Classic Rock

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

Rick Allen Brushes Up • Def Leppard drummer unveils own fine art prints.

Darrell Bath • December 24, 1966 - September 27, 2021

Ron Tutt • March 12, 1938 – October 16, 2021

John Rossall • November 26, 1945 – October 2, 2021

RIP • Thank you… and good night.

Barry Ryan • October 24, 1948 – September 28, 2021

Richard H Kirk • March 21, 1956 – September 21, 2021

Steve Strange • April 17, 1968 – September 24, 2021

Two Music Icons To Call It A Day • David Lee Roth and John Mayall both set to retire.

Priest Guitarist Cheats Death • Richie Faulkner survives on-stage aneurysm.

dUg Pinnick • With King's X and solo albums due, and two another band projects, it's a busy time for the bassist/vocalist.

NEWS

QUELLA VECCHA LOCANDA • Quella Veccha Locanda, Help Records, Italy, 1972. £600.

The War On Drugs • With a perfectionist approach, and drawing on classic 70s rock for inspiration, the Drugs do work.

Crazy Lixx • “Rock music is meant to be rebellious and fun,” say this Swedish band. Sounds good to us…

MY FIRST LOVE • Smashing Pumpkins SIAMESE DREAM

PFM • After progging for 50 years, the Italian veterans still worry if they don’t always wake up with a dream.

Spidergawd • The New Wave of The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal… but from Norway.

John Petrucci • Dream Theater’s guitar wizard on egos, tricky time signatures, worrying about the draft, own-brand bourbon, and beards.

Florence Black • Nine years, one album and more than a million streams. The Welsh rock’n’roll trio’s gambles are now paying off.

ALAN LANCASTER • Dave Ling looks back at the life, music and times of the late Status Quo bassist/vocalist, who co-founded a British hard-rocking band that became one of the greats, with a broad appeal that made them a household name.

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR • People often think a covers album is a sign of having run out of ideas, having a contract to fulfil, or maybe both. Deep Purple’s new covers album Turning To Crime is neither. Rather, it sees the band invigorated by revisiting songs that inspired them to play rock’n’roll in the first place.

UNCHAINED • Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell’s first solo album in almost 20 years highlights his acoustic side. A lockdown project, he says it turned into “a pretty cool record”.

LET’S GET MYTHICAL • Rush’s 1978 album Hemispheres was one of the band’s most challenging records to make, but its stunning 36 minutes are a clear indication of the trio’s chemistry. Geddy Lee recalls the album’s creation, and ponders its legacy.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JUSTIN HAWKINS • Lowestoft and Glasgow are special places. Clothes maketh the rock star. You’ve got to have life goals. Success has its downsides. These are among the things that shape The Darkness man’s world view.

Redemption Songs • Having sunk into a dark hole of depression, Alexisonfire guitarist/Gallows frontman Wade MacNeil found the light with his psychedelic, Grateful Dead-inspired new project, Dooms Children.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOOD TIMES GONE? • In our exclusive book extract from Eruption: The Eddie Van Halen Story, we venture back to the early 80s, to Fair Warning and Diver Down, when Van Halen were nearly at breaking point.

The HOT LiST • THE ESSENTIAL NEW ROCK TRACKS...