Classic Rock Features

How William Shakespeare inspired the song which became a surprise grunge-era hit and saved an entire genre

By Malcolm Dome published 31 January 26

This 1992 classic was a turning point for progressive metal

“Ghosts, rustling, scraping at the window… happening every full moon”: The creepy tale of Camel’s Moonmadness

By Dom Lawson published 30 January 26

Charged with matching The Snow Goose’s surprise success, Andy Latimer’s band wrote a record about themselves – disguising their vocals because they’d been told they couldn’t sing

Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax and more remember how thrash metal took over the world 40 years ago

By Jon Hotten published 30 January 26

1986 was the year where thrash metal broke through. We got the genre’s leading bands to look back on those whirlwind 12 months.

The debauched story of the Wildhearts classic made perfect by the last guitar solo from a legend

By Henry Yates published 30 January 26

All the elements of the classic rock'n'roll lifestyle fed into a storming tune about a crazy ex-lover

Adrian Smith on how Smith/Kotzen got started, bonding over British rock and Iron Maiden's big homecoming

By Dave Ling published 30 January 26

Guitarists Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen are preparing to take their side project on the road with shows in the UK and Europe

This is the soundtrack of H.E.A.T frontman Kenny Leckremo's life

By Dave Everley published 30 January 26

H.E.A.T frontman Kenny Leckremo picks his records, artists and gigs of lasting significance, and talks a lot about Iron Maiden

Nine Blondie albums you should listen to, and one to avoid

By Alex Burrows published 29 January 26

With their sharp songwriting and lyrical flair, Blondie are the pop-punk disco titans who embraced rap before it went mainstream. These are their best albums

“He wrote, ‘Eat more shit – 100,000 flies can’t be wrong”: German prog icon ignored haters to scale the charts

By Rob Hughes published 29 January 26

Accused of being a European “knob-turner,” he faced the music establishment’s rejection attitude with a lesson learned from Salvador Dali, and defied expectations by scaling the charts

The story of the love/hate hit that split the Judas Priest fan base

By Henry Yates published 29 January 26

Rob Halford recalls how Judas Priest celebrated 1980s materialism - complete with sexy motor imagery and state-of-the-art studio technology

Every solo album by Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson ranked from worst to best

By Dom Lawson published 28 January 26

Even if you take The Beast out of the equation, Bruce Dickinson has had a magical career. Here are his seven albums in reverse-order of excellence.

The chaotic and confusing story of Metallica’s abandoned album

By Stephen Hill published 28 January 26

In 2001, Metallica hired an old army barracks in California to try and record album eight. The songs were scrapped when James Hetfield entered rehab, but many fans still want to hear them finished.

Steven Wilson tried to forget his shamelessly commercial song, but met it again in a strip club

By Dave Everley published 28 January 26

The band leader learned a valuable lesson about himself after an attempt to do his record label’s bidding

Ian Anderson on Jethro Tull, the right kind of guitarist, and forgetting what he's done

By James McNair published 28 January 26

Ian Anderson talks about Jethro Tull’s latest album Curious Ruminant and ponders the itch to make another

How we got over ourselves and learned to love The Darkness

By Geoff Barton published 28 January 26

On October 7, 2003, The Darkness released their debut album Permission To Land. Many were resistant to its obvious charms, including us

Stooges guitarist James Williamson on Raw Power, the proto-punk ass kicker Bowie didn't understand

By Greg Prato published 28 January 26

Stooges guitarist James Williamson looks back at this proto-punk ass kicker that opened many a show circa ’73

The dark, twisted, brilliant but largely forgotten grunge band who could have been bigger than Nirvana

By Paul Brannigan published 27 January 26

The story of the cult Seattle band who should have become superstars but couldn't catch a break

The folk-rock anthem about the souring of the American Dream that continues to confound and inspire

By Bill DeMain published 27 January 26

The story of the song about America that's been a global hit for two different musicians

Steven Adler lived more dangerously than anyone in Guns N' Roses - before it all came crashing down

By Malcolm Dome published 27 January 26

Of all those involved with Guns N' Roses, drummer Steven Adler was the one who most lived up to their Most Dangerous Band In The World reputation

“If you see any Floyd tribute act there’s an utter po-facedness to them”: Gary Kemp on Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets

By Dave Everley published 27 January 26

The previously secret fan – who sneaked prog onto a Spandau Ballet album – helped bring Sex Pistols, Clash and Bowie vibes into Mason’s band, and felt intimidated when Roger Waters guested with them