Rock News 2026-01-05

• “Once James Hetfield said he liked it, that was it. He said that it kicked his ass”: Nineteen years ago, this US metal band released their sixth album. Today it sounds like a Master Of Puppets for the 21st century
  Louder
• The 20 best prog reissues of 2025
  Louder
• Two Prince Songs Surge in Streams After 'Stranger Things' Finale
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• “I don’t think Janis was living a life with the inevitability of death. She was getting cleaner and stronger”: The turbulent story of how Janis Joplin tried and failed to get off the rock’n’roll rollercoaster
  Louder
• Jon Anderson Has Been Working on an Album for 25 Years
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• The Biggest Rock Acts Who Aren't Touring in 2026
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• “I spent four days arguing about what could be done with an orchestra.” The story of a Smashing Pumpkins classic, aided by The Who, the cast of Titanic and SpongeBob SquarePants
  Louder
• Michael Lippman, Manager for Bowie and George Michael, Dead at 79
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Our pick of the best band t-shirts you can get your hands on right now
  Louder
• "If he had survived that period, he would be one of the biggest stars in rock now, making records with Bono and Bon Jovi": The 12-month struggle for the life of Phil Lynott
  Louder
• Iron Maiden, Metallica, Rush, Bon Jovi and more: 26 things we're looking forward to in 2026
  Louder
• Morrissey Has Reportedly Canceled 49 of His Last 100 Concerts
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• “Kate Bush gave me a copy of Aerial at a party. I knew it was a gentle, emotional record. She said, ‘Don’t fall asleep while listening!’” Simon Drake’s career as a magician was inspired by prog
  Louder
• Don Dokken Blames Himself for 'Disaster' Dokken Reunion
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Alex Van Halen Teams Up with Toto's Steve Lukather for New Album
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• “We didn’t make music for radio. But I thought: ‘Why not try it this time?’”: Sampled by Michael Jackson and namechecked in The Simpsons – the surprise hit that transformed a washed-up 70s prog group into 80s superstars
  Louder
• Jack White Slams 'Embarrassing' Congressman Over AI Video
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Revisiting When Brian Wilson 'Quit' the Beach Boys
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• 50 Years Ago: Journey Shakes Things Up on 'Look Into the Future'
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• "I'm not a punk rocker. I don't make punk music. I don't walk around calling myself punk." How Shania Twain, Christina Aguilera's songwriters and an iconic neck tie helped Avril Lavigne launch her career-defining song
  Louder
• “They combine emotional intensity with rapidly evolving progressive chops”: EBB’s The Mirror
  Louder
• "I said, 'I think we should write the best song in the world.' Jack Black said, ‘You can’t do that!'" How Dave Grohl, Ben Stiller, Bob Odenkirk and Maynard James Keenan helped Tenacious D bring the greatest tribute song ever to the world
  Louder
• Hear the Smashing Pumpkins and Yungblud Join Forces for 'Zombie'
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• In Memoriam: A tribute to the musicians we lost in 2025
  Louder
• “If anything makes me regret not pursuing more of an artistic career, it’s looking at Brian Eno”: Still, BJ Cole didn’t do too badly with David Gilmour, The Orb, Bill Nelson, Scott Walker and others
  Louder
• "I'll never forget it. It still brings goosebumps." System Of A Down's Daron Malakian on being asked to fill in for injured James Hetfield on Metallica's Summer Sanitarium tour in 2000
  Louder
• “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
  Louder
• Five Rock Legends Who Said Farewell to the Stage in 2025
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Ian Gillan Didn’t Know of His ‘Stranger Things’ Soundtrack Spot
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• "It felt nice to infiltrate things our way. We haven't gone begging to any ****er ever. People have always come round to our way of thinking." How Simon Cowell and a Christmas Number One helped turn a Scottish rock trio into household names
  Louder
• Watch Billy Joel Perform Surprise Set With Tribute Band
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Five Famous '70s Acts That Have Been Snubbed by the Hall of Fame
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Lynyrd Skynyrd Has 'About 30 Songs' Written With Gary Rossington
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• How Triumph's Expanded Lineup Will Split Duties on Reunion Tour
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Dave Mustaine Has a Painful Hand Condition
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Watch Billy Joel perform live for first time since being diagnosed with rare brain condition – as he surprises tribute band and audience in Florida
  Louder
• “It might be like The Exorcist, which was touted by the Catholic Church because it showed on-screen what they’ve been talking about”: Ice Nine Kills have finished writing their horror film The Slashin’ Of The Christ and want to cast some familiar faces
  Louder
• 6 Great John Paul Jones Collaborations Outside Led Zeppelin
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• "They did okay without me." Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith looks back on his unsuccessful 1991 audition for one of the biggest bands in the world
  Louder
• John Lydon Didn't Hear From Sex Pistols After His Wife's Death
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• "In 2026 I shall have definitely, definitely have my solo album out": Tony Iommi films New Year message, reflects on the "Summer of Sabbath"
  Louder
• "Really, the whole scene was very Spinal Tap. It was almost beyond parody": The true story of Hear 'n Aid, the heavy metal Band Aid
  Louder
• “If you lived in LA, in the trenches, you could relate to it. And knowing Axl, I could relate to exactly where it was coming from”: The electrifying early Guns N’ Roses song written in a basement that signposted how huge they would become
  Louder
• The Cure's Perry Bamonte Dead at 65
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• “I was living on my own. Things had gone off the rails a bit, drinking too much”: It was in a weird time signature and their old singer struggled to play it, but this huge hit helped turn a 70s prog band into 80s pop stars
  Louder
• “I told Kurt Cobain that I was going to write a song that had more 'yeahs' in it than anything he’d written.” How a joke between R.E.M. and Nirvana's mercurial frontmen resulted in a 90s classic
  Louder
• In Memoriam: 2025 Deaths
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• "I don’t think I have to forgive them. They replaced me when I was sick and said I ruined the band" Styx fired Dennis DeYoung in 1999, but he still wants a reunion for the fans
  Louder
• The 31 best rock reissues and deluxe editions of 2025
  Louder
• Peter Gabriel Announces New Album 'o/i' and Releases First Single
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley gives "major health update" and reveals his body is operating at level of someone 8 years younger
  Louder
• The 10 best doom and stoner metal albums of 2025
  Louder
• When Black Sabbath Played Its Final Concert Without Ozzy Osbourne
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• "People say it's a masterpiece now but at the time, we all thought: 'Jeez, this could be the thing that finishes us!'" Steve Hogarth on creative risks, bad advice, and his first 30 years with Marillion
  Louder
• Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones is auctioning off a load of studio equipment including a bass amp with speakers that were blown after being left at Dave Grohl's house
  Louder
• Which Classic Rock Acts Played The Most Concerts in 2025?
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• "We'd stay up all night drinking, chasing girls, partying – and our pilot was with us. The next morning, he was flying the plane!" The rise, fall and rehabilitation of REO Speedwagon
  Louder
• Prog's 50 best albums of the year 2025
  Louder
• Oasis Sold More Tour Tickets in 2025 Than Beyonce
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• See the First Ever Music Video for Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were'
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• “An immersive emotional ride, showing that music makes us feel whole again”: Airbag’s Dysphoria Live
  Louder
• "Van Halen were opening for us and they were killing us every night. But they made us a better band!" How Journey found Steve Perry and made Infinity, the album that set them on the road to superstardom
  Louder
• “With strange chords and enigmatic lyrics, it fed the metal mainstream with some of its most prog-friendly material in years”: In the desperate moments before grunge, this British band offered an ambitious alternative direction
  Louder
• Zak Starkey ‘Still Confused’ Over Double Dismissal From the Who
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Black Crowes Set 2026 Headlining Dates Before Guns N' Roses Tour
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• "To watch one of my idols work on something that I had written was one of the greatest honours of my life. " Watch Yungblud team up with Smashing Pumpkins for a reworking of 2025 single Zombie
  Louder
• Five Classic Rock Acts We'd Love to See Do an Eras Tour
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Radiohead, Pulp, Alice Cooper, Johnny Cash and Lana Del Rey: the surprising list of artist who made James Bond themes only to have them rejected
  Louder
• Geezer Butler Using AI Voice for Solo Album, but Tony Iommi Isn't
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• The return of the Prog Magazine Progcast, discussing the Prog writers' Albums Of The Year lists
  Louder
• “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
  Louder
• "All of our relations, our uncles, dads, granddads, they've banged on about this place for years": What happened when Massive Wagons played the first rock shows at a historic venue in 40 years
  Louder
• Guitar God Nita Strauss announces 'miracle' pregnancy as she and husband look forward to welcoming their first child
  Louder
• New issue of Prog is on sale now! The essential end-of-year issue!
  Louder
• “We identified with bands like Metallica because they came in with this punk rock energy. But back then the biggest songs were Love In An Elevator and Still Of The Night”: The unexpected rap metal hit that saved a band’s career and ushered in the 1990s
  Louder
• “She said, ‘Mick wants to speak to you.’ It was Jagger asking if I was free to tour with the Stones”: He produced the Sex Pistols, played with Bryan Ferry and Tom Waits, and turned down the Rolling Stones. But he remains one of rock’s best kept secrets
  Louder
• Phil Lynott, 40 years gone: A celebration by his bandmates and friends - only in the new issue of Classic Rock
  Louder
• Top 25 Rock Songs of 2025
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Myles Kennedy looks back on the time he refused to audition for Slash and Velvet Revolver: “I knew that I wasn’t mentally prepared to jump into something of that magnitude”
  Louder
• The 40 Most-Played Songs on Classic Rock Radio in 2025
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Tony Iommi’s New Solo Album 'Definitely' Coming Out in 2026
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• "I have been thinking about the future and how we might respond to it." Peter Gabriel announces surprise new album and single
  Louder
• “Working with him would have been a dream. If I could go back in time, I know exactly how it would go”: Perturbator aka James Kent on why Vangelis’ music endures
  Louder
• 40 Classic Rock and Metal Albums Turning 40 in 2026
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• “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
  Louder