Latest articles by Dom Lawson
Katatonia’s new era begins with Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State
Sweden’s melancholic masters successfully navigate recent choppy waters to deliver their lucky 13th album
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
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
Machine Head's Unatoned has so many crushing riffs that it should come with a health and safety certificate. This is a band back in peak condition
Machine Head's epic bounce back continues with the brilliant Unatoned
The Devin Townsend albums you should listen to... and one to avoid
Canadian enigma Devin Townsend’s catalogue spans extreme metal, sublime prog-scapes, colossal riffs and extra-terrestrials. Where to begin?
How an iconic comic book character inspired Anthrax to write a thrash metal classic
The story behind a comics-inspired thrash anthem
How Machine Head’s The Blackening became their own Master Of Puppets
The Blackening remains Machine Head’s masterpiece
How Heaven & Hell resurrected Black Sabbath’s other classic line-up with The Devil You Know
Heaven & Hell’s The Devil You Know was a Dio-era Sabbath record under any other name
Debauched prog revivalists to internet pioneers: The Marillion albums you should listen to
Since picking up the progressive rock baton from Genesis in the 80s, Marillion have recorded one of prog’s most impressive catalogues, and these are their best albums
The unbelievable rise of Opeth, the band who went from death metal no-hopers to prog royalty
Inside one of the most remarkable success stories in modern metal
“We took it badly – ‘No one wants us any more!’ We’d never been through the school of hard knocks. We didn’t know what it meant to work hard”: When ELP collapsed, Carl Palmer’s career-long lucky streak ended. But he didn’t give up
Born into a musical family and a pro by his teenage years with a real-life education in backstage realities, the passionate drummer has seen dreams come true with Arthur Brown, Atomic Rooster, Asia, Mike Oldfield and others
Jethro Tull’s struggle to make Aqualung, in their own words
Their fourth album, a prophetic masterpiece and best-selling work, made them stars – but its creation wasn’t easy
The chaotic story of Black Sabbath, the band who did more than anyone to invent heavy metal
No Black Sabbath, no heavy metal as we know it
The chaotic story of Nihilist, Unleashed, Entombed and the bloody birth of Swedish death metal
Death metal began in the US - but the early 1990s Swedish scene gave it a run for its money
How Dimmu Borgir made an irreligious symphonic black metal classic with In Sorte Diaboli
Dimmu Borgir sealed their status as black metal’s biggest band with 2007’s In Sorte Diaboli
“It was part of the job to destroy Genesis and Yes”: Captain Sensible loved prog, but hid it
The Damned guitarist on spending years ripping off the genre he professed to hate, and the obscure tracks he’d play on Desert Island Discs – if they’d ever let him appear
The unbelievable story of Def Leppard’s 80s hard rock masterpiece Hysteria
Four years, one near-fatal car crash and an ocean of booze in the making, Def Leppard’s Hysteria is the 80s hard rock album against which all others should be measured
The prog credentials of Mr. Bungle’s Disco Volante
Bizarre instrumentation and avant-garde construction made Mike Patton and co’s second album a curveball of epic proportions
"Chris Squire asked me to join Yes. I was extremely flattered." Astonishing revelations from Steve Hackett when we interviewed him about 2019's At The Edge Of Light
There were revelations galore about Steve Hackett's twenty-fifth studio album At The Edge Of Light
Mikael Åkerfeldt, Bruce Soord and others pick their favourite Camel albums
Five prog musicians explain the lasting impact of Andy Latimer’s band
“I felt straight away that we were back": The power of music compelled Beardfish to return
Unable to decide on who should leave, the band of friends broke up in 2016. To their own surprise and delight, they’re back with new album Songs For Beating Hearts – and loving their work more than ever
Metal Hammer's 50 best albums of 2024
From Judas Priest's Invincible Shield to Nightwish's Yesterwynde and Opeth's return to extremity, these are the metal albums that ruled 2024
How Amon Amarth became the world’s favourite 21st century Viking metal berserkers
Amon Amarth’s 2008 album Twilight Of The Thunder God transformed them from death metal hopefuls into all-conquering Viking metal chieftains
