
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

“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.

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

How David Coverdale Americanised Whitesnake and sold 8 million albums
By Dom Lawson published
David Coverdale explains how Whitesnake were transformed from a successful blues-rock band into an MTV-friendly commercial juggernaut

Enslaved and the making of Utgard
By Dom Lawson published
In 2020 Norwegian prog metallers Enslaved released Utgard, their proggiest album to date. This is the story...

Every Venom album ranked from worst to best
By Dom Lawson published
Venom’s Black Metal album gave the most evil metal subgenre its name, but which albums get the horns and which are as diabolical as the devil's diaper?

5 new bands you need to hear this month
By Metal Hammer published
From a death metal supergroup to alt-metal’s next heroes, these are the bands you should be at the top of your New Music playlist

Hair plugs, cancel culture and the song he refused to play on: the confessions of Anthrax’s Scott Ian
By Dom Lawson published
“Having Meat Loaf as a father-in-law was fantastic”: you ask the questions, Anthrax riff king Scott Ian answers them
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