The definitive voice in rock journalism, going behind the scenes to bring the real stories behind rock legends from Led Zeppelin to Metallica, to Marilyn Manson and beyond. Please note: This digital version of the magazine does not currently include the covermount items or content you would find on printed newsstand copies
WELCOME
This month’s contributors
Classic Rock
DUSTY HILL • David Sinclair looks back at the life, times and music of ZZ Top’s enigmatic bassist and vocalist.
THE STARS PAY TRIBUTE
Joey Jordison • April 26, 1975 – July 26, 2021
John Lawton • July 11, 1946 – June 29, 2021
Jeff LaBar • March 18, 1963 – July 14, 2021
RIP • Thank you and good night.
Robby Steinhardt • May 25, 1950 – July 17, 2021
Rick Laird • February 5, 1941 – July 4, 2021
Mike Howe • August 21, 1965 – July 26, 2021
LOVE SCULPTURE • Forms And Feeling, 1969, Parlophone, UK. £300 (first pressing).
NEWS
Medicine Head • John Fiddler, one half of the original duo, looks back on early fame and forward to a possible re-formation.
The Dead Deads • Meet the trio taking from Kiss’s book on how to make it, and Queen’s on how to play it.
Cardinal Black • They’ve had iTunes hits, but promise that with their debut album “the best is yet to come”.
Brian Setzer • The Stray Cats guitarist and big-band leader on “sexy” rockabilly, quiffs, moving to the UK, and being a heartthrob.
Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real • The country-rockers on close encounters with marine life, backing Neil Young and continuing a family tradition.
30 MILLION PEOPLE CAN'T BE WRONG • By 1991, Metallica were a big fish in a relatively small pond. Then that summer they released the album Metallica. A multimillion-selling, game-changing monster, it sold far wider than to just the metal masses, and within months the band were catapulted into the super-league. Thirty years on, this is its story.
BRUCE DICKINSON Iron Maiden
MICHAEL POULSEN Volbeat
BIFF BYFORD Saxon
TOBIAS FORGE Ghost
RODRIGO SANCHEZ Rodrigo Y Gabriella
JAMES DEAN BRADFIELD Manic Street Preachers
BRIAN TATLER Diamond Head
PAUL STANLEY Kiss
BEN JOHNSTON Biffy Clyro
CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION • With plenty of current and historical events in their native Canada to fuel their fire and ire, Crown Lands’ music wraps punk spirit in a luxury prog package that “draws a lot from Genesis and Yes and Rush”.
DAYS & SUMMERS • In our exclusive extract and images from Janis Joplin’s fascinating scrapbook, bandmates, friends and family talk about that voice, her band Big Brother & The Holding Company, their classic Cheap Thrills album, and the largely unseen Janis behind the public persona.
POWER GAMES • Plunged into anxiety hell by covid-19, Danko Jones’ dreams of rock stardom never seemed more impossible. Fortunately, new album Power Trio brings the band roaring back to life, with their sights set on conquering the world one riff at a time.
SIX-PACK • Danko Jones picks some rising bands that rev his engine.
THE SECOND COMING • After quitting The Temperance Movement under a cloud, their former vocalist Phil Campbell says his new band The Byson Family is his rebirth.
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO DAVID CROSBY • Drugs can be dangerous. Don’t believe the hype. Global warming is real. America might be doomed. Life is short. Love works. Racists are stupid. These are just some of the things that shape his world view.
NO LAUGHING MATTER • With covid still taking lives, and the Manic Street Preachers having have undergone their fair share of emotional upheaval recently, it’s little wonder their new album has...