We might have lost metal’s founding fathers, but the next generation proved that the music lives on

Thanks to the fandom on TikTok, bands found themselves headlining stadiums and festivals

From Laurel Canyon to Chiswick High Road, from Rancho De La Luna to a warehouse in Tottenham, many of your favourite artists have been hard at work crafting the soundtrack of 2026. Over the next 10 pages, we bring you the inside track on forthcoming albums by STEVIE NICKS , COURTNEY BARNETT , ALABAMA SHAKES , THE ROLLING STONES , BILL CALLAHAN , BUZZCOCKS , LANA DEL REY , SUNN O))) , ROBERT PLANT , IRON & WINE and many more. “It’s a really special time for music…”

Mike Patton and the Avett Brothers join forces to create a work of immense beauty.

To quote Madonna’s 2005 global smash Hung Up, “Time goes by so slowly”, and no-one is more aware of that sentiment at the moment than the Queen Of Pop’s devoted fanbase as they eagerly await her new a

Featuring tributes to curry and fantasy battles involving… rats?! here are all the records our critics loved this year