Articles by Dom Lawson, Writer

Dom Lawson has been writing for Metal Hammer and Prog for over 14 years and is extremely fond of heavy metal, progressive rock, coffee and snooker. He also contributes to The Guardian, Classic Rock, Bravewords and Blabbermouth and has previously written for Kerrang! magazine in the mid-2000s. From 2014-2016, Dom worked as Editor-At-Large at Metal Hammer, overseeing the front section of the magazine and helping to mould the some of the features that ran in print every month. Outside of his writing duties, Dom has been a longtime radio host for Total Rock, where he currently hosts The Dompilation Tapes, a show dedicated to excellent music from pretty much each and every genre you can think of. Much like his hero, Iron Maiden bassist and founding member Steve Harris, Dom is a lifelong West Ham supporter.

Articles by: Dom Lawson

"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

By Dom Lawson published 19 September 23

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

By Dom Lawson published 15 September 23

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

By Dom Lawson published 12 September 23

Roine Stolt and friends continue to ride their second wind since their 2019 return

Segments of the sleeves of five underrated prog album

The most underrated albums by 10 major prog bands

By Classic Rock published 3 September 23

Showing a little love for the overlooked classics by prog giants Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Rush and more

Photos of Pest Control, Tortured Demon and Enforced

10 up-and-coming thrash metal bands every self-respecting metalhead should listen to

By Dom Lawson published 31 August 23

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

By Dom Lawson published 22 August 23

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

By Merlin Alderslade published 22 August 23

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

By Dom Lawson published 22 August 23

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

By Dom Lawson published 21 August 23

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

By Dom Lawson published 13 August 23

Accidental albums with David Gilmour and Robert Fripp aren’t the only connections Alex Paterson’s psychedelic electronic group have with the progressive genre

A montage of album covers picked by famous musicians

30 musicians on the album that changed their life as a kid

By Classic Rock published 13 August 23

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

By Dom Lawson published 10 August 23

Amon Amarth's Thor-referencing epic Twilight Of The Thunder God also gave the band their breakthrough hit

Skindred have just released the banger-packed, life-affirming soundtrack to everybody’s summer

By Dom Lawson published 4 August 23

Benji’s banger brigade hit new heights as Skindred release liberating eighth album Smile

Dave Mustaine playing guitar onstage in 1995

The 10 greatest Megadeth riffs of all time

By Dom Lawson published 1 August 23

Love him or hate him, no one can deny that Megadeth mastermind Dave Mustaine has written a host of legendary riffs. Here are the 10 most neck-snapping.

The 50 best metal albums of the 2000s

By Merlin Alderslade published 28 July 23

From nu metal classics by Slipknot, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit to metal legends like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest bouncing back in style, these are the albums that defined the 2000s

Elegant Weapons: Horns For A Halo cover art

If it's big, boisterous, melodic metal anthems you're after, Elegant Weapons may be just what you need

By Dom Lawson published 25 May 23

Judas Priest man Richie Faulkner returns, backed by Rex Brown, Ronnie Romero and Scott Travis, on Elegant Weapons' debut Horns For A Halo

7 brilliant metal albums you might have missed last month

By Rich Hobson published 16 May 23

Grave Pleasures, As Everything Unfolds and Dodheimsgard are among the albums that might have flown under the radar in April

How Iron Maiden created their definitive masterpiece with Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

By Dom Lawson last updated 11 April 23

The epic concept album was more than just Iron Maiden’s most successful album of the 1980s – it took them to heavy metal immortality

Last In Line looser and grittier than before on the classy Jericho

By Dom Lawson published 2 April 23

Former Dio men Vivian Campbell and Vinnie Appice return with third album of thunderous hard rock, Jericho

Killer albums you need to hear in March 2023

7 killer metal albums you might have missed this month

By Rich Hobson published 31 March 23

From Kruelty and Demonstealer to Ad Infinitum, nothing,nowhere. and Lana Del Rabies, don't sleep on these brilliant new metal albums

Five cool new prog acts you need to hear this March

By Jerry Ewing, Jeremy Allen, Gary Mackenzie, Matt Mills, Dom Lawson published 30 March 23

Check out Moundrag, EBB, Cabiria, Wizrd and Shell Beach – five great new up and coming prog artists

Uriah Heep's Mick Box: "I feel like I’ve done ten rounds with Mike Tyson and not got a punch in"

By Dom Lawson published 28 March 23

Uriah Heep have lost a few friends but are enjoying a golden era, and new album Chaos & Colour is defiantly upbeat and inspirational

New singer, new attitude, new era: how Iron Maiden’s The Number Of The Beast changed metal forever

By Dom Lawson last updated 22 March 23

Bruce Dickinson joined Iron Maiden in time for the band's iconic third album, The Number Of The Beast. Things would never be the same again

"I’ve never made a deadline in my life. They’re finished when they’re finished.” Spiritualized and the story of their first four albums

By Dom Lawson published 17 February 23

Jason Pierce guides us through those first four groundbreaking Spiritualized albums

20 killer metal albums turning 10 in 2023

By Paul Travers published 1 February 23

From Bring Me The Horizon’s Sempiternal to Ghost’s Infestissumam, happy birthday to these absolute montsers

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