Latest articles by Dom Lawson
“A serene and soothing affair – a kaleidoscopic rush of instrumental escapism with nothing but good intentions”: Ozric Tentacles’ Lotus Unfolding
Ed Wynne demonstrates a new wave of inspiration and enthusiasm for his near-lifelong project
Metal Hammer's writers battle it out to decide which is Iron Maiden's best album
Iron Maiden have made some absolute classics across their near-five decade career, so we got the Maiden megafans in our ranks to argue over which is the greatest album of them all
“Our ideas were more solid than our ability to play them! We had to raise our game”: The lessons Rush learned from Hemispheres
Often cited as the album that nearly broke them for good, Geddy Lee maintains the 1978 release found the trio too full of ideas to contemplate taking a rest
Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter: the woman behind Lingua Ignota has produced a radically different but compelling new vision with Saved!
Saved! sees Kristin Hayter challenge the listener in a whole new way
"We certainly weren’t going to destroy the band because Heather left." How Mostly Autumn steadied the ship with Go Well Diamond Heart
When Heather Findlay went solo it could have been lights out for Mostly Autumn. But when Olivia Sparnenn stepped up and into her boots, their future was secured
Every Bruce Dickinson solo album ranked from worst to best
Iron Maiden's legendary frontman has had a storied music career away from his most famous gig. Here's a guide to his solo discography
"We ended up with what I think is a beautiful record." How Opeth made In Cauda Venenum
You can’t control creativity, as Mikael Åkerfeldt discovered when he tried to take a musical break. Instead, he sowed the seeds for Opeth’s 13th album, In Cauda Venenum.
“Prog fans were saying that simple songs are bad songs and that really annoyed me!" Pain Of Salvation on why songs were the focal point of the Road Salt albums
Swedish prog rockers Pain Of Salvation released to volumes of Road Salt in 2010 and 2011. This is the story
“He asked if we could make music for his abstract dance performance. We had absolutely no clue whatsoever about that world, so of course we said yes!” Ring Van Möbius’s Six Drops of Poison project
Norwegian retro-prog outfit say their unexpected turn after a Google search could take them further off grid – perhaps leading to horror movie soundtrack
“If people had the right mindset they could make a lot of money from peace!” Banco del Mutuo Soccorso challenge the status quo with Orlando: Le Forme Dell’Amore
Italian prog legends Banco del Mutuo Soccorso continued their resurgent form with 2022's concept album Orlando: Le Forme Dell’Amore
"Cannibal Corpse are still the hardest hitters in the business": death metal legends continue to brutalise with Chaos Horrific
Cannibal Corpse's sixteenth studio album Chaos Horrific is more proof that the death metal legends are still at the top of their game
"Our first album was the first NWOBHM album." Saxon's Biff Byford on being heavy metal pioneers, touring with Motorhead and rocking Top Of The Pops
From leading the charge with the New Wave Of Heavy Metal to finding new life in the 2000s, Biff Byford talks us through Saxon's whirlwind career
“The crusty thing becoming a fashion was really quite odd… people thought it was a real movement so we pretended that it was for a bit, and got quite far up the charts because of that”: the rise of Ozric Tentacles
At one point it seemed Ed Wynne’s band were everywhere – but, driven by a simple desire to create music, he was always more interested in longevity
“Succinct, fat-free songwriting alongside a generous helping of more indulgent material”: The Flower Kings’ Look At You Now
Roine Stolt and friends continue to ride their second wind since their 2019 return
The most underrated albums by 10 major prog bands
Showing a little love for the overlooked classics by prog giants Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Rush and more
10 up-and-coming thrash metal bands every self-respecting metalhead should listen to
From Pest Control to Cryptosis, the genre that Metallica and Slayer popularised is raging its way into a glorious future
Slipknot sound like a deranged and destructive organism on the 77-minute sensory blitzkrieg of Live At MSG
Slipknot's historic 2009 Madison Square Garden show, now available for the first time on vinyl
The best new metal bands you need to hear this month
From history-obsessed power metallers to sonically devastating singer-songwriters, here are the new artists you need to know about
“If they had the flares and beards and the record was from 1971 or 1972, that was what I wanted… records that looked odd and I could afford”: How Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt discovered prog
From extreme metal to Camel and Genesis to collaboration with Steven Wilson, the Swedish musician's career is surely one of the most progressive
“I didn’t have much knowledge of Marillion. A singer who painted his face like Peter Gabriel? It all seemed a little bit derivative…” How Marillion reinvented themselves with Steve Hogarth and Seasons End
When Fish left Marillion, the band had two options: Move forward or become a parody. And then they met an aspiring – and initially sceptical – art-pop singer-songwriter called Steve Hogarth…
“We’ve had a few Floyd moments… we got a giant ghetto blaster on a boat and parked it in the harbour… we closed down an airport for six hours!” The Orb were prog all along
Accidental albums with David Gilmour and Robert Fripp aren’t the only connections Alex Paterson’s psychedelic electronic group have with the progressive genre
30 musicians on the album that changed their life as a kid
Members of Kiss, Black Sabbath, Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, Rage Against The Machine and more reveal the albums that set them on the path to rock stardom
"We were ahead of our time": How tales of Thor, lightning-spewing hammers and a battle to the death at the end of the world turned Amon Amarth into the world's favourite heavy metal Vikings
Amon Amarth's Thor-referencing epic Twilight Of The Thunder God also gave the band their breakthrough hit
