Articles by Emma Johnston

Emma has been writing about music for 25 years, and is a regular contributor to Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog and Louder. During that time her words have also appeared in publications including Kerrang!, Melody Maker, Select, The Blues Magazine and many more. She is also a professional pedant and grammar nerd and has worked as a copy editor on everything from film titles through to high-end property magazines. In her spare time, when not at gigs, you’ll find her at her local stables hanging out with a bunch of extremely characterful horses.

Articles by: Emma Johnston

"They would literally laugh in my face": From Haitian voodoo to slavery, sex and school shootings, Lower is the album Benjamin Booker's old label didn't want him to make

By Emma Johnston published 5 February 25

Benjamin Booker is back with a compelling, experimental new album, and enjoying pulling the strings on his own label

Frank Black - Teenager Of The Year cover art

"The sound of a man running wild in his own imagination": Frank Black's Teenager Of The Year still sounds brilliant 30 years on

By Emma Johnston published 17 January 25

A shiny gold vinyl release as Frank Black's crowning solo glory hits 30

Lambrini Girls: Who Let The Dogs Out cover art

"Snarling, fast and furious, full of meaty hooks and exasperated observations": Lambrini Girls gleefully mix subversion with humour on debut album Who Let The Dogs Out

By Emma Johnston published 10 January 25

Amyl And The Sniffers have really started something. And thank f*** for that

"A humorous and bewildered look at the modern world from a man who has never quite seemed a part of it": Julian Cope rediscovers melody on mischievous 37th solo album Friar Tuck

By Emma Johnston published 10 January 25

Sarcasm and actual tunes as one of rock’s true one-offs resurfaces

Grace Bowers holding a guitar - studio portrait

"Slash is the reason I picked up a guitar, when I was nine": Meet Grace Bowers, the teenage guitar sensation who's getting the attention of the A-list

By Emma Johnston published 9 January 25

Praised by Brian May, feted by Eric Clapton and Dolly Parton, Grace Bowers is on the road to stardom – and she's still only 18

The 50 Best Rock Albums of 2024

By Classic Rock Magazine published 13 December 24

A-listers, established artists, up-and-comers, previously unknowns and more

"Flawless and unflinching classic rock for a cruel modern world": Jerry Cantrell goes back to black for I Want Blood

By Emma Johnston published 18 October 24

Alice In Chains mainman Jerry Cantrell keeps it dark on solo album number four

"Just as pumped up with relentlessly positive energy as ever": The Offspring are pumped-up and loveable on the joyous Supercharged

By Emma Johnston published 10 October 24

Good vibes galore on the 11th album from tireless Californian pop-punk lifers The Offspring

Myles Kennedy - The Art Of Letting go cover art

"This album is a riff-filled inferno, the work of a master craftsman": Myles Kennedy is at the top of his game on colossal solo album The Art Of Letting Go

By Emma Johnston published 9 October 24

Riffs and sky-high choruses galore on Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy’s third solo record, The Art Of Letting Go

"We never had to try to fit in because we were never going to": Punk legends X are finally getting the recognition they deserve, but their biggest success is failure

By Emma Johnston published 19 September 24

Formed in 1977, highly influential punk rock Los Angelenos X have made what they say is their final album

"Rack is an incendiary device of an album": The Jesus Lizard shine as brightly as ever on the irresistible, fascinating Rack

By Emma Johnston published 12 September 24

Kings of noise the Jesus Lizard have returned to reclaim their crown

"Smile at your scared opponent and help them. If he's swinging wildly, chill him out": The Gospel according to Duff McKagan

By Emma Johnston published 10 September 24

Addiction can be beaten. Understand money. Put your partner first. Don’t hold grudges. Clothes maketh the man. These are among the things that shape Duff McKagan's world view

Dune Rats: If It Sucks, Turn It Up cover art

"If it's dumb fun in the sun you're after, these are the rodents you're looking for": Dune Rats' world is an exuberant playground on If It Sucks, Turn It Up

By Emma Johnston published 8 August 24

Sarcasm and cheap thrills abound from Aussie rockers Dune Rats

Orange Goblin: Science, Not Fiction cover art

"There's not a note out of place here, the album crafted to perfection, every breath, every drum beat, every howling guitar line": Orange Goblin attain nation treasure status on Science, Not Fiction

By Emma Johnston published 19 July 24

“These kids say they’ve been here before and talk about their sky parent. That’s more than a sprinkling of prog… that’s three and a half cups!” Despite being tagged as a metal band, Karnivool know the truth

By Emma Johnston published 18 July 24

2013 album Asymmetry marked the moment the Australians grew into their own sound – fuelled, they said themselves, by being based at “the arse end of the arse end of the world”

"A defiant joy at play, a pure love for the genre": 13 years after their last album, Kittie are back and the claws are out

By Emma Johnston published 21 June 24

Two years after returning from hiatus, Canadian metallers Kittie complete the comeback with their seventh album

“Some people think it’s my most optimistic record… I don’t hear that at all. I don’t feel like a comfortable person any more”: Mike Vennart’s latest album is all about his anger

By Emma Johnston published 11 June 24

Forgiveness & The Grain in one aspect of a three-pronged attack used by the former Oceansize fontman to achieve everything he wants to

"They've gone out of their way to turn up the dial and make things as heavy as possible": Pearl Jam sweep the pretenders away on Dark Matter

By Emma Johnston published 19 April 24

There’s vim and vigour aplenty from Seattle survivors Pearl Jam on album number 12, Dark Matter

"If you just stay in your comfort zone all the time, you keep writing the same type of songs over and over again": The Pineapple Thief are rejuvenated, regenerated and on a roll

By Emma Johnston published 15 April 24

The PineappleThief almost called it quits back in 2016, but with founder Bruce Soord bringing in creative partner Gavin Harrison it's like a whole new band

"It's our mission to keep the rock alive. It's important to keep the torch burning": The Gems were born out of solidarity, and now they want to invigorate classic rock

By Emma Johnston published 1 April 24

Swedish rockers The Gems hope that leaving "toxic" former band Thundermother will turn out to be a blessing in disguise

“You see people in music magazines who call themselves rebels. I’m more of a rebel because I really put my life at risk”: Aviv Geffen and Steven Wilson’s contrasting worlds make Blackfield’s work so powerful

By Emma Johnston published 28 March 24

Israeli musician and campaigner’s third album with Porcupine Tree leader was named Welcome To My DNA as an illustration of the pair’s powerful connection

"Nothing is off limits in a dizzying array of influences and styles mixed with the precision of a master of his craft": Gary Clark Jr hits a career high on Jpeg Raw

By Emma Johnston published 22 March 24

Texan electric blues multi-instrumentalist Gary Clark Jr's sixth album Jpeg Raw might be one of the best albums you'll hear this year

Every Patti Smith album ranked from worst to best

By Emma Johnston published 19 March 24

Creative polymath Patti Smith is one of music's most unique voices – here we go through her back catalogue in order of greatness

TesseracT's latest album is "near-future fantasy about two people that have to traverse a strange land": And if that sounds like a video game, well, that's the plan

By Emma Johnston published 7 February 24

Prog-metallers TesseracT returned last year with a concept album, and have plans to expand it beyond being just a record

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes - Dark Rainbow cover art

"There's a charming vulnerability to it all, although they still amp up the rock when necessary": Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes' Dark Rainbow

By Emma Johnston published 27 January 24

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes shed another skin to show their most sensitive side on album five

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Emma Johnston

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