
Dom Lawson
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.
Latest articles by Dom Lawson

New singer, new attitude, new era: how Iron Maiden’s The Number Of The Beast changed metal forever
By Dom Lawson last updated
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
Jason Pierce guides us through those first four groundbreaking Spiritualized albums

20 killer metal albums turning 10 in 2023
By Paul Travers published
From Bring Me The Horizon’s Sempiternal to Ghost’s Infestissumam, happy birthday to these absolute montsers

Uriah Heep: still fully in touch with what made them great 50 years ago
By Dom Lawson published
Another Box-fresh hard-rock bull’s eye as Uriah Heep release album number 25 Chaos And Colour

The making of Riverside's Shrine Of New Generation Slaves
By Dom Lawson published
Following a Number One album in their home country, Poland's Riverside hit new heights with 2013's Shrine Of New Generation Slaves

Dark-prog magi Katatonia deliver more epic gloom on Sky Void Of Stars
By Dom Lawson published
Album review: Katatonia’s 12th album Sky Void O Stars proves that they’re the masters of sumptuous sullenness

“I realised quite early that this album would deal a lot with growing up." Beardfish's 2015 album +4626-COMFORTZONE would also be their last until they reformed last year
By Dom Lawson published
Released in 2015, +4626-COMFORTZONE was Swedish prog rockers Beardfish's eighth studio album. It also would also be the band's last for nine years...

The 50 best metal albums of 2022
By Rich Hobson published
From Ghost and Slipknot to Zeal & Ardor and Ithaca, these are the best albums of the last 12 months

5 new bands you need to hear this month
By Rich Hobson published
From Gojira-style Swiss prog metal to anti-war Ukrainian death metal, these are 5 new bands you need to hear right now

The 10 best black metal albums of 2022
By Rich Hobson published
From Abbath and Blackbraid to Gaerea and Zeal & Ardor - these are the 10 best black metal albums of 2022

The 10 best doom metal albums of 2022
By Rich Hobson published
From Conan and BlackLab to Crippled Black Phoenix and MWWB, these are the 10 best doom metal records of 2022

The 10 best death metal albums of 2022
By Rich Hobson published
From Aborted and Immolation to Venom Prison and Lorna Shore, these are the 10 best death metal records of 2022

The 10 best power metal albums of 2022
By Rich Hobson published
From Sabaton and Blind Guardian to Wind Rose and Bridear, these are the 10 best power metal albums of 2022

The 10 best thrash metal albums of 2022
By Rich Hobson published
From Megadeth and Kreator to Dead Cross and Vulcano, these are the best thrash metal albums of 2022

Every Porcupine Tree album ranked from worst to best
By Dom Lawson published
Updated Art-metal skronk-outs? Pink Floyd-inspired anthems? Epic trance workouts? A journey through the masterworks of defiant prog pioneers Porcupine Tree

How Cynic's Ascension Codes was a triumph born of tragedy
By Dom Lawson published
After a tumultuous period when two core members tragically died, remaining co-founder Paul Masvidal re-grouped, and re-emerged with the fourth Cynic album.

Geddy Lee: Mr. Bass Man
By Dom Lawson last updated
Rush bassist Geddy Lee discusses his Big Beautiful Book Of Bass and what his musical future might hold

10 essential rap metal albums
By Rich Hobson published
Get the party – or the riot – started with these rap metal classics

Every Iron Maiden album ranked from worst to best
By Dom Lawson last updated
Ranking Iron Maiden albums in order of greatness is a tough job. But we’ve done it anyway

Peter Hammill: inside the mind of prog's renaissance man
By Dom Lawson published
When Peter Hammill released his first ever covers album, In Translation, Prog sat down with him to discover just what really makes him tick

The 20 greatest prog metal bands of all time
By Metal Hammer published
The results of the poll to find the greatest prog metal band ever are in and we have a winner

Devin Townsend's immaculate sonics and huge melodies thrill on heartfelt Lightwork album
By Dom Lawson published
Devin Townsend's Lightwork: Melodic bliss from the previously Hevy Devy

Every Cypress Hill album ranked from worst to best
By Dom Lawson published
From their self-titled 1991 debut to Back in Black, here's how we ranked Cypress Hill's studio albums, all rolled up in one definitive list

Sodom's 40 Years Of War: a brutal and bruising re-thrash of four decades of diehard metal
By Dom Lawson published
40 Years Of War: The Greatest Hits sees German legends Sodom's gnarliest deep cuts, re-made

"We wanted to capture the magic of prog's classic era" – Wobbler: the story of From Silence To Somewhere
By Dom Lawson published
Norwegians Wobbler recreate the epic sounds of early 70s prog rock, but in 2017, with the help of Karisma and a new line-up, they finally started to get the recognition they deserve
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