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July 2026

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244 articles

July 31
- Top new prog from King Gizzard, Green Carnation, Temic and more in Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week
- "Are we a punk band now?" The ugly truth behind Mezzanine, the bleak, beautiful masterpiece which ripped Massive Attack apart
- “I spend more time writing emails than playing guitar these days. That really bums me out. I’m trying to bring the joy back into creation”: Elder’s Through Zero is a bid to balance conflict and resolution
- "John Belushi always used to try to get off with my ex-wife. I'd say: 'John, I can hear you, you fat git'": Ronnie Wood's wild tales of Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards, Bob Dylan and Axl Rose
- "I was constantly terrified that any minute Jesus was going to rip the sky open and that I'd be left here." Ashley McBryde has been through the wringer and come out dry
July 30
- “They barged in with sexy photo shoots, Las Vegas residencies and Bond themes. She said ‘no.’ The brain, not the body, was her real quality”: The family business that kept Kate Bush in the charts but out of sight
- "The stench of success was horrible for a lot of people." How David Bowie, Jane's Addiction, self-loathing, bitterness and jealousy led Gavin Rossdale to write Everything Zen, the song that turned unknown Brits Bush into superstars in America
- “2012 wasn’t that long ago but it was in terms of women and evolution. That almost made me want to double down”: How Halestorm tackled sexuality and broken relationships, and emerged with hit single I Miss The Misery
- “You’re gonna see the Crazy Train and get on the Crazy Train”: What to expect at Universal’s Ozzy Osbourne haunted houses this Halloween
- "The music evokes the past in an extraordinary way. The public own it now, and it has a kind of magic to it." The story of Meet On The Ledge, Fairport Convention's most stirring, emotive anthem
- “For all his showmanship, he was first and foremost a composer and musician, making music for the head and the heart”: Rick Wakeman, Ian Anderson, Geoff Downes and others pay homage to Keith Emerson
July 29
- “I’ve run out of artists I want to listen to. I find very few things that move me”: When Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland turned to prog for musical fulfilment
- "I feel like shooting people!” In the run-up to 1988's US presidential election, R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck had some outrageously dark and violent thoughts
- Every Spider-Man movie ranked from worst to best, from Raimi's originals to Brand New Day
- "She stormed away from the room and went up to the hotel room and just wrote the words in their entirety." How a sleazy record company man inspired Heart's classic feminist anthem Barracuda
- “It’s so beautiful, especially when I listen to it now. The combination of nostalgia and pure sonic beauty is pretty moving”: The song that makes Rush’s Geddy Lee cry (and it’s not by Rush)
- "I sometimes just want to be the guy eating a hamburger without someone asking: 'Where's your nose chain and your leather trousers?'" Rachel Bolan on the need for speed, his solo debut, Skid Row's new singer, digging punk and Oasis
July 28
- "She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak." The story behind Nirvana's darkest and most disturbing love song, Heart-Shaped Box
- “It came on the radio. None of us knew it had been edited. We all sat up and said, ‘What’s going on?’”: Yes’ record label hacked an eight-minute track into a three-minute single without telling them. Jon Anderson, for one, couldn’t be happier
- “The basement where we rehearsed got flooded and some of our equipment we just had to throw away”: How Meshuggah foresaw the future of extreme metal with 1995’s Destroy Erase Improve
- “The first Slipknot album is all chaos; the Stone Sour album is a baring of the soul”: Corey Taylor reveals the 10 albums that changed his life
- "I almost died several times, proverbially and physically." From a broken back to the Rolling Stones: Meet rock's unstoppable new showman, Des Rocs
- “There has always been friction between me and Roger… I think, ‘Why do you have to say these things?’” Richard Wright’s personality clash with Pink Floyd colleague Roger Waters
- "It was a critical mistake, and ultimately it broke up the band." How Creedence Clearwater Revival fell to pieces
- "When the fans changed the meaning of those words, they lifted the curse." How Eddie Vedder plumbed the murkiest of emotional depths to complete a Pearl Jam classic
- You can check out, but you can never leave: A room-by-room guide to the Eagles' Hotel California
July 27
- "The romantic tale of a man who seduces a young lady at a Bavarian shooting party and makes love with her in a pig barn." 10 Faith No More deep cuts which perfectly capture their subversive, maverick spirit
- Why Taylor Swift's favourite emo band sneaked lyrics by Motley Crue, Bad Company and Madness into the album that saved their career
- "The band that knocked me over was the Mahavishnu Orchestra." Prog takes a look inside Bill Oddie's Record Collection
- “We used to travel in Clark Gable’s Cadillac, refurbished by Rolls Royce. We had a TV in there, and two bars, just for the band”: Secrets of Rick Wakeman’s excess
- Avenged Sevenfold’s Statica EP is a goofy, auto-tuned mess – and exactly the kind of risk more big metal bands should take
- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: July 27, 2026
- "It's our duty to push the boundaries." How a local gig in the German countryside ended up becoming the biggest metal festival on Earth: the story of Wacken Open Air
- “Cliff played For Whom The Bell Tolls all the time. The rest of us would stiffen up and go, ‘What the heck was that?’” The stories behind every song on Ride The Lightning, in Metallica’s own words
- “Our music is derived from all the trips we’ve had. There’s horror, beauty, paranoia, ecstasy, even randiness; every sort of human mood”: The birth of psychedelic warlords Hawkwind
July 26
- “To all intents and purposes, it was a disaster. I wanted to kick my habit, I didn’t want to kick it.” A wasted singer, a bizarre producer and a real-life Sex Pistol: how Megadeth made thrash metal’s most chaotic album
- “Diversity was their greatest asset… They broke most of the rules that existed and wrote a new set”: Queen’s spirit of adventure and forward-looking values prove they were prog
- “Here’s their one hit single. I take it home, and I’m going: ‘What the hell is this?’ I took an instant dislike to it”: The song that gave Thin Lizzy their first hit – and nearly became an albatross around their necks
- "We had this idea to promote Glasgow by genetically modifying a sea-creature and somehow making it into a rollercoaster." Here's 10 Mogwai songs every metal fan should listen to right now
- “We did not announce he was leaving as we hoped he would come back… It was very disappointing - we ended up thinking we would have to go for second best”: How Mystery moved on from Benoit David
- “The guy that was managing us at the time said, ‘Do you really want to be under the shadow of Iron Maiden?’”: How a cult NWOBHM band wrote one of the great overlooked metal anthems of the early 80s
July 25
- “There’s still that unresolved thing where we haven’t had the last hug and a drink. I was very, very sad when he died”: The chaos and carnage of The Lords Of The New Church, punk’s first supergroup
- “I felt like when I finished the Riot! record and we listened back, that we had created this monster that was built like a British tank”: How Paramore blazed a unique trail in the world of 2000s emo
- “He was doing something humanitarian and beautiful while everyone else was doing ecstasy in the clubs”: Peter Gabriel could have made another pop album like So. Instead he turned to the dark side of prog with Us and Up
- “Steve was so paranoid that someone would leak it onto the internet, and probably with some justification”: The Iron Maiden album that was “locked in a vault” for two years
- "It's great when music leaves your head and inhabits your body, but there are some songs where you need to keep thinking." The story behind Metallica's apocalyptic thrash masterpiece, Blackened
- “I just didn’t feel I could pull off the things Peter Gabriel did. I said: ‘I’ll give it a go but don’t expect me to wear costumes!’” Phil Collins’ first show as Genesis frontman
- “We were going for a completely different sound, and it didn’t work. We decided to make a clean album”: Ronnie Van Zant hated it. But this Lynyrd Skynyrd album is an unsung Southern Rock classic
July 24
- The 12 best new metal songs you need to hear right now
- "They punched their way to the front and started spitting at us." The story behind the violent, riotous gig which got the Rolling Stones banned from an English seaside town for 44 years
- “It worked out for us that we’re all now in the midst of discovery, fear, confusion and glory”: It’s Rush, King Crimson, Sgt Pepper, Tom Waits and more. It’s the The Claypool Lennon Delirium’s personal AI hallucination
- Cool new prog from Lesoir, Chelsea Wolfe, Pattern-Seeking Animals and more in Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week
- "I like rock'n'roll to have a little bit of dirt and some drunkenness and the element of surprise." Meet Hanoi Rocks legend Sami Yaffa's new band The Sideshows
- "I was writing with all these rock bands because that's who wanted to hire me. I did OK with that." The 10 songs that influenced Desmond Child the most
- “It all starts clear, gets more hedonistic into the evening, and all the weird stuff goes on late at night. In the morning I try to make sense of it”: Ozric Tentacles’ creative process is as out-there as the results
July 23
- “We thought we had a ghost living in the bathroom.” Inspired by The Diary of Anne Frank, Neutral Milk Hotel's 1998 album In The Aeroplane Over The Sea was acclaimed as one of the '90s finest records. Then its creator disappeared
- “People associate me with the ballads and pretty things, but I did quite a lot of other stuff”: When a soft-focus love song star planted a prog suite on his solo album
- “Wales and its legends are to be celebrated”: Mystery project Ysbrydnos is putting The Land Of Song on the black metal map
- “I’ve always listened to the suggestions of the people I work with. It doesn’t mean I do what they say, but I listen”: How Symphony Of Destruction turned Megadeth from tech-thrashers to Platinum-selling sensation
- “Everyone wanted Hayley Williams’ haircut. There’s some horrific photos of my attempt!”: As Everything Unfolds’ Charlie Rolfe reveals the 10 songs that made her who she is
- “It’s like something genius: a treasure lost and found”: The 18-year-long story behind Slipknot’s Radiohead-inspired detour, Look Outside Your Window
- “We could have been bigger had we had an amazing manager. We’re our own worst enemies”: How Roxy Music got it together despite themselves
- A beginner's guide to progressive rock in five essential albums
- “The dream was a reality for me. I don’t want a Ferrari. I have everything I need to do my job”: Genesis ex Ray Wilson, a friend who pushed himself into the sea in his wheelchair, and a dancer who got injured days before her big show
July 22
- “I said, ‘Really? You don’t practise any more?’ He said, ‘One day I just sort of realised I could play.’ I’m wondering if I’ll get to that level… we’re about to find out!” Pat Metheny just wants to understand music
- “We have a giant container that we fill with joints, and usually we’ve all eaten 100 to 200 milligrams of edibles”: Hashtronaut, the stoner rockers who make Sleep look straight-edge
- “One of the most consistent forces in heavy music”: Every Mastodon album ranked from worst to best
- “People said we were too clever. We went, ‘If our playing’s better than yours, you should get better! Don’t blame us for being ahead in the race’”: XTC mixed prog and punk, and it was named ’prunk’
- “Even if it might lead to a poisonous leg amputation, I’d literally die for the music”: The Pretty Reckless’ Taylor Momsen on her journey from child actor to AC/DC-approved rock star
- A year without Ozzy Osbourne: all the biggest tributes, covers and controversies since the Prince Of Darkness’ death
- "I want to make instrumental rock fun again." Meet the journalist and guitar innovator who's out to leave a lasting sonic impression
- "We were only a small spark on the Sunset Strip at first, but we became a wildfire." How an unlikely rock star led the psychedelic revolution that swept 60s California
- "Here was Jimmy Page, waving like mad, and I'm thinking, 'I can't wave back or I'm going to blow the solo!'" How Jethro Tull took a difficult subject and created one of the all-time great prog anthems
July 21
- "It was actually very easy. The song virtually played itself." The story of the Steely Dan classic starring Jimmy Page's favourite guitar solo
- "When he sang, there was nothing else in the world that felt so powerful." A guide to Howlin' Wolf's best albums
- “When I started out I thought: ‘I’ll be able to play guitar, drink, take drugs and shag as many women as I can!’ But we ended up in the prog vein”: Pye Hastings’ lifelong urges
- Epic songs, intricate harmonies and psychedelic album designs aplenty: 10 essential prog rock albums from the 1970s
- "We stopped playing for 10 minutes and ate pizza on-stage while the crowd watched." The Damned were the first UK punk band to tour America and it was an unforgettable experience for all involved
- The DVD that came with Metallica’s St Anger makes metal’s most maligned album make sense
- “For a band to work, you have to fall in line and realise what your part is”: Can’t hear John Myung’s bass in Dream Theater? He says it’s a “minor detail”
- "I went to the Job Centre, and someone recognised me and started laughing. I went back to the car and cried my eyes out." Britrock's cheekiest chaps A have returned, older and wiser – and they've made the album they needed to
- Hollywood Vampires: Alice Cooper and Joe Perry lift the lid on life inside rock's superstar garage band
- 10 classic rock albums from the 70s that unintentionally paved the way for heavy metal in the 80s
- Mexican reggae! Gunslinger duels! Chainsaws! The making of the Eagles' 1976 masterpiece Hotel California
July 20
- “I fell in love with Moving Pictures, although my husband and my guitar player laugh at me because they say it’s the worst record of Rush’s whole career”: How Beth Hart discovered prog
- "We should have shown Sid dying in a pool of vomit." The story behind Sid & Nancy, the controversial punk rock biopic which annoyed almost everyone
- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: July 20, 2026
- “Any band that reaches into the darkness to push boundaries are by definition progressive. That certainly applies”: They were regarded as synth-pop or new wave, but we say they’re prog. So do members of Marillion, Porcupine Tree and No-Man
- "I put myself on the line to potentially get the s**t kicked out of me." Producer Andrew Watt on working with rock legends The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney
- “His songs remain timeless. His bass lines still burrow deep into the ear – and the heart”: Moody Blues icon John Lodge Remembered
- "He stands without question as being one of the greatest influences of our time." On the anniversary of Chris Cornell's birth and Chester Bennington's death, this is what the Linkin Park frontman had to say about the Soundgarden legend and his dear friend
- "His death happened the night before our first rehearsal, which is quite eerie." The surprising story of Ghost mainman Tobias Forge's long lost death metal band, Repugnant
- "We certainly weren't strutting around like Deep Purple. My God, they had a lot of fun. We did not have fun." How the UK college rock scene shaped the genesis of Genesis
July 19
- “Steve Lukather’s guitar collided with a mic stand. He banked the guitar against it and made it a feature of the song. I don’t even understand!” Toto’s Dennis Atlas and his star-studded solo album
- “The front row was always diehard Journey fans and they would flip me off”: The story of Journey’s lost singer and the classic song he helped write
- “I will never forget the looks of horror from the label. They saw it as commercial suicide – which I suppose it was”: The turbulent story of Celtic Frost’s avant garde thrash masterpiece Into The Pandemonium
- “It could hardly have been more in tune with the gothic scene’s aesthetic preferences if it had come with free bat wings”: The pioneering British punk band who embraced the darkness to make a classic 80s goth album
July 18
- “I'm 13 years old and I'm drinking with Alex Van Halen”: One of the child stars of Van Halen’s iconic Hot For Teacher video looks back
- “They had their own code… They would communicate with each other via eye contact and head movements. It was amazing how many long, nuanced phrases they could play that way”: How Rush made Signals
- “If you’re going to become one of the immortals, a god, then you have to die. That’s the tragedy”: The epic story of the unsung genius behind The Doors
- “We would just have done it balls out, legs akimbo like Status Quo. and probably messed it up”: The classic song that gave an iconic post-punk band their biggest hit – and became an epitaph for their tragic singer
- “I didn’t expect the albums to last the way they have. If I’d known, I would have done better. The bands might say that too!” Genesis sleeve artist Colin Elgie started with the vaguest brief imaginable, and won a whole year in the limelight
- “I don’t belong on TV, I should be in a circus!”: How ZZ Top’s Afterburner continued one of the most unlikely success stories of the 80s
July 17
- The 12 best new metal songs you need to hear right now
- "He was seriously wondering if the Ramones would ever make it as big as the Bay City Rollers." How the Ramones made the debut album that only sold 6000 copies but changed the world
- "Some might even think we're a hair band. We also get called power metal." Armored Saint have always struggled to fit in – but they're still willing to try something different
- "He was so wild, I had to move out of New Jersey." The story of the stalker-inspired song that broke Blondie in the US and made Debbie Harry a new kind of role model
July 16
- "You had big everything. Big drugs, big money, big parties. And it's all free, the more the merrier": The fast rise, sudden fall and messy afterlife of glam metal heroes Ratt
- "These clowns won’t be around for much longer." My Chemical Romance have just played three sold-out stadium shows in London, but 20 years ago their "weird ventriloquists’ music" freaked out and confused one of Britain's favourite bands
- “The day I ask the audience to sing my songs I might as well go home. It’s hard enough for trained singers, let alone an audience who will massacre it”: How Ian Anderson refined Jethro Tull stage shows
- "The epitome of American rock'n'roll." Nine Little Feat albums to listen to and one to avoid
- "We drank a lot because of the blow and we got blown a lot because we drank a lot." The wired story of Aerosmith's drug-fuelled classic Rocks
- King Crimson: In The Court Of The Crimson King quiz
- “I won’t keep it secret – I said the sleeve was better than the record. There have been a lot of headaches. I wanted to dispel that”: After a lacklustre album and the death of Chris Squire, Yes had a lot to prove
July 15
- "We thought, 'What the hell is going on around here?' They thought he was some lunatic who got into the castle." How a ghostly apparition ended Tony Iommi's writer's block and inspired one of Black Sabbath's greatest riffs
- "Iggy was in a mental hospital when I first met him." In 1975, David Bowie introduced a 10-year-old Slash to Iggy Pop in a LA psych ward. He and Dennis Hopper later returned wearing space suits to share a bag of drugs with their friend
- "I look over, and Daron had fallen off the stage and was on the ground. He had completely lost himself." Even a band as huge as System Of A Down had to start somewhere. This is the untold story of Soil
- “The shock of a band associated with hippies and the profound, playing confrontational theatrical rock, was mind-bending”: Were you there for Pink Floyd’s 10 most influential concerts?
- "I thought it’d be funny to ask Gerard Way if he wanted to sing on a song. He text straight back: 'Absolutely!'" From collabing with a My Chemical Romance legend to taking death metal to Red Rocks, five minutes with Frozen Soul's Chad Green
- “I’ve always wanted to have an all-woman band - I grew up watching Jem and the Holograms!" After her shock departure from Arch Enemy last year, Alissa White-Gluz reveals all about her killer new band, Blue Medusa
- "The performance racked up over 25,000 viewer complaints as middle England soiled its collective pants." 10 times rock bands totally ruined Top Of The Pops
- "He said he did these big gigs to make money, but what he enjoyed best was playing in churches and castles with his missus." Russ Ballard's wild tales of Ritchie Blackmore, The Beatles, Robert Plant, Ozzy Osbourne and more
- “I don’t think he ever got over being fired from King Crimson… but he went on to bigger, more financially successful things”: Peter Sinfield, the prog poet who gave voices to ELP, Roxy Music and many others
July 14
- "The whole song turned into kind of a guitar dialogue." Watch the historic footage of Robbie Robertson saving Eric Clapton before they go head-to-head in a duel for the ages
- "I was shocked at how fast it is on the record. If we’d recorded that song at the tempo we’d play it live a year later, it would have crushed buildings.” The 10 best Rollins Band songs chosen by guitarist Chris Haskett
- “We had no money, no management, and we’d been dropped by the label. But when we plugged in and played, it was the most magnificent thing”: Midge Ure’s prog moments with Ultravox, Robert Fripp, Kate Bush, Jethro Tull and, indirectly, Steven Wilson
- “If you took into account all the illegal downloading, our 350,000 sales equates to over a million copies. But I’m just happy we have a career”: Mastodon’s Crack The Skye was a triumph – but it could have been a whole lot more
- "And as we descended, cries of impending doom rose from the soil. One thousand, nay, a million voices full of fear." How Tool recorded a 15-minute song about crying carrots and absolutely destroyed some old pianos in the process
- "I was screaming inside, very intense, but not saying a word." The defiant story of Creedence Clearwater Revival's most understood song
- "Her voice was insanely gorgeous and powerful. I've got all her albums, live recordings, everything." Tarja picks the songs that have soundtracked her life
July 13
- "It streams more than double any other track we have weekly, yet a portion of the fanbase acts like it was a failure.” How Avenged Sevenfold's "funny little experiment" with Hail to the King yielded extraordinary results
- "Did he ask me to write a song with him? I didn’t take that seriously. We’d had a few pints." The night Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder partied 'til dawn with Bob Dylan in an Irish bar
- “Queen’s tech said, ‘The lads would love to see you.’ It was a set-up – when I got there they’d set up the studio for me”: Steve Howe’s favourite moments as a guitar for hire, and the one that got away
- "He came into the kitchen, gave me a tape and said, 'Listen to this. It’s not just any tape'." How a mouthy teenage guitarist scored his band a record deal with Britain's coolest indie label, and kickstarted a musical revolution
- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: July 13, 2026
- "When Peter Grant played me the first Led Zeppelin album I thought he was having a laugh." Jeff Beck: My Life In 11 Songs
- "Mr. Taylor is trying to record vocal tracks, and you guys are goofing off and being way too loud over here." The story of how Converge laid the template for their boundary-smashing classic Jane Doe in just 79 seconds
- “I remain proud to have worked with a special talent. I’ll even miss the ‘downs,’ but mostly remember the ‘ups’”: Strawbs mastermind Dave Cousins remembered
- “When are we going to stop with this Pink Floyd stuff and start playing some metal?”: The story of the most ambitious song in death metal history
- "I honestly believe it was one of the best things I've ever done." The story of the Marc Bolan classic that inspired Prince twice
- “Overblown. Slightly pompous. Too prog rock by half!” The Jethro Tull album Ian Anderson would rather forget
- "I probably should have given in and stopped doing this a long time ago. I don't know what drives me to continue." Rock'n'roll has thrown everything at Tuk Smith, but he's got a lot to be grateful for
July 12
- “My first boyfriend introduced me to The Wall. It was the only interesting thing about him”: Author and musician Joanne Harris on having the audacity to perform Pink Floyd, Rick Wakeman and Genesis music in her school band
- “I discovered our album by chance when a pub landlord showed me his copy”: They brought steampunk to prog, connected to The Stones and The Who, and didn’t know their only record had been released until 32 years later
- “I’ve spent 20 years of my life building a career. I don’t see why I should have to give that up just because one guy says he doesn’t want to do it any more”: The bitter battle for the soul of Pink Floyd
- “There were smears of dried blood around his chin and mouth. His usually perfect clothes and hair were messed up and soaked with gasoline”: The brief life and unsolved death of the cult 60s rocker who inspired The Clash
- “If we’re stuck with stories about Satan, it’ll mean that people will never understand us”: How Iron Maiden pushed metal to its most colossal, then pushed a bit further, to make Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
July 11
- “I didn’t want the job with Robert Plant. I wasn’t after it and there were 5,000 guys that were - but they called me. When things come into your life, embrace them; when they leave, let them go”: Francis Dunnery’s lessons in life
- “We were kinda like the odd man out in the nu metal scene and had to prove we could whip ass”: From hanging out with Lemmy and Willie Nelson to the carnage of Woodstock, how Sevendust’s Lajon Witherspoon became a modern metal icon
- “It was those first two lines. I felt like it was speaking to my life. I knew I could deliver that song with conviction”: One day Sebastian Bach was playing to Jon Bon Jovi’s parents. The next he was singing one of hair metal’s greatest anthems
- “We could have followed a similar path to Queen. But our first song was our strongest and the whole thing was short-lived”: The story of Genesis/Yes supergroup GTR’s When The Heart Rules The Mind
July 10
- From American thrash to Japanese metalcore: the 8 new metal songs that everyone needs to hear this week
- Awesome new prog from Asia, Teiger, Aisles and more in Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week
- "Once we realised the guys with guns pointed to our heads were cops, we were relieved." The night that armed police gatecrashed David Bowie's end-of-tour party
- “The Baphomet statue from The Number Of The Beast is huge – you can sit on its lap like it’s Christmas and he’s Santa Claus!”: Iron Maiden have thrown open their archives for their Eddfest museum – and it looks incredible
- "We did all the clichéd things that someone who hasn’t got a clue about making music does!" How breakout album Count Your Blessings made Bring Me The Horizon the most divisive band in metal
- “Bono said, Everyone is blowing smoke up our arse, will you come watch a few shows and help us make it better?" Bono's best friend Gavin Friday on how he became U2’s Creative Director
- “They had us swear on a stack of Bibles that no more flags would be burnt. I did it one more time”: Prog icon Keith Emerson and the world’s first instrumental protest song
- "Our popularity has gone up massively over the last six or seven years." With a summer of European festivals ahead, Saxon are happy to fly the flag for British metal
- "After writing that, I wasn't interested in writing a novel or a play. I wanted to just write songs." The story of the song that saw Bob Dylan pivot from folk to rock
July 9
- "I found Steven Tyler on top of a table and on all fours, snorting a line that extended from one end of the table to another." The wild and deadly story behind the 1979 World Series of Rock
- "Jerry Garcia on a StairMaster! I'll never forget it!" Bruce Hornsby on his unique musical life, and why new album Indigo Park gives him the chills
- "You just hope it’s all going to work out. It usually does...but you never know!" Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson talk Eddfest, 50 years of heavy metal and whether we'll get a new album
- “In our first interview with NME we uttered the word ‘Genesis’ and I thought, ‘What did we say that for?!’” They tried to hide it at times, but Simple Minds had a heart of pure prog underneath the 80s arena rock
- "I lost it. I was just screaming and swinging at people. I’m not proud of it." How Red Hot Chili Peppers made the 10-million-selling masterpiece By The Way, in their own words
- "Meat Loaf was really pissed off. He said, That song was meant for me!" How Bonnie Tyler became the ultimate power ballad diva thanks to the world's favourite 'vampire love song', Total Eclipse Of The Heart
- "This band is like no other, what they stand for and what they've done". The story of the Rage Against The Machine anthem that topped the Christmas charts 17 years after it was released
- The Metallica Doodle Map: All of Rob and Kirk's local Doodles
- “Yes were supposed to tour but I had to say, ‘Sorry, I’m not finished.’ They wanted to make money, so it did not go down well. But I was mentally wrecked”: Why Jon Anderson drove himself mad making Olias Of Sunhillow
July 8
- “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
- “One of the most unlikely bands ever to notch up a string of number-one albums”: Every System Of A Down album ranked from worst to best
- "I thought, What is this? I don't understand what I'm hearing, but wow!" Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor on the "life-changing" record which blew his teenage mind, and why soft rock legends Barry Manilow and Billy Joel may have influenced his songwriting
- "It was quite a shock to be confronted with people down the front all screaming for us." The story of the song that turned Pink Floyd into rock heavyweights - and set the scene for decades of bickering
- "We're scratching our heads and wondering why we just allowed the band to end there." 40 years ago, Thin Lizzy's Scott Gorham recorded a brilliant AOR album – and now it's finally being released
- “I listen to John Wetton constantly. His sound completely conveys what I want to do sonically”: This doom metal master wasn’t allowed to listen to prog as a kid. He made up for it when he started playing bass
- "I sat next to two speed-crazed bikers, one wielding a gun." On the road with Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Atlanta Rhythm Section: A story of guns and homicidal bass players
July 7
- "I purposely ignored this record for a long time. I didn’t really fully understand the band because I never gave it a chance." Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon on the '80s alt. rock album that changed his life, and his band, forever
- “Some guy who obviously didn’t recognise me said, ‘You just ruined a classic song.’ But another chap replied, ‘He’s allowed. He wrote the song!’”: Keith Emerson’s disastrous karaoke incident
- "When we were playing like 100 capacity rooms, as soon as it kicked in, people were in danger, like people could die." How Knocked Loose wrote Counting Worms as a terrifying set interlude and scored a viral hit
- "Are you ready for the new sensation?" The 10 best David Lee Roth solo songs
- “It was too Rod Stewart.” The huge Radiohead song that the band have distanced themselves from… and no, it’s not Creep
- "As a kid, you think rock music is full of angry blokes in baggy trousers, but actually it’s so hot." From the Rob Zombie banger that made her realise music can be "sexy" to how Queen changed her life, A. A. Williams' life story in ten songs
- “We were attracted to music that made us uncomfortable. The discomfort of doing the same music again was worse”: Avenged Sevenfold aimed for discombobulation with Life Is But A Dream…
- "We were the early version of Spinal Tap, turning it to 11." Rush before Geddy Lee: meet the bass player who stepped aside
- “We’d been on TV but it didn’t change the world… He was already wandering off, not wanting to be a pop star”: This Pink Floyd song marked the beginning of the end for Syd Barrett
- "It made me sound like Clint Eastwood from A Fistful Of Dollars, clutching a condom." Keep Rob Halford up at night and you end up with a Judas Priest classic
- "My bandmates saved my life. Without question. They never judged me." Shinedown frontman Brent Smith opens up about the loss, addiction and rebirth that led to new album EI8HT
July 6
- “My dad introduced me to Deep Purple, Ronnie James Dio and Van Halen. My mom said: ‘Well, if you’re going to be into all of that stuff, you’ve got to know that women can do this too’”: When Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale met Heart’s Ann Wilson
- "All of our stuff was stolen from our van, but you've got to keep going. We found a big plastic sword and use that as protection." In 2008, cult Canadian punk rock lifers Cancer Bats got in the van for a perilous DIY tour. This is what happened
- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: July 6, 2026
- "All I wanted is a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me." How crossover metal heroes Suicidal Tendencies set a dizzying panic attack to music and called it Institutionalized
- "Only badass mofos get to play in Queens Of The Stone Age." The story behind QOTSA's modern rock masterpiece Songs For The Deaf
- "We get off stage and I haven’t seen him like that in 20 years. He was livid." How Metallica's crazy team-up with Lady Gaga started with an A-list dinner party and almost ended in total chaos
- "He said something I found really juvenile and offensive. He told me that Jesus was an alien and he could levitate." How Megadeth tapped into UFO conspiracy theories for 1990 thrash classic Hangar 18
- "I'm not going to be doing this forever." Watch a giddy Freddie Mercury warm up before his last ever show with Queen
- "It's my favourite Rolling Stones song and, naively, I thought: 'Oh, they’ll love this.'" How Carter USM upset the Stones and enjoyed a live on-air ruck with a once-popular TV presenter
- “It was when we knew Roger Waters wasn’t going to be part of anything we did, but before he’d officially left. He had us trapped in limbo. I was putting my toe in the water”: David Gilmour’s solo career
July 5
- “She was just starting her career, and the song was so big that she went on several talk shows and said it was about her. But I can tell you that it wasn’t”: The huge 80s AOR hit inspired by an up-and-coming actress and Led Zeppelin
- “A progressive rock band in 2026 is a living anachronism. Our career has blossomed when we’ve gotten weirder and weirder”: Crown Lands aim to harness Rush, Yes and geek power to fight radicalisation
- “The writing was on the wall. We had done some great things together, but the band had fallen apart. There was no need to try to continue”: How Ronnie James Dio and Black Sabbath put their differences behind them for the third and final time
- “In the middle of punk, I’m coming up with an album about a Martian invasion, narrated by Richard Burton and featuring Justin Hayward and Phil Lynott. It does sound kind of nuts”: The maverick who turned a classic sci-fi novel into a musical masterpiece
- “Life is short. I can’t sit around waiting for a reunion that may never happen. It felt like the right time to finally do this”: When Mike Portnoy performed his Dream Theater 12-Step Suite – without Dream Theater
- “If it wasn’t working, I could see the point of changing. But we were more successful than ever. It was incomprehensible”: The tumultuous story of Sepultura’s Roots album and their bitter split
- “A light was in the wrong place and he went straight off into the orchestra pit and broke his leg. He did the show, but he was obviously not feeling great”: The chaotic story of forgotten Deep Purple spin-off project Paice Ashton Lord
July 4
- "There were more people there than they had ever cumulatively played to in their career at that point." The story behind the Ramones first ever UK show, on Independence Day 1976
- “At almost 72, I’m realising that there are things I won’t be able to do forever, such as singing Over My Head”: The return of King's X with Three Sides Of One
- "There was so much property damage, family members were missing, communication was really difficult." Hurricanes, hardcore and Hetfield team-ups: the rise, fall and triumphant return of Corrosion of Conformity
- “As for the lyrics, it’s not exactly Bob Dylan. But it felt good from a musician standpoint”: How a half-live album, a monster hit and a travelling zoo helped three Texas icons play to 1.2 million people
- The greatest Alice In Chains songs ever, picked by Kerry King, Max Calavera, Lzzy Hale and more
- “I hate it when people say I was a stripper. There was never anything sleazy about my interpretive dance. I think some men and women felt threatened by a woman appearing nude”: Hawkwind ex Stacia Blake’s life in art
- “Alan told us that he didn’t know how he’d face his family again. If he’d said, ‘I won’t accept my royalties for that,’ I’d have admired the courage of his convictions”: The controversial 1983 hit that split one of Britain‘s most beloved rock bands
- “It’s not that I’m embarrassed by it. You let something pass for long enough, and you can kind of chuckle at it”: The lost ‘hippie’ album that Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley made before they were in Kiss
July 3
- “I’ve dedicated my life to rock’n’roll, the most American of art forms. Why turn tail and run?” Jon Spencer on death, aging and MAGA knuckleheads
- The best new metal songs you need to hear right now
- Cool new prog from Haken, Stick Men, Happy The Man, Enslaved and more in Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week
- "I thought we sounded great, then I heard the recording. I was mortified!" The story behind Foo Fighters' secret first show
- “There was some mild terrorism going on. They were exploding cars and banks and real estate. There was an ongoing war”: From a climate of violence, Gojira made one of modern metal’s most conscious, powerful anthems
- “When the first riff came together, we locked in and played it for 100 hours”: How Blood And Thunder turned Mastodon from Southern misfits to a 21st-century sensation
- “The whole album is based around my friend who passed away.” Tragedy, black metal and Linkin Park: Gaerea might be masked and anonymous, but their story is deeply personal
- "I listened to the opening track on repeat for about six months." Beabadoobee on the cult classic album that changed her life
- "I cherish the band, but I don’t expect anyone else to." It's 10 years since Radiohead last released an album and I accidentally got the only interview for it
- It looks like a beer bong and sounds like a robot: the story of Joe Walsh's Rocky Mountain Way
- "I blew up in an airport. Talkin' about killing things and stuff. And you can't lose it in an airport in America." Blue October's Justin Furstenfeld reflects on runaway creativity – and personal train wrecks
- "Neil is the only one who would be a big fan of the band and then get rid of Eddie." How Pearl Jam and Neil Young came together to make Mirror Ball
July 2
- “By the time I swapped over the tapes I knew I was in the stinky brown stuff. Somebody said, ‘God help us’ … the budget for the cover was cut back”: How Rick Wakeman proved everyone wrong with The Six Wives of Henry VIII
- "Depression isn't the kind of thing that’ll just go away." Dream collabs with Lady Gaga and David Hasselhoff, Eurovision and touring with Iron Maiden: an interview with Lord Of The Lost's Chris Harms
- Every Metallica album ranked from worst to best
- “You look around and no one seems concerned, and there’s an explosive drone somewhere over town”: Silent Planet, the first American band to play Ukraine during the Russian war
- "There were days when leaving Japan made us feel lonely, and days when things got so tough that we wanted to give up." A track-by-track guide to the songs that defined Babymetal
- The 50 best rock albums of 2026 (so far)
- “I don’t want to put a meaning on it. My interpretation will change weekly”: Inspired by Jesus, the Solar System and boarding school, Roger Hodgson’s most ambitious Supertramp song still gives him goosebumps
- "Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon came up to me and said, 'I hear we're in the running for the prize for spending the most time and money in a studio!'": The epic story of Foreigner 4, the AOR masterpiece that helped shape 80s rock
July 1
- "There were many times when I couldn’t stop crying before a show." How one of Japanese metalcore's biggest stars reinvented himself and left behind his tough guy persona
- “David Gilmour doesn’t show anger often… that night, if he knew karate he’d have broken the table”: Fight over Comfortably Numb’s inclusion on The Wall was key moment in Pink Floyd’s history
- "It wasn’t just about making a record anymore; it was about survival." How Tool survived the death of 90s alt metal and a lengthy legal battle to create 2001's prog metal masterpiece Lateralus
- Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival both return in May 2027 - here's why you can't afford to miss them
- No Glastonbury? No problem. Create your own mini-festival at home this summer, with no rain to spoil the fun
- "There’s two days missing from my life. Apparently, we had a really good time!" That time The Cure's Robert Smith went on a 48 hours drinking session with David Bowie's guitarist, then offered him a job
- “You might think, ‘Is he so wrapped up in the problems of being human? is this who he is all day?’ It’s not!” Why the happy, positive Bruce Soord writes sad, melancholy solo albums
- "Be you and be confident in that. It doesn’t mean being a bitch." Amy Lee reflects on 20-plus years of Evanescence, collaborating with everyone from Bring Me The Horizon and Poppy to Tyler Bates, and why the band were never goth
- “I’m like, ‘I don’t know, man! I’m in Arizona!’” In 1993, Kurt Cobain asked Sepultura man Max Cavalera where to get heroin in Brazil
- “Make peace with who you are. Sit with yourself and your pain in ways that are really uncomfortable”: Devin Townsend feels like it took a 10-year dump to deliver The Moth
- "Our best friends were drug dealers. We identified with them because we felt like outcasts, menaces to society": The chaotic story of Aerosmith’s early years
- "I was on the floor, and he had his boot on my throat. I was like, That's great Elvis, that's great." The surreal story of the night Alice Cooper met Elvis Presley