Drugs, death and rock'n'roll - the debauched story of Cactus
When Vanilla Fudge split in 1969, Cactus emerged from the meltdown. When they weren’t in jail they were partying. When they weren’t naked they were taking drugs
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10 new wave and post-punk albums you should definitely listen to
After punk came a new wave of bands determined to do things differently, frequently sounding nothing like each other
The best new rock songs you need to hear right now
Featuring Marcus King, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Bernie Marsden and five other sailors on the seven seas of rock
Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia on tech, Depeche Mode and new album Sleepless Empire
Italian gothic metallers Lacuna Coil are showing no signs of slowing down
Paul Hardcastle admits he once used Hawkwind titles for his own songs
The multi-instrumentalist synth pop icon recalls trying and failing to play Silver Machine on a music store synth, years before he impressed Lemmy by asking about Orgone Accumulator
The chaotic birth of prog metal giants Mastodon
How Mastodon crawled from the Atlanta underground metal scene to become one of the most important bands of the 21st century
Vikram Shankar’s Five Favorite Instrumental Prog Albums
The keyboard player with instrumental US prog rock trio Lux Terminus, who recently released second album, Cinder, picks his best of instrumental prog
How prog metal icons Dream Theater went full nerd-mode with epic concept album The Astonishing
There’s big, and then there’s Dream Theater’s 2016 prog metal blow-out The Astonishing
A Louder writer on how he accidentally got the only Radiohead interview they did for their last record
As A Moon Shaped Pool turns 9, this writer recollects a night on the tiles in Paris with Thom Yorke & co.
The epic story of the Scorpions, the German band who smashed through the barriers to conquer America
The Scorpions proved that Britain and the US didn’t have the monopoly on hard rock and heavy metal
The rise, fall and resurrection of Armored Saint, the cult band who should have been as big as Metallica
Armored Saint were one of the greatest 80s metal bands never to hit the big time
10 epic ballads that show there was more to thrash metal than speed
There was more to thrash metal than speed
In 1984, Paul McCartney shed revealing new light on his relationship with John Lennon
"If you ever got a speck of praise from John, a crumb of it, you were quite grateful." Paul McCartney on John Lennon
How Incubus pushed back against nu metal with Morning View
Incubus may have risen at the same time as nu metal, but they wanted nothing to do with it
When true rebels came out as prog fans: Five essential neo-prog albums of the 80s
The second-wave movement didn’t last long – but its bands revitalised the genre with an attitude and energy that’s still being felt today
The Pretty Things singer Phil May’s wild tales of Hendrix, Zeppelin, Iggy Pop and Judy Garland
Late Pretty Things singer Phil May was mates with Hendrix and Page, a rival of the Stones and an accidental drinking buddy of Judy Garland
With Oasis’s huge reunion shows looming, here’s the setlist they need to play this summer
Warning: do not click if you’re a huge fan of She’s Electric.
Metal Hammer's tracks of the week: May 9 2025
Parkway Drive, Attack Attack! and Battle Beast are among the best new metal songs this week. Plus, vote for your favourite!
How Bon Jovi hit the jackpot with Slippery When Wet, the album that turned them into the hottest hard rock band of the 80s
Slippery When Wet turned Bon Jovi from also-rans to multi-platinum superstars
