Features archive
August 2025
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135 articles
- August 31
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- “The idea was to put a ‘fragile’ label on the album cover. I didn’t want to do anything so literal. I wanted to take the idea of fragility and wrap it round the world. Yes liked it and it worked”: The attitude behind Roger Dean’s album art
- Sometimes bands shouldn’t be trusted to revisit their own material, as the latest Smashing Pumpkins reissue set proves
- August 30
- August 29
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- “We were a punk band with Beatles melodies. We had no effects, barely any equipment, just loads of attitude, 12 cans of Red Stripe and ambition." Why Definitely Maybe will forever be Oasis' finest hour
- The 13 best new metal songs you need to hear right now
- Debate: What's the greatest live album ever?
- August 28
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- Cool new proggy sounds from Jonathan Hultén, Swallow The Sun, Mark Trueack and more in Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week
- Debate: what's the greatest punk album ever?
- “Do I ever look at Steven Wilson and think, ‘Why is he having top-five albums and I’m not?’ No”: Tim Bowness found catharsis in exploring forced isolation on Late Night Laments
- "A mish-mosh of low-budget glamour and high-concept absurdity": In praise of Lunachicks' day-glo classic Babysitters On Acid
- "Steve Hogarth bursts into the studio, holding a gun": What happened when Marillion allowed a journalist to play on their new album
- “There’s a reason the music business is considered a slimy hellhole. Be careful who you trust...” The Black Keys are back and they're bruised
- August 27
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- Rate my music taste: these are my five favourite metalcore albums ever
- “When we get together it opens up a portal. It’s mapping out the architecture of another dimension!” Steve Davis staged a theft to help The Utopia Strong make second album International Treasure
- “Geddy Lee once said some very nice things about me. I think it’s about time we connected, if he’s still up for doing something”: Marco Minnemann’s prog world includes Rush, ping-pong and whisky – and he has “something” to thank Queen for
- “We weren’t looking for peaceful – we were looking for horrid. We gave people fits. Locked the doors and pointed strobes at the crowd, wocka-wocka-wocka”: From falling together to falling apart, Hawkwind’s early era was no hippie dream
- "I've seen the rod of His wrath, and have been beaten with it": Glenn Schwartz was set to be one of the great guitar heroes of the 70s – but then he was lost to a horrific religious cult
- August 26
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- "She pulls out these two long steel pins and I start screaming and she plunges them into her eyes": The acid-dazed adventures of the band that became Blue Öyster Cult
- “We were playing things like Chuck Berry. I was just horrified, because I’m a choirboy”: How Richard Sinclair helped build the Canterbury scene with Caravan, Hatfield And The North, Camel and more
- "The fans supported us through everything. That's why we kept on going": Helloween on career longevity and proving people wrong
- August 25
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- “We were originally supposed to be doing the song with Axl Rose, but he never turned up to the session”: The crazed early 90s techno collaboration that saved a 70s rock icon’s career – and his life
- "Korn stood side of stage looking scared but I didn't want to stop." Max Cavalera on his wildest gig, resurrecting Nailbomb and why he doesn't regret leaving Sepultura
- “Some people were cynical – ‘The Yeggles have spoilt it all!’ We were doing a gig in Brighton and someone shouted, ‘Rick Wakeman!’ It was demoralising”: Geoff Downes’ life and times in and out of Yes
- "The apocalypse does not have to be the world going down in flames." How Dimmu Borgir reinvented black metal and broke Hollywood with Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse
- “I found a message from Ghost asking me if I would consider singing on their first album”: The doom metal legend who could have been Ghost’s original singer if it hadn’t been for a missed MySpace message
- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: August 25, 2025
- "A support slot with Slipknot? We're working on it!" What do deathcore, nu metal and Switzerland have in common? One of the most exciting young bands in metal: Paleface Swiss
- “We didn’t really talk to them. I don't think they liked us, and we didn't really like them that much either”: The time the Eagles opened for a legendary British prog rock band – and hated it
- "Satan played, and then we played, and then Antichrist played straight after us": Christian Rockers Wytch Hazel on atheism, conservatives and organised religion
- “I’ve got 30 years of albums and awards – but they say, ‘He’s just a one-trick pony making money off the back of Mike Oldfield’”: Robert Reed’s struggle to keep a form of music alive
- "The future of metal in India is very bright. Things are finally opening up here." Bloodywood's Karan Katiyar on India's best metal bands, the future of the scene and, er, giant ducks
- 10 Reunions That Went Wrong
- “Young musicians are lucky to live in this world of ideas and disruption. Humans have a dark attitude to the future. But if we were right, we wouldn’t be here”: Jean-Michel Jarre predicts music will follow video games into immersive universes
- August 23
- August 22
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- Brent Hinds 1974 – 2025
- "There was a point where people would come to see us because they hated us": The chaotic beginnings of The Stooges, America's first punk band
- “There wasn’t any plan to make a certain kind of album. Everything was all created in the moment”: Steve Rothery and Thorsten Quaeschning found it easy to write Bioscope record Gentō, but less easy to finish it
- Attention fans of swoon-inducing West Coast melodic rock: it's time to meet your new favourite band
- "He's up there with Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan": New York rock'n'roller Willie Nile on Vincent Van Gogh, Irish goodbyes and the greatest songwriter you've never heard of
- August 21
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- Debate: What's the greatest grunge album ever?
- Awesome new proggy sounds from Leprous, Iamthemorning, Jo Quail and more in Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week
- "I'm the one that created all this music, and I don't know that the world always understood that": John Fogerty on closure and reclaiming the Creedence legacy
- “It’s pretty progressive, but it’s not Rush, is it? It’s not Dream Theater. The virtuosity comes in the details and subtlety”: When TesseracT introduced themselves and explained the djent movement
- "Time seemed to stand still to the unmistakable sound of fights breaking out": What happened when The Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd played Knebworth
- August 20
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- “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 Poulsen 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
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- 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
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- "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
- August 17
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- “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
- “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
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- Mud, mayhem and four-hour Grateful Dead sets: The chaotic story of Weeley and Bickershaw, the early 70s festivals that time forgot
- “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
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- 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
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- "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
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- "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
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- “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
- 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
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- 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
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- “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
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- “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
- August 7
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- "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
- August 6
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- “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
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- “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
- August 4
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- “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
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- “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
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- “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
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- 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
