Latest articles by Malcolm Dome
The chaotic story of Lamb Of God’s New American Gospel, the album that kickstarted 2000s metal
Lamb Of God’s New American Gospel ushered in the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal a couple of years early
How Queensryche made conspiracy theory-based masterpiece Operation: Mindcrime,
Metal’s all-time greatest concept album? Operation: Mindcrime could be it
The convoluted story of Procol Harum’s A Whiter Shade Of Pale
In May 1967, the band’s debut single changed the musical world. Nearly six decades later it’s developed a long and protracted legacy
The all-too-short story of promising early proggers Rare Bird
A US tour without enough dates, a move away from the sound that got them signed, frequent line-up changes and never any money – just some of the things that went wrong for the band who once stood alongside The Nice and Van der Graaf Generator
The tumultuous history of Testament, thrash metal’s greatest nearly-men
If there’s a thrash metal Big Five, Bay Area bangers Testament ares strong contenders
Was Excerpt From A Teenage Opera the strangest prog hit single ever?
Tomorrow singer Keith West found himself at No. 2 in the Top 40 in 1967 with a song he’d never been meant to sing
Roger Glover’s Butterfly Ball album was a surprise success –but was it prog?
Having recently quit Deep Purple, the bassist was looking for a new challenge in 1973. It came in the form of The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper’s Feast, featuring notable prog guest stars
The chaotic story of Jane’s Addiction’s Ritual De Lo Habitual, the debauched masterpiece that changed music
Forget Nirvana’s Nevermind – it was Jane’s Addiction’s game-changing second album Ritual De Lo Habitual that ushered in the alternative rock decade
What Blue Öyster Cult thought of being called prog – and what they thought of More Cowbell
They may have been called “the thinking man’s metal band” but comparing themselves to ELP, Jethro Tull and King Crimson, they assert there was a lot more progressive thinking going on than many realised
The story of Diamond Head’s Lightning To The Nations, the cult album that invented Metallica
Diamond Head’s Lightning To The Nations should have turned them into NWOBHM-era superstars, but instead it inspired Lars Ulrich to start his own band
The grounding experiences of Barclay James Harvest – the band that broke in two
Unrelentingly Northern in attitude, both parts the slow-burning band that split in two seemed happy with their lot – but is their story one of unfulfilled achievements?
How Ronnie James Dio escaped Black Sabbath and launched one of metal‘s greatest solo careers
Singer, band leader, icon – this is the story of Ronnie James Dio’s epic solo career
The insane story of Megadeth’s So Far, So Good… So What!, thrash’s most self-destructive album
Megadeth’s first two albums were thrash classics. And then they made So Far, So Good… So What! and the debauchery caught up with them
How Mick Jones invented Foreigner and paved the way for the multi-million-selling albums that followed
Against all expectations, Foreigner's debut album sold millions. This is the real story behind one of the biggest debut albums ever
The brutal story of Carcass’s early 90s death metal classic Heartwork
Hash pipes, bust-ups and a death metal landmark – how Carcass made 1993’s classic Heartwork album
“He tore the whole thing to shreds and was very unkind”: Jethro Tull’s War Child and 1974
Their seventh studio album was the result of a failed attempt to make a movie – but the band leader believes many more significant things happened in the world of music that year
The story of Opeth’s Blackwater Park, the album that changed prog metal forever
How Opeth seized the prog metal throne with 2001’s genre-defining Blackwater Park album
40 famous Rush fans pick their favourite Rush song
Steven Wilson, Arjen Lucassen, Steve Rothery and more famous fans pick their top tracks – with some surprising results
How Corrosion Of Conformity ditched hardcore and embraced southern metal with Deliverance
The story of Corrosion Of Conformity’s Metallica-approved 1994 album Deliverance
Caravan’s Pye Hastings planned his solo debut 44 years before it happened
As his band reached its 50th anniversary, the Canterbury veteran still worried if going solo with From The Half House was the right thing to do
A metal fan’s guide to prog legends Rush
Side long epics, mad concepts and unlikely hit singles – how Canadian visionaries Rush laid down the blueprint for prog metal
The need to deceive loved ones inspired Caravan’s Paradise Filter
Canterbury pioneers’ 14th album was surprisingly lacking in their traditional Ealing Studios views of England, containing more serious observations on modern life instead
How Powerslave pointed the way to Iron Maiden’s epic future
Iron Maiden’s monumental Powerslave album was released 40 years ago today
