10 great bands whose debut albums weren't actually that great By Fraser Lewry, Dom Lawson, Malcolm Dome, Jon Hotten, Sleazegrinder, Stephen Hill, Rob Hughes, Dave Ling, Alec Chillingworth published 15 October 21 Everybody's got to start somewhere, and some of our very best bands started slowly. Here's 10 great bands whose debut albums weren't actually great
Nirvana's Nevermind and the rock'n'roll revolution that came from nowhere By Jon Hotten published 10 August 21 Nirvana’s Nevermind album introduced 90s grunge to the mainstream and sounded the death knell for the 80s
10 glam metal albums you should definitely own By Jon Hotten published 8 June 21 Equal parts hooks and hairspray, glam metal's brief moment in the Hollywood limelight was both brash and brilliant. These are the best albums
How David Coverdale, Tawny Kitaen and MTV turned Whitesnake into megastars By Jon Hotten published 12 May 21 Whitesnake’s album 1987 sold millions and turned David Coverdale into a rock legend. It also made David’s future wife Tawny Kitaen a star
"We had the desire to create something extraordinary" - how Queen found themselves and made Queen II By Jon Hotten published 28 April 21 In 1974 Queen released the album that would define their sound, capture their grand ambition and vindicate their unshakeable self-belief. This is the story of Queen II and the real birth of the legend
How Guitar Hero III made Slash famous all over again By Jon Hotten published 31 March 21 It's one of the biggest-grossing computer games of all time. Slash talks about how he became famous all over again through Guitar Hero III
A beginner's guide to the thrilling, topsy-turvy world of the concept album By Hugh Fielder, Jon Hotten, Sian Llewellyn published 27 January 21 Rock is often about more than just the music: it's about The Big Idea, and ambition manifesting itself as The Concept Album
The 10 best Power Pop albums By Jon Hotten published 24 November 20 Power pop is the cheeky little cousin of pop-rock. It’s one of rock’s most accessible genres, and it’s not so easy to define, but these are its best albums
The triumph of the gentleman rockers: How Led Zeppelin IV was made By Jon Hotten published 4 November 20 In 1971, Led Zeppelin released their untitled fourth album and changed the face of rock forever. This is the story of the album known variously as Led Zeppelin IV, Runes, Four Symbols or simply Untitled
Crazy, overblown and brilliant: How Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman made Bat Out Of Hell By Jon Hotten published 21 October 20 It launched Meat Loaf onto an unsuspecting world. It stayed in the UK charts for eight years and became the biggest selling debut album of all time. It also nearly finished off the singer for good. This is the story of Bat Out Of Hell
How Led Zeppelin plundered music's past to create a blueprint for its future By Jon Hotten published 3 September 20 From the ashes of 60s blues rock, Led Zeppelin took off and wrote the template for all hard rock that followed. But it was all just an extension of the blues tradition itself
The 10 worst albums by 10 brilliant classic rock bands By Geoff Barton, Sleazegrinder, Ian Fortnam, Fraser Lewry, Malcolm Dome, Jon Hotten, Hugh Fielder, Paul Elliott published 9 June 20 Even the best can get it wrong sometimes: here's the worst albums by 10 of rock's greatest bands
Life in the fast lane: the turbulent tale of The Eagles By Jon Hotten published 19 May 20 Fistfights, ulcers and run-ins with the law were all part of the Eagles’ everyday life: A look behind the rise, fall and unexpected rise again of the ultimate Californian band
Nikki Sixx interview: The Dirt, the Heroin Diaries, and the wreck of Motley Crue By Jon Hotten published 24 January 20 In 2003 Classic Rock spoke to Nikki Sixx about Motley Crue's upcoming movie The Dirt. It wouldn't see the light of day for another sixteen years
Magnum: a guide to their best albums By Jon Hotten, Johnny Sharp published 21 January 20 Magnum have never joined rock’s big league, but these Brummies have nevertheless produced some of pomp rock’s best albums
Journey: The Great Escape By Jon Hotten published 19 July 19 It’s not just the greatest AOR album ever made, Journey’s Escape also flies high outside the genre as one of the greatest albums in rock
The 50 Greatest AOR Albums Of All Time By Dave Ling, Jon Hotten, Sian Llewellyn, Paul Elliott published 1 May 19 From big hitters like Journey, Boston and Foreigner to the lesser known lights of AOR, these are the 50 albums that truly sparkle
Never mind the spandex: How metal got its mojo back By Jon Hotten published 7 December 17 Big hair and bad spandex almost killed any credibility metal had in the 1980s. But metal not only survived, it also came back bigger than ever. Here’s how…
Interview: Duff McKagan on sobriety, Velvet Revolver and Chinese Democracy By Jon Hotten published 3 September 17 In 2009, the sobered-up Guns N' Roses veteran spoke to Classic Rock from a position of domestic bliss and reduced drama, while promoting a new Loaded album
Last of the Giants: The True Story of Guns N' Roses - book review By Jon Hotten published 18 November 16 Legendary rock journalist Mick Wall was famously called out by Axl Rose on Guns N' Roses' furious Get In The Ring. Is his new book about the band the chance to settle old scores?
Sebastian Bach: "It's the music that people remember, not all the other stuff” By Jon Hotten published 23 September 16 Former Skid Row singer, Broadway star and reality TV stalwart Sebastian Bach on the best and worst drugs, Axl Rose, and working until the day you die...
The chaotic, crazed story of Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion By Jon Hotten published 17 September 16 Drugs, rifts, hirings, firings, and the sound of a band falling apart. Slash, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler and more tell the story of GN’R’s Use Your Illusion
The strange and terrible true story of Great White By Jon Hotten published 10 September 16 Great White toured with Guns N' Roses, hit the charts, and dissolved in a blur of betrayal and substance abuse. And, just when it couldn’t get worse, they played Rhode Island
Freddie Mercury: the life and times of rock’s most outrageous star By Jon Hotten published 5 September 16 A shy kid from Zanzibar helped propel Queen to superstardom. Classic Rock chronicles the extraordinary story of the Queen singer
The Bizarre Life & Sad Death Of Nikki Sixx’s Doppelganger By Jon Hotten published 27 August 16 In the late 80s, unknown musician Matthew Trippe claimed to have replaced Nikki Sixx in Motley Crue. Now the true story of Trippe’s strange life can finally be told