocean." From the beloved 80s kids movie that made him a fan of Diana Ross, to The Commodores song that describes heartbreak, Sleep Theory's Cullen Moore picks the soundtrack to his life
- Justin Hawyard shares surprise cover of Hello, Young Lovers from The King And I
- “Someone said every band has a quiet one. But if he’d had been any quieter you’d have put out a missing persons alert”: The undervalued solo work of Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright
- “If I were you, I’d get a haircut and disappear”: When author William Burroughs gave Daevid Allen permission to call his prog icons The Soft Machine
- Jean-Michel Jarre announces 50th anniversary edition of Oxygene
- "I first played that on a car bumper from a '49 Buick." The story of the acid classic that psychedelicised black American folk music
- Jack White attacks Donald Trump again after he appeared to suggest the destruction of L.A. and San Diego would be a "small price to pay" for nuclear safety
- Watch Nita Strauss return to the stage as Alice Cooper performs halftime stadium show in Las Vegas
October 6
- Jim Bakker, televangelist and felon who inspired songs by Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden and Genesis, dead at 86
- “Greg Lake said, ‘I can’t believe they played Schizoid Man like this. I want to see them – I know how hard it is’”: When their promoter wouldn’t announce them, these Italian proggers pulled a trick that got them a record deal
- "I usually do it as a special treat." How Angus Young used to whip up excitement at early AC/DC shows by unleashing 'The Human Kangaroo'
- "There are no rules. You have 12 notes… do whatever you want with them." Eddie Van Halen, the life and times of a guitar god
- "I've got messages from people in the hospital saying this is giving them hope." How a one-man black metal project about a pony from Lord of the Rings became one of the most essential and surprisingly emotional listens of 2026
- Roger Waters Presents Legacy: A Pink Floyd Show adds UK and Ireland dates
- “Robert Fripp just got bored with me fluffing around with it. He picked it up and turned it into a proper tune”: How King Crimson created Starless, complete with the “death of prog” solo
- "You only get caught when you're successful... that's the game." The tangled story of Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love
- Former Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen joins The Dead Daisies in place of John Corabi
- Every Killing Joke album ranked from worst to best: how four men on a mission to recreate "the sound of the earth vomiting" influenced Metallica, Nirvana, Faith No More, Ministry and more
October 5
- Long-overdue Scorpions movie Wind Of Change finally has a trailer and a release date
- "This single shouldn't really exist." Rare 1969 Led Zeppelin single that the band wanted destroyed surfaces on British TV show
- Aerosmith tease imminent live return in Hollywood: "All will be revealed tomorrow"
- Yes share new video for Ariadne as they announce a new digital deluxe edition of Aurora
- Led Zeppelin III: 25 facts only hardcore fans know
- “We’d been paying Rick Wakeman £25 a week and Yes offered him £100… We had his son Oliver with us for a while, and he left for Yes too!” Dave Cousins and the life and times of Strawbs
- “Freddie came off stage at Knebworth and said, I can’t do this any more." Queen's Brian May recalls the moment he learned that Freddie Mercury had played his final gig with the band, and says Queen won't tour again
- "The world has lost a formidable talent. RIP sweet rock 'n' roll sister." Glenn Hughes, Lee Aaron, Mike Garson and more pay tribute to Sass Jordan, Canada's 'Queen of Rock & Blues', following news of her death, aged 65
- “Elvis is prog rock. He’s even wearing capes by the end of it. He came onstage to Also Sprach Zarathustra – how much more prog could you be?”: Pub Landlord Al Murray didn’t want to be just another punk fan
- "House On The Hill defines the term 'lost classic'." Audience go off-piste on eclectic third album
- Classic Rock Tracks Of The Week: October 5, 2026
October 4
- Watch Jack Black and Geezer Butler cover Black Sabbath at Tom Morello's all-star Power To The People show
- “It annoys me to this day. The public didn’t like it either. I’m glad I did it though”: Ian Anderson’s guided tour of Jethro Tull – Ritchie Blackmore, Steve Harris, Benny Hill, Spinal Tap and the other side of Christmas
- "If you’re too tough for clean singing, then that’s cool." Ov Sulfur might be deathcore brutes, but they've got grand ambitions
- “Guards walked the corridor with dogs. Sometimes I had to bring my own dog to the studio. The producer stopped my vocal takes so many times because the dogs were fighting”: How Katatonia became Sweden’s answer to Tool
- "Limp Bizkit, System Of A Down, Papa Roach… they were all opening bands for us." One of nu metal's most underrated bands are making a comeback almost 30 years after tragedy derailed them
- "They made it their playground": Technology, monsters and the most epic metal show of the year - how Metallica conquered Sphere
- Metallica drop a deep cut on night two of their Sphere residency
- The British glam punk rebels people loved to hate: “We could never understand bands like Poison and Warrant. They’d sing about cruising down Sunset on a Harley. We were rotting in a bedroom in Wales”
- “We were into soul, rock’n’roll and country music. There was no such thing as prog in those days”: This classic 1967 album laid the foundation for progressive rock. Why has it been forgotten?
- "It's a statement. It's revenge. I pity them and hope they will be helped some day." The story behind Death's 1991 genre-defining album Human
October 3
- "He's so easy to play with, it's really addictive." Queens Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme on the genius of Dave Grohl's drumming
- "I’ll take a shot or two before we play." Roman Candle are bringing screamo back with a nu metal twist
- “I went to Genesis on Friday, bought the album on Saturday, then went to the show again on Sunday, and I knew all the words”: A glimpse into the prog world of Lifesigns’ John Young
- “Lindsey had a Winnebago in his driveway. That’s where Stevie and I would go with our wrecking crew. The party never stopped”: How Fleetwood Mac made their craziest album – a decade after Rumours
- “I’m super-proud of everything Rush accomplished, but it’s what I did. I’ve moved on”: Did Alex Lifeson know something we didn’t as he talked up Envy Of None’s second album?
- Watch Dave Grohl join AC/DC on stage in New Jersey for performance of Highway To Hell
- "Why can't we sleep forever?" I slept my way through a classic Tool gig and it still bothers me almost 30 years later
- Metal Hammer's tracks of the week: October 2 2026
- How Tom Cruise ended up singing Def Leppard songs in a disastrous hair metal musical: “If we say yes to this, Tom Cruise is going to do Pour Some Sugar On Me – this is the Mission Impossible dude!”
- "Like Bon Scott, Brent Hinds understood that there was a cost attached to the party." How AC/DC impacted the life of Mastodon's founding lead guitarist
October 2
- Last man standing: Buddy Guy looks back on the bluesmen who inspired him. "That was Chicago: you walked down a street and you'd find Muddy, Wolf, Little Walter, Sonny Boy doing his thing"
- "I was in the zone, where everything I was writing was meaningful." Noel Gallagher's track-by-track guide to (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, the album that made Oasis superstars
- "As long as there's electricity, we'll keep plugging in." Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators announce new album Flying Blind, share its title track, and unveil 2027 world tour details
- Kid A: the story behind every song on Radiohead's game-changing masterpiece
- Greta Van Fleet announce 59-city Into The Beginning tour across North America and Europe
- "I was terrible to work with, I was unsympathetic, aggressive, mean, selfish." Why Sting's ego-driven power plays on Ghost In The Machine spelled trouble for The Police
- Cool new prog from Steven Wilson, Annicke Shireen, Arabs In Aspic and more in Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week
- "It was a nightmare to stay in tune!" Roxy Music share previously unreleased demo version of 1973 hit Pyjamarama
- Steven Wilson shares downright creepy video for new song On Chapel Slope
- The first reactions to Metallica’s massive show at the Sphere are in: “Epic would be an understatement!”
- "I will keep on doing this until the universe forces me to stop." Blues legend Walter Trout is 75 years old but he's not thinking about retirement
- Metallica kick off their epic Sphere residency with a classic setlist and retina-searing display
- “We’d found solace listening to him in that difficult time… Hearing him belting out my lyrics was incredibly intense”: Here’s proof that Peter Gabriel is one hero it’s safe to meet
- The Voice Of Rock: Nine Glenn Hughes albums you should listen to and one to avoid
- The Rolling Stones release Mr Charm video starring Hollywood star Alexander Skarsgård
October 1
- Cardio, corpse paint and Carolina Reapers: Venom frontman Cronos on his brilliantly bizarre double life
- “If you are in a position of power and do nothing, you should be stripped of your privilege of walking among us”: Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale makes powerful statement against sexual assault as Cornell University rape investigation reopens
- “Our albums could have been recorded in any order. I think they’re reasonably timeless”: This nearly-invisible prog duo sold 50 million records. How was it done?
- Venom frontman Conrad 'Cronos' Lant dead at 63
- "I was nervous that the metal fans would hate me." From Miss World Chile to animal rescues and beating depression with death metal, Decessus' Ignacia Fernández is fighting to make the world a better place
- "It’s the longest album I have ever put out!" Peter Gabriel will release new album o\i in November
- A blockbuster lineup, an incredible atmosphere and a festival at sea like no other - here's why you need to set sail at 70000TONS OF METAL 2027, the original, the world’s biggest heavy metal cruise
- "Oasis have sued me and my father to try to prevent the auction." Oasis take legal action to block planned auction of unheard recordings, The Desk Tapes
- Slipknot’s Jim Root responds to backlash against taking Marilyn Manson on tour: “I concentrate on writing and being a guitarist”
- "If you want songs about bloody battles and mischievous Norse gods, Amon Amarth are the ultimate source of such humble thrills." Metal's favourite Vikings have made their best album since Twilight Of The Thunder God
- "The band was irrelevant, or even over. We stuck together, but it was tough." As Blaze Bayley embarks on an Iron Maiden-themed UK tour, he looks back at his time with the Irons
- The Beatles' Rubber Soul is pivotal: The pop album as a complete artistic statement. "Music, art, fashion and your mum's body count would never be the same again"
- "Crack is the most addictive drug there is, by far. That was really the thing that almost killed me." Alice Cooper comes clean on drink, drugs and the bad old days