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Categories | Music magazine |
---|---|
Frequency | Monthly |
Circulation | 14,057 [1] |
First issue | 1999 |
Company | WhyNow |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Website | www.rocksound.tv |
ISSN | 1465-0185 |
Rock Sound is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, emo, hardcore, heavy metal and extreme metal genres of rock music, rarely covering indie rock music at all. The tag-line "For those who like their music loud, extreme and non-conformist" is sometimes used. Although primarily aimed at the British market, the magazine is also sold in Australia, Canada and the United States.
The British edition of Rock Sound was launched in March 1999 by the French publisher Editions Freeway. The magazine was bought out by its director, Patrick Napier, in December 2004. The magazines offices are in London. Separate titles with the same name have been published under the same umbrella company in France since 1993, [2] [3] [4] and in Spain since 1998. [5] [6]
The first issue was published in April 1999. Issue 2 featured British band Reef on the front cover, and later issues 3 and 8 featured Terrorvision and Foo Fighters respectively. In July 2011 a host of "Through The Years" articles were written to celebrate the 150th issue of the magazine. [7] 2017 witnessed the first annual Rock Sound Awards where £1 from every magazine bundle sold was donated to the One More Light Fund in memory of Chester Bennington. [8]
The magazine was known for including a free CD in most issues, which had tracks from bands' new albums that have not been released as singles. These were called '100% Volume' or 'The Volumes', with other past compilations named 'Music With Attitude', 'Bugging Your Ears!', 'Sound Check' and 'Punk Rawk Explosion'. [9] Sometimes whole albums were included with the magazine, particularly from bands wanting to gain exposure, including Futures' debut album The Holiday in March 2010, and Burn The Fleet's debut album The Modern Shape in May 2012. [10]
In more recent years, exclusive artist merchandise including t-shirts have been sold alongside the magazine via the Rock Sound web store.
In 2023, Rock Sound became part of WhyNow media group and a special edition magazine was published in partnership with Slam Dunk Festival featuring headliners Enter Shikari and The Offspring on the cover. A weekly digital cover feature, The Album Story, was also launched on ROCKSOUND.TV. [11]
Rock Sound's 300th issue was published in September 2023 with Fall Out Boy, Corey Taylor and Motionless In White appearing on the cover. The magazine will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2024.
Year | Circulation |
---|---|
2009 | 16,374 [12] |
2010 | 15,005 [13] |
2011 | 14,227 [14] |
2013 | 13,220 [15] |
2015 | 13,924 [16] |
2016 | 14,057 [17] |
The magazine had a circulation figure of 15,005 from January to December 2010 auditored by ABC. This includes 10,162 sales in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and 4,843 from Other Countries. [13] The same auditing body said the magazine had a slightly lower circulation figure of 14,227 from January to December 2011, with sales of 10,053 from the United Kingdom and Ireland, and 4,174 from Other Countries. [14] The majority of sales come from newstrade, with some coming from subscriptions.
The main rival to the magazine in Britain is Kerrang! because of the similar types of music both magazines cover.[ citation needed ]
At the end of every year the magazine lists their favourite 75 albums released in the previous twelve months.
Rock Sound inducted numerous albums into its Hall of Fame, as part of a long-running feature. The main criterion for inclusion was thought to be influence – even within a particular genre – and for that reason many of the albums have been commercially successful as well as critically successful because they have then gone on to influence large numbers of bands or the music scene. Thus this differs from the Yearly Top Albums lists which do not take influence into account. In each article there was normally an interview with band members, a commentary on the album's release, a look at its initial success, and reaction from other musicians or participants in the album's creation - such as producers, engineers, and music video directors. Towards the end of this section's run it was renamed to "Throwback".
Album | Artist | Nationality | Year | Issue | Guest Writer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Shape of Punk to Come | Refused | 27 October 1998 | #136, June 2010 [30] | ||
Jupiter | Cave In | 8 August 2000 | #138, August 2010 [31] | Jacob Bannon of Converge | |
Weezer | Weezer | 10 May 1994 | #139, September 2010 [32] [33] | Gustav Woods of Young Guns | |
Smash | The Offspring | 8 April 1994 | #140, October 2010 [34] | Frank Turner | |
White Pony | Deftones | 20 June 2000 | #142, December 2010 [35] | ||
Jane Doe | Converge | 4 September 2001 | #145, March 2011 [36] [37] | Winston McCall of Parkway Drive | |
Queens of the Stone Age | Queens of the Stone Age | 22 September 1998 | #146, April 2011 [38] | ||
Hello Rockview | Less Than Jake | 6 October 1998 | #149, July 2011 [39] | ||
Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation | Funeral for a Friend | 20 October 2003 | #151, Summer 2011 [40] | ||
Tell All Your Friends | Taking Back Sunday | 26 March 2002 | #152, September 2011 [41] | ||
Relationship of Command | At the Drive-In | 12 September 2000 | #153, October 2011 [42] | ||
From Under the Cork Tree | Fall Out Boy | 3 May 2005 | #155, December 2011 [43] | ||
New Found Glory | New Found Glory | 26 September 2000 | #158, March 2012 [44] | ||
The Artist in the Ambulance | Thrice | 22 July 2003 | #159, April 2012 [45] | ||
Good Mourning | Alkaline Trio | 13 May 2003 | #160, May 2012 [46] | ||
Start Something | Lostprophets | 2 February 2004 | #161, June 2012 [47] [48] | Aled Phillips of Kids In Glass Houses | |
Ideas Above Our Station | Hundred Reasons | 20 May 2002 | #162, July 2012 [49] [50] | Rou Reynolds of Enter Shikari, Frank Turner | |
Suicide Season | Bring Me the Horizon | 29 September 2008 | #164, Summer 2012 [51] | Sam Carter of Architects | |
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out | Panic! at the Disco | 27 September 2005 | #165, September 2012 [52] | Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy Mike Ferri of We Are the In Crowd | |
The Used | The Used | 25 June 2002 | #166, October 2012 [53] | Chris Pennells of Deaf Havana | |
The Young and the Hopeless | Good Charlotte | 30 September 2002 | #167, November 2012 [54] | ||
Alive or Just Breathing | Killswitch Engage | 21 May 2002 | #168, December 2012 [55] | Matt Heafy of Trivium | |
Ascendancy | Trivium | 15 March 2005 | #171, March 2013 [56] | ||
What It Is to Burn | Finch | 12 March 2002 | #172, April 2013 [57] | ||
The Bronx | The Bronx | 26 August 2003 | #173, May 2013 [58] | ||
Love Metal | HIM | 14 April 2003 | #174, June 2013 [59] | ||
Infest | Papa Roach | 25 April 2000 | #175, July 2013 [60] | ||
Tomorrow Come Today | Boysetsfire | 1 April 2003 | #176, August 2013 [61] | ||
As the Palaces Burn | Lamb of God | 6 May 2003 | #177, Summer 2013 [62] | ||
Bleed American | Jimmy Eat World | 24 July 2001 | #178, September 2013 [63] | ||
Take to the Skies | Enter Shikari | 19 March 2007 | #179, October 2013 [64] | ||
Miss Machine | The Dillinger Escape Plan | 20 July 2004 | #180, November 2013 [65] | ||
Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness | Coheed and Cambria | 20 September 2005 | #181, December 2013 [66] | ||
Gutter Phenomenon | Every Time I Die | 23 August 2005 | #184, March 2014 [67] | ||
Perseverance | Hatebreed | 12 March 2002 | #185, April 2014 [68] | ||
Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water | Limp Bizkit | 17 October 2000 | #186, May 2014 [69] | ||
A Place in the Sun | Lit | 23 February 1999 | #187, June 2014 [70] | ||
The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild | Sikth | 18 August 2003 | #188, July 2014 [71] | ||
Superunknown | Soundgarden | 8 March 1994 | #189, August 2014 [72] | ||
Punk in Drublic | NOFX | 19 July 1994 | #191, September 2014 [73] | ||
Hollow Crown | Architects | 26 January 2009 | #192, October 2014 [74] | ||
Slaughter of the Soul | At the Gates | 14 November 1995 | #193, November 2014 [75] | ||
Get Some | Snot | 27 May 1997 | #197, March 2015 [76] | ||
Follow the Leader | KoЯn | 18 August 1998 | #198, April 2015 [77] | ||
Crisis | Alexisonfire | 22 August 2006 | #202, August 2015 [78] | ||
Nothing Personal | All Time Low | 7 July 2009 | #203, Summer 2015 | ||
The Gift of Game | Crazy Town | 9 November 1999 | #204, September 2015 | ||
Menace to Sobriety | OPM | 15 August 2000 | #205, October 2015 | ||
This War Is Ours | Escape the Fate | 21 October 2008 | #206, November 2015 | ||
Anthology | Alien Ant Farm | 6 March 2001 | #207, December 2015 | ||
The Best in Town | The Blackout | 25 May 2009 | #210, March 2016 | ||
Nightmare Anatomy | Aiden | 4 October 2005 | #211, April 2016 | ||
Saosin | Saosin | 26 September 2006 | #212, May 2016 | ||
Ocean Avenue | Yellowcard | 22 July 2003 | #213, June 2016 | ||
Billy Talent | Billy Talent | 16 September 2003 | #214, July 2016 |
In 2019, Rock Sound introduced a new venture titled Rock Sound Records, a sub-brand of Rock Sound offering and distributing music in limited physical formats, such as cassette tapes and vinyl records. Generally, this involves the exclusive physical release of a record released by a band that is signed to a different (major) record label. For instance, the first Rock Sound Records release was a cassette tape version of Simple Creatures′ debut EP Strange Love, while the band is currently signed to BMG. [79]
# | Artist | Title | Release date | Format |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Simple Creatures | Strange Love | 22 March 2019 [79] | Cassette tape |
2. | PUP | Morbid Stuff | 27 March 2019 [80] | Cassette tape |
3. | Boston Manor | Welcome to the Neighbourhood | 10 May 2019 [81] | Cassette tape |
4. | Real Friends | Even More Acoustic Songs | 17 May 2019 [82] | Vinyl record |
5. | Sum 41 | Order in Decline | 31 May 2019 [83] | Cassette tape |
6. | Crown the Empire | Sudden Sky | 24 June 2019 [84] | Vinyl record + magazine |
7. | Knocked Loose | A Different Shade Of Blue | 7 August 2019 [85] | Cassette tape |
8. | Issues | Beautiful Oblivion | 12 August 2019 [86] | Vinyl record |
9. | Waterparks | Fandom | 30 August 2019 | Vinyl record + cassette tape |
10. | Grayscale | Nella Vita | 3 September 2019 | Cassette tape |
Nirvana was an American rock band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. Founded by lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic, the band went through a succession of drummers, most notably Chad Channing, before recruiting Dave Grohl in 1990. Nirvana's success popularized alternative rock, and they were often referenced as the figurehead band of Generation X. Despite a short mainstream career spanning only three years, their music maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock culture.
The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, and also known as Iggy and the Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander. Initially playing a raw, primitive style of rock and roll, the band sold few records in their original incarnation and gained a reputation for their confrontational performances, which often involved acts of self-mutilation by Iggy Pop.
The Rascals are an American rock band, formed in Garfield, New Jersey, United States, in 1965.
New Musical Express (NME) is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "rock inkie", the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a free publication, before becoming an online brand which includes its website and radio stations.
Robert Clark Seger is an American retired singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded with the groups Bob Seger and the Last Heard and the Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, breaking through with his first album, Ramblin' Gamblin' Man in 1969. By the early 1970s, he had dropped the 'System' from his recordings and continued to strive for broader success with various other bands. In 1973, he put together the Silver Bullet Band, with a group of Detroit-area musicians, with whom he became most successful on the national level with the album Live Bullet (1976), recorded live with the Silver Bullet Band in 1975 at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan. In 1976, he achieved a national breakout with the studio album Night Moves. On his studio albums, he also worked extensively with the Alabama-based Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, which appeared on several of Seger's best-selling singles and albums.
The Miracles were an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1955. They were the first successful recording act for Motown Records and are considered one of the most important and most influential groups in the history of pop, soul, rhythm and blues and rock and roll music. The group's international fame in the 1960s, alongside other Motown acts, led to a greater acceptance of R&B and pop music in the U.S., with the group being considered influential and important in the development of modern popular music.
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape, or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records (78s) collected in a bound book resembling a photo album; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl long-playing (LP) records played at 33+1⁄3 rpm.
Indus Creed is an Indian rock band based in Mumbai. The group was founded in 1984 as Rock Machine and renamed in 1993. They disbanded in 1997, only to regroup in 2010 with a new lineup.
"Born to Be Wild" is a song written by Mars Bonfire and first released as a single by Steppenwolf. Although the lyrics do not specifically mention motorcycles, the song is often invoked in both popular and counter culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude since being featured in the 1969 film Easy Rider. Sometimes, "Born to Be Wild" is described as the first heavy metal song, and the second-verse lyric "heavy metal thunder" marks the first use of this term in rock music.
"Roxanne" is a song by British rock band the Police. The song was written by lead singer and bassist Sting and was released as a single on 7 April 1978, in advance of their debut album Outlandos d'Amour, released on 3 November. It was written from the point of view of a man who falls in love with a prostitute. When re-released on 12 April 1979, the song peaked at No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart.
Record Mirror was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after New Musical Express, it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in Record Mirror in 1956, and during the 1980s it was the only consumer music paper to carry the official UK singles and UK albums charts used by the BBC for Radio 1 and Top of the Pops, as well as the USA's Billboard charts.
"Wild Thing" is a song written by American songwriter Chip Taylor and popularized by the English rock band the Troggs. It was originally recorded and released by the American rock band the Wild Ones in 1965, but it did not chart. The Troggs' single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart in 1966. Their version of "Wild Thing" was ranked at number 257 on the Rolling Stone magazine's 2004 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It has also been performed by many other musicians.
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Suicide Season is the second studio album by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. It was released on 29 September 2008 in the United Kingdom and Europe through Visible Noise. The band signed a licensing deal with Epitaph Records on 11 September 2008, with the label releasing the album on 18 November 2008 in the United States.
A Flash Flood of Colour is the third studio album by English rock band Enter Shikari, and was produced by Dan Weller. The album was recorded in May and June 2011 at Karma Sound Studios in Bang Saray, Thailand, and at the Fortress in London, United Kingdom. It was released internationally on 16 January 2012 by Ambush Reality, the band's record label in the United Kingdom, and Hopeless Records in North America.
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