Latest Features on Classic Rock
Serial killers, sex and Satan-crazed filth: How the 1980s tried to destroy AC/DC
By the mid-80s, the huge success of Back In Black was a fading memory, AC/DC were on the ropes, and there was worse to come
Every album by The Cramps ranked from worst to best
Celebrating the finest in American trash and kitsch culture, The Cramps played rock’n’roll at its delinquent, B-movie best
Whiskey Myers: What rock'n'roll would say if it was a person
Unimpressed by the trappings and demands of the music business, Whiskey Myers are in it for themselves and their fans
Living Colour's Vernon Reid: The soundtrack of my life
Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid picks his records, artists and gigs of lasting significance, and reveals what it's like to be in a stadium filled with people singing War Pigs
The story behind Nirvana's first love song
Nirvana's first love song offered the world the first real glimpse of Kurt Cobain's songwriting genius
How Emerson, Lake and Palmer charted with Aaron Copland’s Fanfare For The Common Man in the year of punk
Even cut down to a third of its length, the 1977 track became their biggest hit, and one of the most successful instrumental single of all time
How Lenny Kravitz wrote Are You Gonna Go My Way
Two albums into his career, Lenny Kravitz was still taking the train to the studio. Then came the night that changed his life forever
His first band inspired Nirvana but sold no records. His next band finally gave him the success he deserved
How Bob Mould wrote Sugar’s classic 1992 grunge-era anthem Hoover Dam
The ultimate Motorhead playlist (as picked by Metallica, Judas Priest and more)
We asked some of metal's biggest names to share which Motorhead songs mean most to them
He played with Traffic, Hendrix and Free. But this doomed musician has been all but forgotten today
The life and death of lost musical alchemist Chris Wood
“Lemmy got the job because he elbowed everybody else out the way!” How Hawkwind made Silver Machine
It was only their second-ever single, but it made a massive impact – and Brock still doesn’t really know how it happened
The debauched story of the Faces, the ultimate party band who gave the world Rod Stewart
They were the greatest party band of the 70s
Terry Bozzio asked a question when he joined Frank Zappa. He asked it again when he left
Drummer, composer and painter recalls his experiences with Captain Beefheart, UK and others, names the best band he’s ever been in and reveals how long it takes to set up his Big Kit
How Iron Maiden pushed metal to its most colossal, then pushed a bit further, to make Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Sick of being known as ‘the devil-worshipping band’, the heavy metal legends wrote a sweeping track about a Romantic poem. They had no idea it’d be 13 minutes long, though.
Written in a church and inspired by excess, this dark Scorpions classic is still one of their strangest songs
It drew on psychedelia and Debussy
This sci-fi concept album was Kiss’s attempt to match The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Instead it became their most epic fail
Even Gene Simmons is embarrassed by it
Metal Hammer staff pick the best metal concerts of 2025
The Hammer team name their greatest gigs of the year, from stadium extravaganzas to sweaty basement dust-ups
“We came on after the bingo but before the stripper. It freaked me out when this woman walked past us naked… it was enough to put you off sex for ever”: Jon Anderson before, during and after Yes
His unique voice has made him revered among music fans – while his unique attitude has made him notorious among label execs
