Latest articles by Dom Lawson
Every Judas Priest album ranked from worst to best
Judas Priest are the ultimate defenders of the faith: here's how we ranked their incredible, storied back catalogue
"No wonder this beautifully bleak record is so heavy": Faraoese doom merchants Hamferd prove the worst things do happen at sea with monolithic new concept album Men Guðs Hond Er Sterk
Based on real-life tragedy on the Faroe Islands, Hamfrerd;s new album Men Guðs Hond Er Sterk is one of the most stunningly crushing doom metal albums you're likely to hear in 2024
"It’s a maths geek’s love song to maths!" The story of Van der Graaf Generator's A Grounding In Numbers
Van der Graaf Generator's third reunion album, 2011's A Grounding In Numbers saw the trio working with shorter form but no less complex material
“Before I wrote The Cartographer, I would’ve avoided using anything except strings – because I didn’t understand and had no cause to”: Jo Quail learned to write for trombone just in time to add energy to her EP set Invocation/Supplication
Experimental cellist explains how she took two very different musical approaches and blended them with the very different voices of Maria Franz and Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari
“I shouldn’t speculate why we were singled out, other than because we were massively offensive”: how Cannibal Corpse became death metal’s first million selling band
Blood, guts and Jim Carrey – the epic story of death metal provocateurs Cannibal Corpse
“It might be significant that my two favourite pieces of music of all time are Supper’s Ready and Thick As A Brick”: What Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris learned from prog
The guiding light of NWOBHM geeks out on Peter Gabriel leaving Genesis, covering Jethro Tull but not wanting to meet Ian Anderson, the length of ELP solos, his struggle to get into Marillion and more
“People think we get our calculators out and work out some kind of complex mathematical formula”: how Meshuggah redefined tech metal for the 21st century
With 2008’s landmark obZen album, Meshuggah were streets ahead of the competition – and the kings of punking other bands
"We like to keep the fans on their toes, and we like to keep ourselves on our toes too." The story of Between The Buried & Me's Automata concept albums
US prog metallers Between The Buried & Me Automata concept albums were so complex the band released them as two separate discs
“While recovering, I didn’t want to stress myself out, so we didn’t rehearse as much. Luckily when I write the music, I give the hard parts to everyone else!” Earthside’s choice between aiming for perfection and getting their second album out ASAP
It took eight years to deliver Let The Truth Speak, amid world events, personal health issues and logistical challenges – but the result is bold, cinematic and defies all expectation
"We’re not a band that writes about fast cars, hot chicks and partying." How Queensrÿche got their prog metal groove back with The Verdict
Seven years into their reinvention with Todd La Torre at the front, the new, rebuilt Queensrÿche are stronger than ever before. But with album number 15, they haven’t lost sight of their past.
“Genesis, Floyd and ELP all received so much more popularity… I’ve always just accepted who and where we were and I don’t think about why we didn’t reach those same heights”: Andy Latimer is happy if Camel managed to matter
Despite having once discovered that “orchestras are a bunch of little kids and hooligans,” the band leader wanted to return to the Albert Hall after reinventing The Snow Goose
“A beautiful farewell from an instinctively progressive talent”: Talk Talk’s Mark Hollis made one stunning solo album, then walked away for ever
Vocalist’s 1998 release was full of prog promise for the future, but turned out to be his last artistic statement before his 2019 death
"This is highly evolved, ferociously intelligent brutality." Job For A Cowboy have returned after a decade away with a modern deathcore masterpiece in Moon Healer
Job For A Cowboy return in spectacular style for their first album in ten years
"It was an honour to watch Mick Mars play our dumb songs!" How a secret meeting, some serious growing up and a Motley Crue legend helped Murderdolls reunite for their final album
In 2010, Joey Jordison and Wednesday 13 reunited for another round of shock-rock mayhem
"The first thought about the band that went through my mind was: ‘The band’s over.'" How Avenged Sevenfold found the strength to carry on after the death of The Rev - with the unlikely help of Mike Portnoy and the guy who wrote 50 Cent's biggest hit
In 2010, Avenged Sevenfold attempted to rally and continue their career after experiencing the unimaginable
"The most ambitious and extravagant album of his career." Ihsahn's self-titled new album is a triumph for one of metal's greatest visionaries
Ihsahn's latest offering may just feature the best work of his career
“However high-falutin’ the intention, you’re still onstage as an entertainer, so make a performance out of it!” Jo Quail claims it’s easy to write orchestral prog metal - and to be fair, she does make it sound easy
Electric cellist’s classical-stroke-metal masterpiece The Cartographer makes maximum impact from one basic concept, but the real magic is in the delivery
The 10 best 21st-century Iron Maiden songs
We all love the ’80s classics, but these later Maiden jams still show The Beast at their best
“It’s a blessing and a curse… there’s times you feel like they’re hacking up your child! But the real freedom comes in trusting that it will all work out for the best”: How supergroup Transatlantic made Kaleidoscope
Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Pete Trewavas and Roine Stolt either flowed together like streams entering a powerful river – or made a pact to leave control-freak tendencies at the studio door
“They offer a stern challenge to newcomers… they are not a straightforward band, and their music remains almost impossible to describe”: the Residents’ prog credentials
The band of eyeballs have been tearing up the rule book time and time again since the 70s, and remain difficult to define
“We were insisting we’d maintain our own identity, and perform a set before Peter Gabriel joined us onstage… I’m pretty sure that’s what soured the deal!” Happy The Man’s very brief stint as Gabriel’s backing band
The trials and tribulations – sometimes self-induced – of trying to be a prog band in America
“You get a few people that bring notepads and binoculars, but a lot of people find the fun aspect appealing… It’s not prog because it’s silly, it’s not jazz because it’s loud and it’s not rock because it’s weird”: So what are The Aristocrats?
Born of a fun jam in 2011, Guthrie Govan, Bryan Beller and Marco Minnemann would rather tell jokes on stage than just take turns playing solos
The Primus and Les Claypool albums you should definitely own
Primus might be an acquired taste, but at their best this musically unique and gloriously oddball trio made some truly compelling records
Metal Hammer's 50 best albums of 2023 (and the stories behind them)
Sleep Token, Creeper, Within Temptation: 2023 has been a massive year for metal, and these 50 records represent the very best the year has had to offer
“Sometimes there’ll be a weird, splatty noise that comes flying through the sound spectrum… children seem to really enjoy that”: Ed Wynne doesn’t know or care why Ozric Tentacles are reaching new heights
Ed Wynne is delighted to find that new Ozric Tentacles album Lotus Unfolding is making some sort of sense out of an accidental four-decade career
