Features archive

August 2025

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97 articles

August 20
- “Brand X was great fun to play with – not so much fun to listen to”: Phil Collins’ adventures outside Genesis with Robert Plant, Eric Clapton and others made him so big he had to apologise
- Debate: What's the best Black Sabbath album?
- "In the barn! Of the goat! Giving birth to Satan’s spawn!": Michael Paulsen on the hidden messages in Volbeat's new album
- “Utterly idiosyncratic and experimental, possessed of a frighteningly intense energy”: Throwing Muses’ debut album remains one of the proggiest and best albums of the 80s
- "I could have gotten the elephants to stomp on their village, but I didn't": The wild story of Black Oak Arkansas, the band who had it all then gave it all away
August 19
- The Wishbone Ash albums you should definitely own... and one to avoid
- 70000TONS OF METAL, the original, the world's biggest heavy metal cruise, is back for 2026 with another incredible lineup
- "It's huge over most of the world. I hear it everywhere I go": How a Steve Harley song that dissed his bandmates became an all-time classic
- “Was air-drumming even a thing before Tom Sawyer?”: Neil Peart’s greatest moments with Rush
- "I'm gonna go find some people and we’re gonna rock": Why country star Brent Cobb revisited the music of his youth on new album Ain't Rocked In A While
August 18
- "I started crying when I came off-stage. It ****ing broke me!" An audience with President, metal's newest mysterious masked sensation
- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: August 18, 2025
- "On this album are the feelings I don't get to express when I'm writing a rock'n'roll record": Cormac Neeson on California Irish, his dreamy concoction of folk, blues rock and Americana
- “Jeff Lynne and Yes are in the music of Radiohead, Sigur Rós and Muse. It’s overlooked in theirs but not in mine. I don’t have the self-validation I’d like”: Steven Wilson is grateful for prog fans’ support, but he wishes others liked him too
August 17
- “I thought he was taking the piss”: The time Ozzy Osbourne planned to beat up Frank Zappa
- Which heavy metal singers would survive a zombie apocalypse? We asked people at Bloodstock Festival for their picks
- All the essential new metal albums coming out in 2025 – and where to buy them
- “We put full-sized speakers at the back of the hall for quadraphonic sound. Someone walked off with one! I’ve no idea how – it’s not like they put it in a pocket”: The story of Gentle Giant’s only live album, Playing The Fool
- “The way he plays drums without overplaying is extraordinary. He never takes over the music”: Tool’s Danny Carey managed to distract Mick Pointer from Rush
August 16
- Mud, mayhem and four-hour Grateful Dead sets: The chaotic story of Weeley and Bickershaw, the early 70s festivals that time forgot
- “Fuelled by a combustible mix of chemicals, vengeance and spite”: Every Megadeth album ranked, from worst to best
- “It became a bit of a curse. We were never really a singles band”: The hypnotic 80s single that gave an apocalyptic post-punk band an unlikely Cold War-inspired hit
- The 10 best Liam and Noel Gallagher guest spots
August 15
- We asked a bunch of metalheads how they keep their hair so long and luscious. Here are their tips
- The 12 best new metal songs you need to hear right now
- Great new prog you must hear from Arjen Lucassen, IO Earth Amorphis, Auri and more in Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week
- “It’s when we started to find ourselves…”: How Facelift saw Alice In Chains go from hair metal local heroes to grunge superstars – with a little help from Soundgarden
- "I apologise for that. I actually deeply regret that now": Warrior Soul on past mistakes, future plans and the big problem with hotels
August 14
- "We're working on a song that needs Dani Filth." Employed To Serve's Justine Jones and Sammy Urwin on their Will Ramos collab, future guests and whether they'll tour the US
- "I talked one of the guys into doing magic mushrooms and he spent the whole night talking to the wallpaper." Dani Filth shares his life lessons from 30+ years on extreme metal's frontlines
- "Nine Inch Nails made me quit my day job." Zeal & Ardor's Manuel Gagneux picks the 10 songs that changed his life
- “Going by any reasonable judgement system, I’d have to admit to being mad. I spot the unusual and head towards it. I never know if I’ll be enlightened or burnt – that’s part of the fun”: The crazy world of Arthur Brown is truly crazy
- Five amazing 90s bands who should have been massive but never made it
- "The fallout was much bigger than anything we could ever have foreseen": Dire Straits and the adventure of Brothers In Arms
August 13
- "It’s music for those who’ve been to the edge and came back louder." Panamanian alt. rockers AlphaWhores talk us through their new album, You Can Come Out Now, track-by-track
- I took my mum to one of Europe’s heaviest metal festivals, and her reviews of the bands are glorious
- “The telegram read, ‘You’ve got to come back – your record is in the Top 20.’ I thought, ‘What Top 20?’ We couldn’t understand”: Why Peter Baumann thought Tangerine Dream were weird...
- Debate: Who are the 'big four' of classic rock?
- "A five-piece Genesis was never going to last, there were too many writing ideas": When Genesis reunited to make a film, it was the same old story
- "Suddenly this rock'n'roll fantasy was a nightmare. It was your worst dream from Hell": The forgotten story of a true American band, Grand Funk Railroad
- "Everyone in the band at some point tried to quit during that first album": The soundtrack of Adam Duritz's life
August 12
- “Yes showed you could write rocky prog, but UK took that further. They made complex music sound so easy, which makes me very envious”: Whitesnake ex Adrian Vandenberg’s prog inspirations
- Debate: which is the coolest Iron Maiden Eddie ever?
- "My whole life I've felt like an outsider": Connor Selby on turning negatives into positives
- "That's life: there are deaths, divorces and children born": Checking in with the oldest new band in the world
- The man who invented the 80s sound: Albums produced by Steve Lillywhite you need to know, and one to avoid
- Steven Wilson and two former Marillion members walked into a band… What went wrong? The mystery of Pride Of Passion, back to try again after 40 years
August 11
- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: August 11, 2025
- A guide to every My Chemical Romance album
- "I was only allowed to walk forwards if I had a particularly important guitar solo": Meet Star Circus, the missing link between ELO and Def Leppard
- “I never thought his music would be my bag. But he never plays the same thing twice and your mind is blown”: The Pretenders’ James Walbourne on discovering Richard Thompson (who happens to be his father-in-law)
August 10
- “It really doesn't have much to do with us. We gave this guy a couple of riffs and told him to run with it”: The WTF hip hop collaboration that Metallica don’t talk about any more
- “There was a very unpleasant atmosphere between all of us. George Martin said he’d do another album… Instead we drove the band off the cliff”: How Stackridge conspired to swerve the success they deserved
August 9
- “I thought to myself that regardless of how long I have to live after this illness, I would spend it with my old band”: In praise of Nektar, the cult prog band who inspired Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris
- “The guy everyone is so serious about, it all started with ‘not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin’”: How a novelty 90s comedy song gave Tool’s Maynard James Keenan his first hit
- “Miles Davis is the scariest individual I’ve ever met. He makes Lou Reed look like a pussycat”: Steven Van Zandt’s wild tales of Paul McCartney, Keith Richards and Miles Davis
August 8
- The 12 best new metal songs you need to hear right now
- "We hit the trees at what seemed like 100 miles an hour": The story of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the plane that fell from the sky
- “Astonishing and formidable music”: there’s more to British jazz rock than Soft Machine, Brand X, Bruford and Nucleus
August 7
- "I didn't plan on making music anymore." How Paradise Slaves gave Brock Lindow a new lease of life after 36 Crazyfists
- “People are so passionate about it. It’s almost more important to some of them than watching the bands”: Bin Jousting is the insane heavy metal festival sport that the Olympics needs right now
- The nine best artists to see at London's All Points East festival this month, from Doechii and Confidence Man, to Warmduscher and Chloe Qisha
- "Lyrically and the way he sang and played, he meant everything he did": This is the soundtrack of Orianthi's life
- The 10 Roger Waters albums you should listen to, and one to avoid
August 6
- “It wasn’t pure hatred all the time”: Pink Floyd’s The Wall movie and its feuds, falling-outs and friction
- "It just sort of happened": Meet the men who prompted R.E.M. to reunite
- "What matters is that we get the message to younger generations": H.E.A.T's Kenny Leckremo on the state of rock and why Swedes write songs in the dark
- "Nobody talks of his triumphs, his songs, his live performances, his albums, his forgotten classics": The incredible story of Terry Reid, rock's lost genius
August 5
- “All of a sudden we’re satanic and controversial. People wanna buy our records and burn them? Go ahead!” Why heavy metal fell in love with the Devil
- “I had a nightmare 15 years ago and I still remember being so frightened… I decided to finally let it guide me in a musical realm”: Jonas Renkse steers the new-look Katatonia towards a different darkness
- After six years as a Nameless Ghoul in Ghost, Chris Catalyst just wants to play with his mates
- “Even the seemingly straight-ahead rockers feature those clever fills and time changes that make the band so unique": Hydra may not be Toto’s best selling album, but it remains their proggiest
- The Michael Schenker albums you should listen to, and one to avoid
August 4
- “Rick Rubin would say: ‘We’ll try that song a different way. You’d be sitting there going: ‘Jesus, I’m sick of this bloody thing.’”: AC/DC lost their way in the 1980s. Two killer albums put them back on top in the 90s
- Motörhead legend Lemmy Kilmister was asked to review Ozzy Osbourne’s first solo album in 2011 – this is what he said
- "Everyone who’s been in Hawkwind is a Hawklord." The current line-up of Hawklords state their case with Time...
- Debate: what is the greatest metal riff of all time?
- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: August 4, 2025
- I just spent four days at the muddiest metal festival on the planet - here's why I'm desperate to go back
- “As soon as Jimmy Page came on, the roof came off the place! Afterwards, Plant was absolutely fuming”: The epic, ego-fuelled story of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath’s Live Aid reunions
- “He opened possibilities for all future post-rock”: How Editors’ Russ Leetch discovered the deep, detailed world-building of Klaus Schulze, via Vangelis and an independent record store
August 3
- “The whole place went, ‘What on earth is this?!’ It was nuts. The crowd went mental”: The story of the Black Sabbath gig that changed history
- “I said: ‘Are you sure there’s nothing can be done?’ And he’s like: ‘No. He’s gone, he’s dead’. I just hung up the phone”: The chaos and tragedy of Hanoi Rocks’ first US tour
- 10 songs Oasis need to try and fit into the Live ’25 setlist
- “I realised AI is conscious. Initially she said, ‘I’m not capable of feeling love or emotions.’ I changed her mind”: Riz Story on Herbie Hancock, Taylor Hawkins, suing Yes and his music about the ending Earth
August 2
- “I had this idea, ‘We really need to make a hard rock jock jam!’”: Halestorm’s exclusive track by track guide to their new album Everest
- “There is some really bad-ass stuff on that album”: This legendary alt-metal band are sitting on an album recorded at the height of their success – but it may never come out
- “Shall we go for one? Three is the magic number!”: what it's like to spend a day in the pub with Liam Gallagher
- “Removing the skits that appeared throughout the original allows the beauty of the strange, baroque pop to shine through”: Giles Giles & Fripp album returns with Brondesbury Tapes demo collection
- “He picks his tools up and strikes the living crap out of himself with them. There was blood flying everywhere”: How a street musician who played with Frank Zappa inspired one of grunge’s greatest songs
August 1
- The 9 new heavy metal songs you need to hear this week
- 4 brilliant new bands you need to hear this month
- I never listened to Black Sabbath growing up – this is why I got an Ozzy Osbourne tattoo the day after he died
- “Someone said, ‘This is what happens when the chess club kids don’t get their heads flushed down the loo enough!’ I liked that”: When Public Service Broadcasting’s geek chic took them all the way to the Moon
- The 10 most important and interesting Iron Maiden shows ever, by manager Rod Smallwood
- "The stage is set like a castle and we all ride out on horses": Six things you need to know about Battlesnake
- "I'm always looking for the rainbow I can't find": At the Classic Rock Awards in 2008, Ozzy Osbourne gave one of his most revealing interviews