Features archive
December 2025
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182 articles
- December 31
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- “We partied every night! We would have a hotel room and just give the details out to friends and girls, ‘We’ll see you there!’” The story of the song that made Judas Priest icons in America
- “I was very aggressive. I’d survived this terrible pop thing, so I became mega-paranoid. Hard to work for? Very”: The trials and triumphs of Chris Rea, rock’s most misunderstood star
- The 10 best doom and stoner metal albums of 2025
- In Memoriam: A tribute to the musicians we lost in 2025
- Prog's 50 best albums of the year 2025
- “He thought that the band should be a democracy, and it was more like a brutal dictatorship”: The tangled story of Dire Straits, the million-selling band who quit at the height of their fame
- December 30
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- “Ozzy Osbourne opened with I Don’t Know in front of 80,000 people, who went nuts. If you ever want to play bigger places, you need to have records that sound like you’re playing in big places”: The story of Rats and Ghost’s ascent to arenas
- “We were being thrown to the dogs. It felt like our hard work was being chucked away for this crap idea that girls couldn’t possibly be decent musicians”: They were American rock pioneers loved by David Bowie. But they’ve been virtually forgotten today
- He hung out with Hendrix, got shock treatment with Ronnie Wood, shared girlfriends with Keith Moon, and was friends and rivals with Clapton and Page: Jeff Beck’s wild times
- “We knew we’d done something great, but we didn’t know we’d written a defining album for that era”: How 747 (Strangers In The Night) made Saxon unexpected stars of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal
- Debate: What’s the best prog album of 2025?
- Serial killers, sex and Satan-crazed filth: How the 1980s tried to destroy AC/DC
- Number one in a field of one: Every album by The Cramps ranked, from worst to best
- Whiskey Myers: What rock'n'roll would say if it was a person
- "What guitar meant for everyone, he changed it, and he did it with incredible songs": Living Colour's Vernon Reid picks the soundtrack of his life
- December 29
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- "While so many of their peers have faded, disappeared or lapsed into pure nostalgia, Suede continue to make music that matters." Every Suede album ranked from best to worst
- How a disintegrating relationship and a Beatles obsession inspired Kurt Cobain to write his first love song, and to plot Nirvana's escape from punk rock prison
- “2025 has seen tentpole releases from Ghost and Sleep Token, but for each of them, there’s been at least a dozen records begging for attention”: The best metal albums that you almost definitely missed this year
- “There was a picture of me in a ‘wanted’ sign on the stage screen. It was a red rag to a bull”: Pagan band harnessed a fake feud, kickboxing and a Cornish faery, and it all ran out of control
- “I’d have to stop, gather myself, get through two lines, start crying, leave the room, come back in”: When Linkin Park exposed a different side of themselves with Breaking The Habit
- “The publisher told us to forget it. But I didn’t give up so easily – I got his home number and called him”: How Emerson, Lake and Palmer charted with Aaron Copland’s Fanfare For The Common Man in the year of punk
- The Best 50 Rock Songs of 2025
- "It changed everything. I had to adjust my life": The story of the career-defining song that began with a lyric scribbled on a takeaway bag – and a riff written by someone else
- December 28
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- “I didn’t expect him to get busted in that bathroom. But his misfortune actually helped us. We couldn’t have asked for more of a buzz!”: How an unexpected arrest accidentally gave Limp Bizkit their big break
- “It was me digging in and lightening up. Cheap Trick’s In Color was a big touchstone for that record”: His first band inspired Nirvana but sold no records. His next band finally gave him the success he deserved
- "The first time I heard his voice it was like, ‘Does this guy smoke 40 cigarettes at once?!’" Metallica, Judas Priest, Halestorm, Body Count members and more pick the ultimate Motorhead playlist
- Best vinyl records of 2025: The rock, metal, prog and alternative albums you need in your collection
- “There is absolutely nothing you can do with a broken soul. He sank into an abyss that he wasn’t able to dig his way out from”: He played with Traffic, Hendrix and Free. But this doomed musician has been all but forgotten today
- “The stupidest thing I could have done was put myself out as much as I did. I’ll never make that mistake again”: Inspired by astrology and personal tragedy, Tool’s Maynard James Keenan wrote his most personal song. He came to regret it
- The 10 best alt-metal and nu metal albums of 2025
- “We all looked at each other and said, 'We gotta get out of here!’”: the story of the night a synth-pop sensation caused an LA riot featuring 200 police officers, helicopters, barricades, smashed windows and a queue that stretched on for 15 blocks
- “Lemmy was very forceful and pushy because he took a lot of speed. He got the job because he elbowed everybody else out the way!” How Hawkwind made Silver Machine, and gained the respect of Dave Brock’s bank manager
- December 27
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- “We weren’t scared of grunge. We would see Dave Grohl wearing Sepultura t-shirts”: It was built on death metal – until three iconic bands helped turn this underground record company into the most influential metal label of the 90s
- “Without small venues, there is no starting line for musicians. It’s crucial to keep these places alive”: I’m a metal musician who tours the world, and this is why I refuse to let my local venue die
- The 10 best metalcore albums of 2025
- “One day Ronnie came in and said he was leaving. I went: ‘Yeah, right.’ He said: ‘No, I really am. Plus I’m running off with my best friend’s wife’”: These 70s icons were rock’s ultimate party band – and gave the world Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood
- “I refused to believe the negative things he said because I couldn’t lose hope. But everything he said came to pass”: Terry Bozzio asked a question when he joined Frank Zappa. He asked the same question when he left
- “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
- “It’s about trying to get into the middle of life – not the extreme left or right. It had to do with drinking”: Written in a church, inspired by excess and disliked by their guitarist, this dark Scorpions classic is still one of their strangest songs
- “That was the one time Kiss succumbed to the critics. We wanted a critical success. And we lost our minds”: This sci-fi concept album was Kiss’s attempt to match The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Instead it became their most epic fail
- December 26
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- "It was the perfect tragedy. Heavy metal albums found in their rooms, antisocial behaviour." How Lemmy, Corey Taylor, Henry Rollins and the metal community united to save three teenagers at the heart of a murder case that shocked America
- The 50 best metal songs of 2025
- Ozzy’s retirement, belly dancers, and whales flying around an arena: the best metal concerts of 2025, as picked by Metal Hammer’s writers
- “He’d never touched an instrument in his life. I gave him the cello and he made a sound. That was a moment – music is something to be part of, not just consumed”: Jo Quail’s music education was free. She believes yours should be too
- Got a new turntable? Here are 9 essentials that'll make your listening and collecting journey more enjoyable
- “I was on a mission to move away from the rave scene.” The story of The Prodigy's era-defining electro-punk classic inspired by Foo Fighters, Rage Against The Machine and The Breeders
- “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
- The 10 best death metal albums of 2025
- "The most important and influential British female singer-writer-musician ever": Nine Kate Bush albums you should definitely hear, and one to avoid
- "He was given 24 hours to live. It all came crumbling down in one day": The astonishing story of Slade: glamour, tragedy and beyond
- December 25
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- "One bloke was on Antiques Roadshow saying he was our first drummer. Absolute rubbish!" Steve Harris sets the record straight about Christmas Day, Paul Di'Anno and Iron Maiden's early years
- “I became obsessed with doing the perfect album. I even had them working on Christmas Day!” Producer was perfect for Marillion the first time, a disaster the second time – and didn’t get a third time
- "I’m still grieving the loss of him. I can’t really accept it because, like a lot of people, I don’t want to think about him not being here." Judas Priest legend Rob Halford on his love for Ozzy Osbourne, touring with Alice Cooper and what comes next
- "The drums were recorded on a massive concrete staircase in an old Victorian brewery": Out of step with Britpop, one of the Levellers' biggest hits was inspired by Led Zeppelin
- Metal Hammer's albums of the year: 2025
- “What came out of a tragedy gave birth to something that was hugely positive in my life.” How the legendary Chris Cornell channelled his grief over a dear friend's death into making one of the 90s' most underrated classics
- December 24
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- The 10 best black metal albums of 2025
- "We played it for our label and management and they told us it would end our career": The story of the glam metal classic inspired by an unfaithful exotic dancer
- “It’s one of our few songs I listen to all the way through without cringing or wondering, ‘What were we thinking?’” Canadian band scored their biggest hit after being pushed out of their comfort zone
- "He became a father figure to me at a time when I might have ended up in the morgue": Lemmy's personal assistant looks back at six years on the road with the Motörhead legend
- "Yelling, fighting, drugs, alcohol… everything always went on. At the very end, he took me to his house and gave me a sword." Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister, by those who knew him best
- “Other bands flirted with the dark side. Listeners just knew these people were living it”: Jane’s Addiction represented a new form of prog when they stopped traffic with Nothing’s Shocking
- Bob Dylan introduced him to The Beatles, he married the girlfriend of a Rolling Stone, and he played with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page and meditated with David Lynch. Donovan looks back...
- December 23
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- "They get back to me like, 'You know, there's going to be how many hundred million people watching this thing. You have to do it'" How Creed's 2001 half-time show went from unifying the nation to fuelling their resurgence
- “I’d said, ‘All that weird stuff is crap!’ When I came back I said, ‘Can you play me all that weird crap I was rude about?’” Alien Sex Fiend’s mushroom-powered path to prog appreciation
- "We often felt like the strange duck on the festival bill because there was a woman in the band." How two modern metal icons united for a collaboration over a decade in the making
- “He was unable to write something with delight in it. Suffering battle fatigue, he wrote of asking what it’s like back home. It’s epic”: William Shatner’s surprising Christmas album with Jethro Tull, Yes and King Crimson alumni
- "Nothing's changed really apart from I can’t pole vault any more": Ian Gillan on getting older, losing his vision, and his unexpected new collaboration
- December 22
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- "Quite simply, one of the very best British bands of the past three decades." Every Biffy Clyro album ranked from worst to best
- "When I see him in my dreams, he hasn't changed a bit. He is still my best friend." How Dave Grohl channelled his heartbreak over a devastating personal loss into one of Foo Fighters' most raw, emotional songs
- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: December 22, 2025
- The 10 best progressive metal albums of 2025
- “He didn’t want to put his masterpiece on an album where the vibes were so bad. It’s probably the best thing he’s ever done”: Rick Davies’ greatest Supertramp songs – including Roger Hodgson’s favourite
- December 21
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- “I said, ‘If nothing has changed, I might quit.’ But it was my baby from the start. I didn’t want to quit it”: How a sick and disillusioned guitarist turned his bitter resignation letter into one of metal’s greatest anthems
- “It was like a demonic, otherworldly séance going on in there with one person”: A Perfect Circle have made four albums. These are the stories behind them all
- “We made a concerted effort to move away from the long thematic songs into something shorter”: Rush were one of the proggiest bands of the 70s. Then they discovered The Police and reggae and wrote the hit that reinvented them
- “When we did Top Of The Pops we were introduced as being avant-garde. It would have been closer to call us ‘aven’t-a-clue!” Fired from his own band Blodwyn Pig, Jethro Tull co-founder Mick Abrahams could only regret the wasted potential
- December 20
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- “I had a thought: ‘I wonder if she could foresee her own death?’ I went to Bruce and he said, ‘Yeah, it’s a great idea!’”: How a dead psychic and singer with a point to prove inspired Iron Maiden to make one of the maddest concept albums of the 80s
- “Usually there would be a hero who destroys the asteroid. I didn’t want that. I wanted to end humanity!” Self-confessed egomaniac counts the ways of our deaths on his first solo release in 13 years
- “Gather ’round… it’s story time with Papa Het”: Metallica’s James Hetfield has just dropped a surprise spoken word version of one the most famous Christmas stories of all time
- “Once people were talking about us as the No.1 band in the world, some people took that as the sign that they could do anything they wanted”: The apocalyptic 1969 hit that marked the beginning of the end for one of America’s greatest rock’n’roll bands
- “I opened my guitar case and nearly fainted because I thought there was a human hand in there. It turned out, it was half a pig’s head”: Girlschool look back on their wild life with Mötorhead
- December 19
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- "I was 21 years old. I don’t think it matters how old you are – there’s no way to be prepared for it." The story of the one simple but devastating question that led to Evanescence writing their biggest hit
- "We almost got taken off air! Thanks Green Day!" The morning that Green Day took over a live TV show, used some very rude words, hijacked the house band's instruments and nearly got the show cancelled
- "I landed up in the hospital with 11 staples in my head. It was a wild experience and pretty much an awakening for myself to pull my life together." How one of nu metal's biggest bands dropped the raps and wrote a power ballad instead
- Prog's special Christmas Tracks Of The Week
- "The Prime Ministers of Canada and France were there in the front row. It was pretty stressful": The Trews on their most significant gig, kitchen parties and Prince William
- The ultimate Goth quiz: How much do you know about music's spookiest genre?
- "I was trying to be nasty, then she opened the door and was like: 'What's that? I really like it!'" Inspired by domestic tension, Nickelback's breakthrough hit was defined by a climax suggested by their drum roadie
- December 18
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- "I sent that song to Elton and asked him to play piano on it...it meant the world to us." How Elton John and Dave Grohl helped one of the grunge era's greatest bands heal from an unimaginable loss
- "We were just tired, so we were like, 'Let's go live together in a cabin and take psychedelics', because that'll help, I guess." How The Beatles inspired one of emo's breakout bands to completely reinvent themselves
- A really useful guide to the music of George Harrison in 24 albums - and none are by The Beatles
- “Cliff Richard was trying to dance along, only to realise the song was in 5/4 time and his left foot was where his right foot should be!”: Jethro Tull’s manager asked Ian Anderson to write a hit. He tried not to, but failed
- "We don't rehearse - I just show the band my notes and it becomes something else": Garage queen Holly Golightly on new music, Jack White and the black tongue hex
- December 17
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- “We’d jump off roofs or off bridges into water, knock the wind out of ourselves and almost die. We lived very aggressively because that’s who we were”: The story of Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. – the secret debut album that started Slipknot’s ascent
- "You know that feeling you get when somebody embarrasses themselves so badly you feel uncomfortable?" How a grunge legend alienated his entire fanbase with a curveball solo record, and why he had zero regrets about doing so
- "In a lot of abusive relationships, the hardest thing is to break away from it. That song helped break that stigma." How a bold, boundary-breaking song with some taboo lyrics helped break one of America's best modern rock bands
- “I’ve been doing 20-minute guitar solos for a long time. There’s a whole other world out there”: A bright spark of modern prog brought in big prog names to make an album that’s not prog – and he’s not sorry
- Debate: What's the best album of 2025?
- “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
- "Ozzy told me he hated Sabotage because it reminded him of being in the studio and having a bad time. This was similar": The story of the era-defining classic recorded on the verge of implosion
- "We're going at it and The Queen was like, 'Whooh! I love this prog rock!'" Decades after a spliff-weilding start, Solstice have finally hit their stride
- December 16
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- Debate: “They were never the same after…” What’s the most seismic line-up change in prog history?
- “The others kept putting it further back on the list. Finally I said, ‘No, we’ve got to do it now’”: After five albums, this unique band accepted it was time to face the climate crisis head on. They don’t regret it
- “We were asked to do Glastonbury. I had no intention, but I was outvoted… If I’d been told first instead of the band, I might ‘not have remembered’ to say!”: John Lees’ on playing live again and the new Barclay James Harvest album, Relativity...
- "It was a time of turmoil. Writers had it in for us: 'Oh my God, haven’t you died yet? Don’t you know, grunge is here!'" The story behind the underrated Iron Maiden classic that helped keep them alive in the 90s
- Best gifts for Ozzy and Black Sabbath fans: Don't be Paranoid and Bark At The Moon instead with our top picks
- "I had a breakdown. But what we get with this album is a breakthrough": Heartbroken and stricken with cancer, Stephen Dale Petit built his masterpiece, Be The Love
- "You only get in trouble if you steal people’s melodies and words, as Led Zeppelin did": The story of the classic "inspired" by John Lee Hooker that paid for Foghat's drummer's Lamborghini
- December 15
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- "It was terrible! I was naked and I just froze. There was blood everywhere." Haunted houses, "turf wars" and Mimosa Mondays: the story of the album that confirmed Deftones as one of the most important bands of their generation
- "I'm packing all my stuff and Courtney's like, 'Amy Lee wants to meet you.' We never expected any of this to happen." From getting arrested at BLM protests to hanging with Evanescence and Limp Bizkit icons, the story of rising metalcore stars Dying Wish
- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: December 15, 2025
- "What will his legacy be? His guitar playing. He could bend just one note and tell a whole story. I can hear David Gilmour in his playing." Slipknot member Alessandro ‘V-Man’ Venturella pays tribute to Mastodon guitarist and his dear friend, Brent Hinds
- "I really fought against that. It seems insane but back then, the idea of having screaming on the radio was an immediate no-go." How one classic millennial anthem brought some romance to the metal scene - and turned its makers into stars
- “An op-art Blue Meanie with doves for ears and a planet for an eye? It’s more Marillion than Smiths”: The new wave band who dabbled with prog and inspired The Pineapple Thief, Oceansize and others
- "The space suit may put in an appearance": Modern prog stalwart and Asia guitarist John Mitchell gears up for guest-heavy London show
- December 14
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- The 50 Best Rock Albums of 2025
- “I argued very strongly that we shouldn’t play Another Brick In The Wall at the school fête, as it was disrespectful. Oh God! That was me”: Slow Horses showrunner Will Smith’s record collection
- “I decided I was going to sing it like Tom Jones”: how one of the greatest rock singers of the 90s channelled a crooning legend and reinvented himself on this epic Bond theme
- December 13
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- Vote for the best metal song of 2025
- "I was like, ‘Stop the show! I’ve been stabbed!’ Our bassist’s poor wife had to nurse this wound at the top of my bum.” As they prepare to split, this is the full, chaotic story of one of Britain's most influential metal bands
- “I wanted to write the most ridiculous pop song I had ever written”: the Nirvana B-side that paved the way for Nevermind’s all-conquering success
- December 12
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- "It’s strange to be thinking, ‘Are we an arena band?’, but I guess we are. Thank you, Metallica!" From Art The Clown and Pinhead to Rose McGowan and Damien Leone, Ice Nine Kills are bringing their Silver Scream Convention to the UK this weekend
- "We had taken some mushrooms. We saw ghosts and all manner of things." Hallucinogenics, Tim Burton and The Battle Of Hastings: the story of the song that turned a British black metal band into household names
- Cool new proggy sounds from Soen, Jazz Sabbath, Therion and more in Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week
- December 11
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- “Everything was going up its own jacksie!" Lindisfarne's down-to-earth approach saw them not always aligned with prog's loftier ideals in 1973
- "We had a call saying, 'We just got a call from Jim Carrey. He’s making a movie and wants you to be in it.'" How one of the most violent songs in the history of metal ended up being championed by a Hollywood legend
- Best gifts for Iron Maiden fans: Run To The Hills with our pick of perfect presents
- "Now I'm walking through hell." The story behind tragic Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley's final recording, a movie soundtrack cover featuring some of the biggest names in '90s rock
- "He suggested doing the interview on jet-skis": Excess, eyebrows, and an extremely erratic encounter with Ozzy Osbourne
- "Why on earth bands still sign multi-album contracts is beyond me": Neil Fallon on Clutch, corporations and Christmas
- “There’s been a lot happening on Mars since I last visited. So there’s more than enough inspiration”: Rick Wakeman on his sequel to The Red Planet, and taking David Bowie along for the ride
- December 10
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- "His performance was so far out of time, out of tune": The shambolic story of The Rolling Stones' star-studded Rock And Roll Circus
- "You’re playing for 5 or 6,000 men and women who all have M16s on their shoulders. And they’re trying to pit, and it’s pretty crazy" How Avenged Sevenfold and Call Of Duty forged one of music and gaming's greatest relationships
- From Sleep Token breaking records to Xenomorphs rocking out to Tool, these are the 11 metal songs that defined 2025
- "It's a fantastic creature...the evil, the energy and the destruction." How one of the UK's most influential bands bounced back with their best song in a decade to redefine heavy metal all over again
- “We got back together after 25 years and people came from all around the world, saying how important that album had been”: The Dutch quartet inspired by just five minutes of Soft Machine music
- “It was my first studio job. I wiped a Robert Fripp guitar section. He wasn’t happy”: A world-class producer recalls shaky start to his career
- "These guys are simply timeless": Triumph's Rik Emmett picks five essential guitar albums
- "It was weird just being in the same room as him": The story of the Ronnie James Dio classic assembled from other bands' spare parts
- "Some people think that the blues is 'my baby left me' and long guitar solos but it's a whole lot deeper than that": Blues prodigy Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram may channel the ghosts of the past but he's striving for something new
- December 9
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- “I was trying to write something heavier than the bands I was listening to, and that felt like the first time that I’d done it”: How Metallica broke the thrash metal mould with biblical barnstormer Creeping Death
- "That video game opened us up to a whole new audience, like Top Of The Pops did to me when I was a little kid." The unlikely hit mixing reggae and heavy metal that a meddling producer wanted to delete from history
- “He came in with Billy Bunter trousers, frock coat, euphonium and horrible glasses. And big rubber ears. I thought, ‘Yeah, I’ll sign up to this’”: In 1962 a band decided to play as badly as possible until someone noticed. It worked.
- "I wasn't allowed to listen to AC/DC or hair metal growing up - my dad thought it was misogynistic": Die Spitz hate being touted as the next big thing. They hate interviews. They love rock
- "There is a huge misconception that this song is about 1969, but it's not": The surprisingly sexual story of the Bryan Adams song fans thought was about innocence and friendship
- December 8
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- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: December 8, 2025
- "I just wanted to apologise for selling your guitar." How an act of kindness in the darkest of hours bonded Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante and Jane's Addiction's Dave Navarro forever
- “I thought we’d follow the Sex Pistols model – one album and out. We were this disgusting-sounding metal band, I never thought that it could last”: How Laid To Rest, against all odds, gave Lamb Of God an actual career
- “It’s me giving the finger to those who say an album shouldn’t be more than 40 minutes, just because people don’t have time to listen. It’s for an audience that’s trying to heal”: Riverside’s Mariusz Duda unchains himself from Lunatic Soul
- "When I finished, I lay on the floor covered in sweat and exhausted - I just had no more left to offer": Jimmy Barnes picks six songs that changed his career
- December 7
- December 6
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- "Everyone was talking about the effect that YouTube has had on their life. They were all really fascinated with each other." How a song born out of frustration helped Weezer create a GRAMMY-winning portrait of a pivotal moment in Internet history
- “We heard King Crimson synchronised music with visuals at gigs. I thought we could use that, since we didn’t have Mick Jagger to run around or anything”: Remembering Rick Davies, from tramping around Germany to leading Supertramp around the world
- December 5
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- Mega new prog you must hear from Big Big Train, Karnivool, Textures, Les Penning & Robert Reed and more in Prog's brand new Tracks Of The Week
- "We were stupid kids, just trying to survive, with this really weird music that we were so stubborn about." How five chaos-addicted Californian misfits helped pave the way for the 90s rock revolution with their fabulously freaky debut record
- The 12 best new metal songs you need to hear right now
- “There were certainly cries of ‘sell-out’ and people wondering how watered down we had become”: After one hit song, this band toured with Foo Fighters and became alt-metal’s next big thing – until record label woes sent them back to the underground
- "Wildflowers scared him, because he's not really sure why it's as good as it is": As Tom Petty’s world fell apart, he took refuge in the studio and made his most deeply personal album
- December 4
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- From Sleep Token to Ghost, metal is full of gimmicks right now. Is it helping or hindering the culture?
- “I was in my boxers and my mother caught me in this heightened creative moment. It was pretty embarrassing”: Inspired by Tool, Led Zeppelin and classic sci-fi, Coheed And Cambria turned a tumultuous break-up into a landmark prog metal song
- "I thought it was terrible. I didn’t like it. Honestly, I thought it was stupid." The story of the song that turned a cult alt funk metal band into poster boys for a music scene they absolutely despised
- "The more we listened to the recordings, we realised how on fire we were": Canadian roots-rockers The Commoners on why the UK is becoming their second home
- “When he gave the family car back, his father tried to sell it as ‘formerly driven by Frank Zappa’”: The background that gave rise to music’s most eclectic iconoclast, by his wife and son
- December 3
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- "There was a period during my teenage years where I felt emotionally abandoned, so to speak." Wolfgang Van Halen has a thing or two to say about living up to expectations
- "It’s strange when you’re playing in front of 30 people, lip-syncing. Especially when you’re hanging upside down with a piece of meat behind you." How Nine Inch Nails' anthem of self-loathing and sleaze got twisted into the ultimate horny metal track
- “A caustic David Gilmour guitar attack, with Roger Waters equally venomous in his lyrical delivery”: Pink Floyd’s 10 heaviest songs
- "Bowie was standing there and for a split second you could see the panic in his eyes": The story of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and the moments that made him a star
- “Mikael Åkerfeldt and I were close for a while. We wound up with the same management and drifted apart”: Devin Townsend discusses his prog world (while he’s hiding from his dogs)
- Def Leppard quiz: How much do you know about Joe Elliott & Co.'s near-half-century career in rock?
- December 2
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- "With the topics I think about and scream about, it’s good to have that fantasy world to escape into." UK genre-mashing 'brat punk' Delilah Bon on dragons, bunking and her weird Sims habits
- "It’s going to be brutal, absolutely brutal. I want people to feel the beauty hidden within that brutality." They look incredible, sound like hell and have an unlikely crossover with Shōgun: is the world ready for Japan's Deviloof?
- “He sings in French, so you have no idea what he’s on about – but I’ve been told his lyrics are clever”: Snooker icon Steve Davis’ interesting and obscure prog picks
- "They talk about that album in the same way I talk about Ziggy Stardust...and it was the first time a Slipknot member had unmasked!" How a metal icon embraced horror and glam rock to make one of the most surprising side projects ever
- "It sounded as though someone was being murdered. The police were called out for the first time in five years": Chaos in the Caribbean and the story of UFO's No Place To Run
- "An often frenzied eruption of mad ideas and skewed time signatures": 10 Cardiacs albums to listen to and one to avoid
- “There’s already too much music – shrinking ideas is the hardest thing”: Does Between The Buried And Me’s new album prove they don’t need to replace the member they fired?
- December 1
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- Packing one of the biggest lineups in history at one of the coolest places in the US, Welcome To Rockville 2026 is the destination festival for rock fans across the globe
- Classic Rock's Tracks Of The Week: December 1, 2025
- 4 brilliant new metal bands you need to hear this month
- “One room, six of us in bunks, sleeping with the light on or the cockroaches would come in… that was the lowest point – before we got in the recording studio”: Japan’s career was much more fun than it seemed
- "I open my eyes and see the captain and co-pilot with an axe, chopping down the door to the cockpit": After 40 years of friendship with Ozzy Osbourne, Stephen Rea has some stories to share
