Rock News 2026-01-18

• James Taylor Sets Massive 2-Leg 2026 US Tour
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• Mark Mothersbaugh: Brian Eno Was ‘Unprepared’ to Work With Devo
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• “I said, ‘Listen, I don't think you should die!’” How Dave Grohl realised that the end was near for Kurt Cobain and Nirvana
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• The 20 Best Hard Rock and Metal Albums of 1986
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• "Some of the people we lost have really affected me. Lemmy, Dio, Ozzy… you hear about them going and you think, ‘No!’" Metal legend and Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine on losing his friends and peers
  Louder
• “Kurt was a mess, drug-wise. I didn’t feel it was anybody’s business, I just wanted him off the project”: Kurt Cobain was supposed to produce these underground metal icons’ major label album – but they still made a classic without him
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• When Jimmy Buffett and Bono Were Nearly Killed by Jamaican Police
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• The Best (and Worst) Solo LP From Every Member of Led Zeppelin
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• How Bob Dylan's 'Desire' Captured a New Musical Journey
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• Roger Waters Has No Regrets About Ozzy Osbourne Comments
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• Pink Floyd's legendary Pompeii concert film to get 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray release
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• Metal Hammer reader's poll - the best metal albums of 2025
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• “Metal has always been a very tribal thing - some felt we were provocative merely for existing": The story of the Living Colour song that namechecked Stalin and Mussolini and inspired Tom Morello to form a band
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• "The only reason you look in the rearview mirror is to see how cool you look going forward." This is what happened when Metallica's Lars Ulrich interviewed one of his heroes, Iron Maiden legend Steve Harris
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• Watch John Mayer's Moving Tribute to Bandmate Bob Weir
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• “It’s the worst thing you can imagine – a song written by the rhythm section. I have to fit a guitar part over this?” How Rush made Grammy-nominated instrumental YYZ
  Louder
• “There’s a lot to love – but those longing for the more involved songwriting and lengthier compositions will be disappointed”: Soen continue to become more metal and less prog with Reliance
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• "What’s the last thing a drummer says before getting kicked out of the band? 'Hey guys, I have a song that I think we should play!'" The story behind the forgotten Nirvana song that Dave Grohl was too nervous to include on their final album
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• "My god, we were such impatient boys." How a David Bowie screw-up and some dramatic miming on British TV helped Queen secure their first hit single
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• “One of the guy’s friends came at Joacim from behind and smashed a glass in his face. Then they all ran away like scared rats”: The violence and defiance behind the 2000s metal anthem that accidentally inspired an Olympic gold medal
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• “He was recovering from a broken jaw and was suffering chronic pain, but he was determined to endure”: How an ailing country icon made one of music’s greatest comebacks – with help from Rick Rubin, Tom Waits and Glenn Danzig
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• Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson Announce Freaks on Parade 2026 Tour
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• What's Next as Journey Heads Into Their Farewell Tour?
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• “When I look back, there’s never been any one thing that’s been normal about this band. I’m used to strangeness in my world!”: The controversial dance band who lit a fire under the 90s metal scene
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• Bob Weir's Pursuit of a New Sound with Don Was
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• “I’m so glad he got to hear what happened. His son told us it made it easier for him to let go”: The last message of a prog giant who hoped his band would outlive him, 48 years after it began
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• Angel to Embark on 2026-2027 Farewell Tour
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• Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea announces first North American, UK and European solo shows in support of his debut solo album, Honora
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• The Best 40 Songs of 1966
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• "He might not rank alongside Kiss, Aerosmith or Van Halen, but he was arguably more influential": Nine albums you need to listen to by Ronnie Montrose and one to avoid
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• "Eric Clapton wrote Wonderful Tonight at ours, sitting on a wheelbarrow": What happened when the bassist with one of the UK's biggest bands quit rock'n'roll for life on the farm and a travelling musical carnival
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• The Police's Royalty Battle Pits Streaming vs. Physical Sales
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• “Somebody threw a toilet roll at Peter Gabriel. He threw it back and it landed just below me. I had that bog roll on my windowsill for years!” Marc Riley’s prog world
  Louder
• "I wouldn’t do Glastonbury because of the politics of the people who run it." Brian May rules out Queen performing at Glastonbury festival for the foreseeable future
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• "The thing that influenced me most was the news. We are in some kind of ‘post empire’ now, where people just disappear." Sonic Youth legend Kim Gordon announces new album Play Me, shares new single Not Today
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• Tom Keifer Sets 2026 Tour Dates
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• “My mother was a witch’ was a great opening line. His mum probably took offence, but she’s probably forgiven him now”: The lost NWOBHM classic that Metallica turned into one of metal’s most famous songs
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• Why Sammy Hagar Is Switching Keyboardists for Summer Tour
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• John Mellencamp Grew Tired of Being a 'F---ing Clown' for Fans
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• "Playing a full set of Motörhead songs with Phil Campbell stood next to me is a bit nerve-racking": With a new deal and friends in the right places, Fury are ready to move up a level
  Louder
• Flea Shares 'Honora' Album Details, New Single and Solo Tour Date
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• "I heard something on an ABBA record and it inspired the riff I needed. I said, ‘Guys, I’ve got it!'" The Sex Pistols, pop legends, Danny Boyle and the Olympics: the unlikely story of one of the most important punk songs of all time
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• "We’re heading intooblivion...particularly here in America. Things are acceptable now that would’ve horrified people 20 years ago." One of the 21st century's best metal bands is back with a new album – listen to the ferociousnew Lamb Of God single here
  Louder
• Moody Blues' Justin Hayward Sets 11-Date U.S. Tour
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• John Mellencamp Promises Hits-Filled Sets for Summer 2026 Tour
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• The Best (and Worst) Solo LP From Every Member of Fleetwood Mac
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• "I started listening to what the gym guys were listening to. When I first heard Metallica, I was like, 'Right, this is speaking to me.'" WWE Champion Drew McIntyre reveals what's on his workout mix - and the huge role music plays in his life
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• Lynyrd Skynyrd and Creed Set for 2026 ‘Rock the Country’ Tour
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• "We went to his place, had a jam, and then he asked if I’d ever played with a Ouija board." Ball lightning, a freak house fire and the occult: how one classic 80s anthem officially crowned the queen of heavy metal
  Louder
• “He phoned me up at seven in the morning and played about ten seconds of the EP over the phone. That was the moment”: Twenty-five years ago, five rowdy New Yorkers released a three-song EP that changed the course of rock’n’roll
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• "The police and the army were all carrying guns. There was a real edginess to it all." How a "feral" Ozzy Osbourne crowd, an onstage meltdown, and some ill-advised nudity on live TV sparked a police manhunt for a British rock star in South America
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• William Duvall Joins Metal Allegiance for a Dark, Heavy Anthem
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• Peter Criss Rips Gene Simmons for 'Ridiculous' 'Beth' Allegations
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• Why Iron Maiden Fans Need to Go See 'The Bone Temple' Right Now
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• "This record will make every other record in 2026 look like dimwitted hippie bulls***": Gluecifer's first album in two decades is sleazy, slinky, snotty and packed with blood-guzzling scorchers
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• "The song means as much today as it did then - kids trying to break out of their town to find something to do": Influenced by Aleister Crowley and toothache, the song that introduced new wave still strikes a chord
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• "We were brothers and I was trying so hard that I was choking him. That’s how I was taught to control things: intimidation and rage." Inside the depressing night Metallica split with Jason Newsted
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• Debate: Will the return of Rush be the biggest prog event of 2026?
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• "Calvin Klein asked us to do an advert. We were like, 'f-you, no way!' That would have been huge." From touring with Slipknot to turning down iconic fashion designers, the story behind Kittie's classic nu metal anthem, Brackish
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• 64 Women Who Deserve to Be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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• "The Minotaur has the face of his father. He has to decide whether or not to kill it." The true story behind Minotaur, the mythical Tom Jones/Black Sabbath concept album that shook the world of rock
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• "If you break the song down, it's really not that original. But I thank God every day that I wrote it": How one radio play turned the Undertones' intended final release into a brand new beginning
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• Hollywood Vampires Announce Summer 2026 Tour Dates
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• Meet Mark Dixon, Boston’s One-Time Secret Singer
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• “He hit me and he started crying and I remember thinking, ‘Weak as I am, I’ve got no tears for you, I’ve got tears for myself’”: The harrowing moment from a toxic relationship that this singer turned into a 90s rock classic
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• Prog's Tracks Of The Week is back with cool new proggy sounds from Big Big Train, Soen, Charlotte Wessels and more
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• Top 10 Bob Weir Songs
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• Peter Gabriel announces physical release of live albums In The Big Room and Live At WOMAD 82
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• Paul McCartney's Wings Era Explored in 'Man on the Run' Film
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• Bob Weir to Be Honored With Procession in San Francisco
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• "I nearly died at Download Festival. When I took that mask off it was like upturning a bucket." From a panic attack in a Rolls-Royce to being metal's hottest new masked band: an interview with President
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• John Mellencamp Recalls Being 'Totally Humiliated' at Rock Hall
  Ultimate Classic Rock
• “It felt like the best thing we’d ever done. I was shocked when it wasn’t received well. The record company definitely didn’t like it”: Inspired by King Crimson, this 80s band pioneered a new kind of rock – and paid the price
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• “As we were leaving, Keith handed me this 1964 Gibson Hummingbird acoustic. ‘That’s not mine,’ I said. He said, ‘It is now. It’s yours’”: The incredible story of the cult British rock’n’rollers who happen to be one of Keith Richards’ favourite bands
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• Ghost, Lamb Of God and Black Label Society: the best new metal songs you need to hear right now
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• “After scrapping two albums I went to the accountant to find out how many pennies were left in the piggy bank. The answer was not many”: How Bruce Dickinson gambled everything on his second solo album – and ended up leaving Iron Maiden because of it
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• “Here was a song I’d written, and it sounded absolutely magnificent. If I was to fall down a hole and never play again, I’d have that”: The legendary punk single that beat the Sex Pistols out of the gate by a month
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• 16 Classic American Meals That Could Be Making a Comeback
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• Limp Bizkit, Bad Omens, Papa Roach, Gojira, Poppy, plus more than 50 other bands announced for Inkcarceration Festival 2026
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• “You probably wouldn’t think of us sounding like Pink Floyd. But we’ve got a lot of stuff live that’s quite trippy, influenced by them”: Feeder’s Grant Nicholas on having dinner with Alex Lifeson and trying to sing like Jon Anderson
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• The Beatles Quiz: How much do you know about Help!?
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• “Dream Theater have been completely unchallenged until now. There’s only so much room at the top of prog metal. We intend to have our thrones put in there”: How supergroup Sons Of Apollo flew before they fell
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• Foghat and Nazareth Reveal 2026 Tour Plans
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• "We've lasted so long because we were never friends": Fifty years in, Cheap Trick might not hang out with each other, but musical glue binds them together
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• Foo Fighters and Joan Jett Lead BottleRock Festival Lineup
  Ultimate Classic Rock