Latest articles by Malcolm Dome
"I'll be honest here – I think they blew us off stage every single night": what happened when AC/DC went on tour with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
In 1976 Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow embarked on the Rising tour of Europe with a young band from Australia in tow: Ronnie James Dio was watching them very closely
“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper is about hope, rather than the finality of death. It’s a song about wishful thinking”: how Blue Oyster Cult’s Agents Of Fortune album became their passport to immortality
Blue Öyster Cult‘s career was stuck in cruise control until their breakthrough album Agents Of Fortune and its haunting lead single elevated them to stardom
“You don’t need big orchestras and lots of notes to make things come alive. Just three notes will do, if they’re the right ones”: How to horrify, by movie soundtrack specialist Claudio Simonetti
Goblin maestro picks key compositions that amplified classic scary movies
"It's the ultimate Nektar feelgood track, because everyone – onstage and in the crowd – loves it so much”: the late Roye Albrighton’s six favourite songs to play
Live performance was an essential part of enjoying his own band’s work
"We have one rule: you can have body punches and choke-holds and throw bottles at each other, but we never crack each other in the face": What happens when bands fight
The 40 bitterest bust-ups in rock history: From fisticuffs to wars of words to litigation and beyond, rock'n'roll’s divorce courts are packed with ire and animosity:
“A chance to work with him would be incredible. But in a way I do… he always raises the bar a bit higher”: Why Peter Gabriel is Kip Winger’s prog hero
Pin-up turned classical composer deeply inspired by a catalogue that shows “the difference between musicians who are entertainers versus musicians who are true artists”
"It remains a touchstone of art-rock genius, a true masterpiece": Why you should definitely own The Modern Dance by Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu's 1978 esoteric art rock masterpiece The Modern Dance cleared the ground for much of the more adventurous music that's been recorded since
“The most wonderful ideas can come from people you might call amateurs… they haven’t been playing long enough to get bogged down in the rules”: King Crimson ex David Cross loves jamming with students
Violinist and keyboardist finds great joy in his work as a university lecturer
“Take the album out of the Kiss context, and you have a remarkably coherent work”: Why Music From The Elder is a prog metal masterpiece
Disregarded and overlooked, the band’s 1981 release is a brave and satisfying entry into a different genre
“Natural ability counts for nothing… One of the problems progressive music has had is it never encouraged everyone to have a try”: Peter Gabriel’s guide to success
He doesn’t believe in luck, elitism or standing still, but he does believe anyone can do what he does
"Christmas is overlaid onto the winter solstice, and that nods towards our pagan past.” Why Christmas is prog's favourite time of the year...
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat… And out roll the usual suspects trying to crack the festive Top 40. Still, it isn’t all about Slade, The Snowman and Sir Cliff. Prog rockers seem to enjoy Christmas more than most...
"Hey man, the music sucks! Put on something good, will ya?: what happened the night Guns N' Roses created havoc in a Mexican restaurant
How an idiot in a penguin suit found himself set upon by The Most Dangerous Band in the World™️
"After 41 years away, we didn’t want to come back and sound like we belonged in the past." How Gryphon reinvented themselves
Unique chamber proggers Gryphon returned to action in 2009. Six years later they released Reinvention, their first new studio album in over 40 years
"The Dark Side Of The Moon has already been done and so has The Six Wives Of Henry VIII! And I had no clue what else to write about!" Tony Kaye on why it took him so long to record his first solo album
Former Yes keyboard player Tony Kaye's first ever solo album, 2021's End Of Innocence, was inspired by the 9/11 tragedy
The 50 best AC/DC songs ever
From Sydney streets to world domination, AC/DC have never strayed from the path during five decades of unwavering commitment to the cause of righteous rock'n'roll
“There are so many progressive artists to whom I owe so much… Roxy Music are a major part of who I am today:” Tom G Warrior’s passion for prog
He admits it might surprise some people, but the Celtic Frost and Triptykon mastermind enjoyed a wide range of progressive artists in his formative years
“Leaving aside any bias over Radar Love, it brought their progressive leanings right to the surface”: Golden Earring’s Moontan
Yes, it contains a giant classic rock hit – but the Dutch band’s 1973 album offers a much more eclectic musical experience
“We played Madison Square Garden twice in one day… we saw our name in 50ft-high letters and said, ‘Perhaps we’ve made it!’ We bought a load of tickets off a scalper and gave them away”: When the Moody Blues started taking themselves seriously
Justin Hayward and co weren’t sure how long they’d last after inheriting the music of Denny Laine - but they needn’t have worried
“The media built up this mutual hatred between prog and punk, but really I don’t think it existed”: Sonja Kristina on Curved Air’s impact - and the time she nearly quit
Singer became a sex symbol and inspired Kate Bush and Siouxsie Sioux... but she also pretended to sleep to avoid interaction at parties
“I shrugged off advice and instead went headlong into experimenting with different musical ideas. Not my best ever move”: Greg Lake’s faltering reboot after ELP split
He later described his disappointing debut solo album as “actually about who I’m not, rather than who I am”
"There’s a tape of us doing Black Sabbath covers. I hope that never surfaces, we were appalling." - Tinyfish come clean
The ‘world’s smallest prog band’, the south-eastern UK crew Tinyfish get curiouser and curiouser.
"I am the founding father of progressive symphonic rock". Robert John Godfrey states his case
Prog sat down with the godfather of symphonic rock is back as the band prepared to play the Prog Stage at the then newly formed High Voltage Festival
“Everyone thought the maestro was totally off his rocker”: when Stevie Wonder invoked flower power for his own Dark Side Of The Moon
1979’s Krautrock-tinged Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants was a surprise follow-up to soul epic Songs In The Key Of Life
“I’ve taken my lack of proficiency into the spotlight… unless you push yourself, I can’t see the use in a solo album”: Trevor Rabin’s desire to take risks
Jacaranda, the precursor to 2023 album Rio, represents an exercise in self-challenge, and a distancing from his work with Yes and on movie scores
