Joel McIver
Joel McIver writes for national and international magazines such as Classic Rock and Rolling Stone as well as appearing on TV and radio. He has written 14 books, one of which, Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica (Omnibus Press, 2004), was a bestseller in many territories.
49 articles
List of articles in the library by artist
A-ha: Synths For The Boys: A-Ha: The O2, London
Live Review by Joel McIver, The Quietus, 10 December 2009
Laugh all you like. "Norway, douze points", declares Joel McIver ...
Anthrax: The Original Skate-Thrash Nutters Speak
Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, March 2000
IN THE CLICHÉ-RIDDEN world of heavy metal, it's sometimes refreshing to encounter a band that redefines the genre without sticking to the tired old formulas. ...
Melissa Auf Der Maur: World Of Bass: Melissa Auf Der Maur
Interview by Joel McIver, Bass Guitar, April 2004
MONTREAL-BORN bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur, something of a four-string legend on the alternative rock and grunge scene since the early 1990s, has recently released ...
Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, November 2003
Following the release of Björk's multi-CD and DVD-Video box set by One Little Indian last month, a biography about the Icelandic songstress, Björk — Wow ...
Ritchie Blackmore: Renaissance Rebirth
Interview by Joel McIver, Acoustic, December 2004
FEW MUSICIANS possess an aura of mystery as impenetrable as that of legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, whose distinguished career has seen him compose some of ...
Blues Incorporated, Jack Bruce, Cream, West, Bruce & Laing: Jack Bruce, 1943-2014
Obituary by Alan Clayson, Joel McIver, The Observer, 26 October 2014
Composer and bassist who found early success with Cream and went on to perform as a soloist and with many other artists ...
Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, Summer 2001
IF POP'S MOST unpredictable comeback - from has-been oblivion to global success - was made by Blur between Modern Life Is Rubbish and Parklife, then ...
Brothers Johnson: Louis Johnson, 1955-2015
Obituary by Joel McIver, The Guardian, 24 May 2015
Powerful bassist on Michael Jackson's albums Thriller and Off the Wall, he found fame in the 1970s with his funk band the Brothers Johnson. ...
Jack Bruce: Back to Bass-ics: Jack Bruce
Interview by Joel McIver, Bass Guitar, April 2003
The bass maestro behind Cream, for several years now a successful solo artist in his own right, looks back on his remarkable career with Joel ...
The Chemical Brothers: Right About Now . . . The Funk Soul Brothers!
Retrospective by Joel McIver, Record Collector, Spring 2000
THINK YOU KNOW about dance music? OK then, answer this question: which of the Chemical Brothers is Tom and which is Ed? Despite the fact ...
Crowded House, Neil Finn: Neil Finn
Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, February 2000
New Zealand's Favourite Songwriter Is Releasing A New Album Of Crowded House B-Sides And Rarities. Joel Mciver Quizzes The Kiwi King. ...
The Cult: Lil' Devils: The Cult
Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, Summer 2001
Grunge and alternative rock defeated the Cult in the mid-90s - but now they're back in business. Joel McIver asks how they did it. ...
Miles Davis: The Re-Rebirth Of The Cool: Miles Davis at 75
Review by Joel McIver, Record Collector, Summer 2001
As part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of Miles Davis' birth, a classic reissue programme has begun in earnest. In the mode: Joel McIver. ...
Interview by Joel McIver, Bass Guitar, June 2003
Deftones bassist Chi Cheng takes Joel McIver through the highs and lows of being in one of the world’s top alternative metal acts. Just don’t ...
Interview by Joel McIver, Metal Hammer, June 2004
If death metal floats your boat but you're fed up with operatic vocals and politely duelling guitars, why, take a listen to Sweden's most brutal ...
Faith No More: You Gotta Have Faith
Interview by Joel McIver, Terrorizer, February 2003
IS NU-METAL your fault?(laughs) Well, it’s kind of interesting. When we split up in 1998 there was this wave of nu-metal bands that used us ...
Guns N' Roses: Guns N'Roses: Chinese Democracy
Review by Joel McIver, Record Collector, January 2009
Seventeen years of studio time; a $14m budget; five averagely good songs ...
Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver: Slash N' Duff on Guns N' Roses
Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, December 2008
Once the biggest rock band in the world, Guns N'Roses have finally returned with a new album — the endlessly-awaited Chinese Democracy. What better time ...
Richie Havens: Stonehenge/Alarm Clock (Evangeline)
Review by Joel McIver, Record Collector, June 2003
BY THE END of the '60s, relentless touring though America's college campuses had established a fanbase for the 29-year-old Richie Havens. ...
The Human League: Dare/Love And Dancing 21st Anniversary Edition
Review and Interview by Daryl Easlea, Joel McIver, Record Collector, November 2002
THE LATE '70s/early '80s were a period of enormous fast-track development in popular culture. The flood of cheap technology ensured that machines that went ping ...
Judas Priest: British Steel, Stronger Than Ever
Interview by Joel McIver, The Quietus, 18 March 2010
Joel McIver talks to Judas Priest about drugs and alcohol, the domination of heavy metal, and their classic album British Steel ...
Kiss And Make-Up: Gene Simmons
Interview by Joel McIver, Bass Guitar, August 2003
Joel McIver asks entrepreneur, record company head, insatiable groupie-pleasurer and – oh yes – unfeasibly long-tongued Kiss bassist Gene Simmons about his four-string habits, and ...
Korn: Rage Hard: The Rise Of Rap Metal, Pt. 1 – Not So Sweet Korn
Report and Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, April 2000
IF YOU CHART the development of heavy metal from its sludgy beginnings in the early '70s to its turn-of-the-century diversity, you might start off with ...
Lemmy, Motorhead: Bassically Speaking: Lemmy
Interview by Joel McIver, Bass Guitar, June 2003
ALTHOUGH THE WORLD of metal is full of fearsomely talented bass players, many of which have appeared on these hallowed pages in recent months, few ...
Lemmy, Motorhead: Mil-Lemmy-Um: The Man from Motörhead
Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, 1999
The artist formerly known as Ian Kilminster waxes lyrical on guns, drugs, feminism and ancient rome. Joel McIver meets rock'n'roll's elder statesman, Lemmy. ...
John Lydon: These are not love songs
Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, November 2005
He was a Sex Pistol. Then he was in Public Image Ltd. Now John Lydon is Britain's best-loved punk export, but as he tells Joel ...
Retrospective and Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, Summer 2001
North London ska legends Madness ruled the world for a decade. Now they're back with a new album. Joel Mciver speaks to the original nutty ...
Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, Winter 1999
After sixteen years at the forefront of speed metal, Megadeth are releasing a new album, Risk. Joel Mciver finds controversial frontman Dave Mustaine a reformed ...
Obituary by Joel McIver, The Guardian, 3 September 2020
House music DJ and record producer who wrote the international hit 'I Like to Move It' ...
Mötley Crüe: Nikki Sixx Speaks
Interview by Joel McIver, Bass Guitar, June 2003
The Mötley Crüe survivor talks to Joel McIver about business manoeuvres, string-boiling and how saliva can make your bass sound better. ...
Motörhead: "Fast Eddie" Clarke, 1950-2018
Obituary by Joel McIver, The Guardian, 11 January 2018
Motörhead guitarist who brought a lithe, blues-influenced playing style to the heavy metal group's sound ...
Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, Summer 2001
GARY NUMAN is fortunate enough to be among the privileged group of individuals who have spoken to Record Collector not once or twice, but an ...
Mike Oldfield: Ring Out The Old . . .
Retrospective by Joel McIver, Record Collector, Spring 2000
EVERYONE KNOWS the haunting opening melody of Tubular Bells, but it means different things to different people. If you're in your 40s or over, you ...
Beth Orton: Pass In Time (BMG)
Review and Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, October 2003
IT'S UNNERVING that Beth Orton, the gawky, slightly unorthodox-sounding folk singer from the sticks who unexpectedly became a coffee-table icon in the 1990s, is now ...
Ozric Tentacles: Wizards Of Ozric
Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, 2000
Hippies and new age chancers the Ozric Tentacles are still tripping the light fantastic after 18 years. ...
Jaco Pastorius, Weather Report: The World’s Greatest Bass Player?
Retrospective by Joel McIver, Bass Guitar, October 2003
HEROES COME and heroes go. Most rise to the top and stay there for a while before their star fades; a few endure for a ...
Katie Price: She's A Model: Katie "Jordan" Price On Kraftwerk & Slayer
Interview by Joel McIver, The Quietus, 13 July 2010
Joel McIver takes his trusty crate of vinyl to an interview with model, author, TV star and now chanteuse Katie Price, AKA Jordan. ...
Katie Price: Ten Songs: She's A Model — Katie 'Jordan' Price On Kraftwerk & Slayer
Interview by Joel McIver, The Quietus, 13 July 2010
Joel McIver takes his trusty crate of vinyl to an interview with model, author, TV star and now chanteuse Katie Price, AKA Jordan ...
Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, April 2006
The catsuit. The big attitude. The glam rock tunes. The rockabilly radio show. Joel McIver meets a revived Suzi Quatro. ...
Rage Against the Machine: Machine Talk: The Tumultous Career of Rage Against The Machine
Profile by Joel McIver, Record Collector, April 2000
NO BAND HAS stuck to a purely political agenda as closely as California's Rage Against The Machine, formed in 1991. ...
Review by Joel McIver, Record Collector, May 2000
INITIALLY RELEASED on Stable in 1969, this is the first time that Sam Gopal's oft-bootlegged Escalator has been released legitimately on CD. ...
Ronnie Scott: Jazz Club … Nice: Remembering Ronnie Scott
Retrospective and Interview by Joel McIver, unpublished, 2000
The legendary nightclub Ronnie Scott's is celebrating its fourth decade this year. Joel McIver meets manager Peter King - a man who really has seen ...
Slayer: All Aboard The Slay Ride
Profile and Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, 1999
Slayer vocalist Tom Araya discusses his band's blood-soaked life and times ...
Slipknot: To Be... Or 'Knot To Be
Profile and Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, Spring 2001
TAKE THE INTENSITY of an old-school thrash metal band like Slayer and add the Noughties awareness of a media-straddling figure such as Eminem. Mix in ...
Slipknot: Rap-Metal Pt. 2: Slipknot
Profile and Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, April 2000
THE FIRST serious threat to Korn's hard-earned crown as kings of rap-metal occurred in 1999, when the nine-man Slipknot emerged from the dusty cornfields of ...
Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, Summer 2000
FEW BANDS can claim to have started off a whole musical trend; even fewer can claim to have started two. Newcastle band Venom recorded three ...
Retrospective and Interview by Joel McIver, Record Collector, March 2006
In 1981, Venom started thrash metal. Then they started black metal. Now — on their silver anniversary — Joel McIver investigates Newcastle's heaviest export. ...
The Verve, Wham!: Jazz Summers, 1944-2015
Obituary by Joel McIver, The Guardian, 24 August 2015
THE MUSIC MANAGER Jazz Summers, who has died aged 71, was best known for developing the pop duo Wham! – George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley ...
List of genre pieces
Satan's Scapegoat: The Daily Mail & Blaming Metal For Murder
Comment by Joel McIver, The Quietus, 1 May 2014
The Daily Mail has once more blamed listening to heavy metal as in some way contributory to the tragic murder of Ann Maguire, and a recent teenage ...
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