In the wake of its re-release on vinyl, Stuart Benjamin looks back with appreciation at Cardiacs’ last ‘proper’ album, Guns.

Grayson Hale looks back at Sigur Rós’ début album ‘Von’. “For those who truly love the band and can appreciate their artistry even from their humblest beginnings… ‘Von’ is so very, very worth it.”

As the final drones of Sunn (((O see us off and the credits lift up the screen you have to admire the sheer tenacity of the bands here. By not being tied down by industry rules, there are no boundaries. By Martyn Coppack

They combined English and Irish protest folk potently with the anger and fury of punk to create bristling vignettes of normal life under a rabid Tory government hellbent on destroying the unions and the welfare state. If there was ever a time for this music, and it’s visceral rage at the political classes, to return then it is surely now. Dan Salter talks to Jeremy Cunningham.

In the second part of his journey back to the roots of his love for Kate Bush, Dave Cooper reflects on the impact on his younger self of The Kick Inside.

For most of us there was a record that changed our lives and switched on the music light; for Dave Cooper, at the tender age of 5, it was Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush.

Cameron Pikó proving that not all progressive rock is as long, bloated, unnecessary and self-indulgent as you might think…

Luke Richards looks back (with appropriate timing) on a fascinating document of early 80s industrial music…

20 years ago this week Orbital played the Herbal Tea Party in Manchester and changed the life of our editor, Dan Salter, irrevocably. Here he shares what he can remember of the occasion.

Cameron Piko guides readers through the highlights of Univers Zero’s unique career in opposition…

In his first piece of music writing of any kind, Gavin Davison recounts his first experiences with Pink Floyd’s seminal The Wall album and how it changed his view on music forever….

Five Albums from My Teens That Knocked Me Out When I First Heard Them… and Still Do – by Adam Stone

In this post I’m going to treat your ears to around 45 minutes of some of my favourite songs from the most epic era in metal ever: The New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM)! By Rob Thompson

In the first of a new series of guides to our favourite bands, genres and scenes, Benjamin Bland comments on the remarkable career of Norwegian avant-garde collective Ulver…

“I started to gravitate toward music that made me think I was falling into Hell; once I felt like I was no longer in control, I relaxed…” – Luke Henley on the Mortal Kombat Soundtrack. Don’t tell us you saw that one coming.

“…the soundtrack of that harrowing time when an angsty yet youthful outlook gives way to true anger and cynicism” – by Willie Cross

“The first album I listened to that left me speechless…” – by Jose I. Marengo

“The first thing to show me there was interesting stuff out there” – by Bruce Cowie

“ridiculously sublime, sublimely ridiculous” – Owen Coggins on Acid Mothers Temple’s finest hour…

“Angel Dust… had me confused, scared, salivating, excited and everything else in between” – by Stephen Lee Clarke

“I believe it was this album that shaped my teenage years and, ultimately, the person I am today” – Lauren Gilbert on her life changing experience with Green Day…