Latest articles by Dave Ling
"We're singing about hot girls and cool stuff. It's what people really need right now": Now that Van Halen are no more, BulletBoys want to revive their party spirit
After a long time away, Californian hard rock stalwarts BulletBoys return for UK dates in March
“Vultures were on the bedpost. It was a dark road and I was losing my lust for life”: Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine is metal’s great survivor
Drugs, feuds, bitter ex-bandmates – Dave Mustaine has weathered everything life threw at him. And in this classic interview from the Metal Hammer archives, he wasn’t about to roll over yet
"Things have gone further than we envisaged, but that’s life": Saxon's Biff Byford on their new guitarist, extraterrestrial life and the future
As Saxon prepare to tour The UK with Judas Priest and Uriah Heep, we catch up with frontman Biff Byford to hear about new album Hell, Fire And Damnation
“I didn’t want the job with Robert Plant, I wasn’t after it and there were 5,000 guys that were - but they called me. When things come into your life, embrace them; when they leave, let them go”: Francis Dunnery’s lessons in life
It Bites co-founder shares his experiences of Steve Hackett, Genesis, Yes and the music industry - and why he thinks it’s no bad thing that most of prog is a “caricature”
"That was real food for thought": Rick Wakeman on the surprise lesson he learned from a 16-year-old Brazilian fan
Rick Wakeman's Return Of The Caped Crusader dates resume this month, and the keyboard maestro knows it's not about nostalgia for everyone
"Half of the people I knew wanted to pat me on the back, and the rest to punch me in the face": Bruce Watson looks back on Big Country's second album Steeltown
Big Country's Steeltown album was recorded during the 1984 miner's strike as guitarist Bruce Watson's father stood on the picket line: the album reflected those dark times
"Some people expect us to be a woman and instead they get three greasy boys playing rock music": Florence Black are fiery proof that Welsh rock is on the rise
With Skindred, Florence Black, Those Damn Crows and Scarlet Rebels all hitting the charts, music from Wales is once again on the map
"In screaming so loudly for so long I gave myself chronic laryngitis and screwed up my voice forever": Mountain man Corky Laing reveals how a seductive dancer inspired a hard rock classic
Mississippi Queen gave Mountain their signature song, rock'n'roll its second most famous cowbell, and Corky Laing headaches over the songwriting credits
“This is the next natural step in our evolution. This is a pinnacle moment for us. It’s something we had to do.” How Dream Theater made uber concept album The Astonishing
With 2021's The Astonishing Dream Theater unveiled the daddy of all prog metal concept albums
“By the time I swapped over the tapes I knew I was in the stinky brown stuff. Somebody said, ‘God help us’ … the budget for the cover was cut back”: How Rick Wakeman proved everyone wrong with The Six Wives of Henry VIII
His 1973 debut solo album was roundly hated by label bosses and reviewers – but it became a coffee-table classic and gave him freedom from Yes
"Music really saved my life. It was the one place I could go where there was sanity and beauty": Steve Perry on being inspired, and being an inspiration
Former Journey frontman Steve Perry was raised to manage the family farm, but Sam Cooke and his parents' divorce set him on a different path
"If everyone could go to a psych ward for a couple of weeks, the world would be a better place": Ginger Wildheart on recovery, rejuvenation, and why the next Wildhearts album will be your favourite
To learn that Ginger Wildheart was winning his mental health battle was a fantastic end to the year: A new Wildhearts album en route is the icing on the cake
The 50 best AOR albums of all time
From big hitters like Journey, Boston and Foreigner to the lesser known lights of AOR, these are the 50 albums that truly sparkle
"Those three and a half minutes tell you everything you need to know about Slade": The story of the anthemic classic Mama Weer All Crazee Now
Recorded by Hendrix producer Chas Chandler and covered by Quiet Riot and The Runaways, frontman Noddy Holder says Mama Weer All Crazee Now is one of Slade's defining moments
"We come on all kicking and screaming and for three songs we'll punch you in the face…": Ashley McBryde on making country music for rock fans
If you want to know why country-rocker Ashley McBryde is making waves, get to one of her live shows
Why you should definitely own Klaatu's debut album, and it's got nothing to do with The Beatles
When the mysterious Klaatu released their first album, rumours about the musicians' identity sent sales soaring... but it's an album that stands up on its own
Tony Moore played keyboards for Iron Maiden at one show in 1977: Now he's back on the road with Steve Harris
British Lion are currently on tour with support from prog rock one man band Tony Moore: "If Tony could play guitar back then the way he does now he'd probably still be in the band", says Steve Harris
24 things to get excited about in 2024
As with all years, 2023 had plenty of great, memorable rock moments. With a new year now upon us, here’s what we’re vibed up for that’s coming along in the next 12 months
"We'd sit surrounded by amps. The magic just flowed. It gave you goose-pimples": How Status Quo made Hello! and turned into Britain's hottest band of 1973
Sometimes, a band works on an album and everything clicks. For Status Quo, their 1973 No.1 Hello! was just such an album. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t problems
“The phone rang, it was Steve Harris: ‘Are you interested in joining Maiden?’”: this is what it’s like to audition to replace Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden, by three singers who went for the job
In 1994, Blaze Bayley became Maiden’s new singer – but he wasn’t the only contender for the job
“When Motörhead leaves, there will be a hole there that just can't be filled”: Remembering Lemmy
His name was Lemmy, and he played rock'n'roll
The riff is a belter, the lyrics arrived out of thin air at Ringo Starr's house, and the promo video for it is pure pantomime – the story behind Beavis and Butthead’s favourite Judas Priest song
"Everyone's had a confrontation with a copper and likes to scream about breaking the law, don't they?" - Rob Halford
"Some people said that seeing the band again made their lives complete": Remembering Status Quo's Rick Parfitt
A personal look back at the music, life and times of Status Quo guitarist/singer and cornerstone Rick Parfitt, who died on Christmas Eve 2016
"I used to shut the curtains, put on the headphones, drop the needle and not move a muscle till the final note": This is the soundtrack of K.K. Downing's life
Former Judas Priest man K.K. Downing picks his records, artists and gigs of lasting significance, and reveals why he prefers his new stuff to the old stuff
“Drugs and alcohol and ego clashes got in the way, but we managed to keep them quiet”: the unbelievable story of Chicago, the soft rock kings with steel in their hearts
Jazz-rock experimentalists, money-spinning soft rock kings, derided balladeers? The mighty Chicago have been all of these and more
