Rock Sound
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.
History
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 and Paris. Separate titles with the same name have been published under the same umbrella company in France since 1993, and in Spain since 1998.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. 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.
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'. 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.
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.
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.
Audience
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. 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. 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.
Album of the Year
At the end of every year the magazine lists their favourite 75 albums released in the previous twelve months.- 1999 – Filter – Title of Record
- 2000 – A Perfect Circle – Mer de Noms
- 2001 – System of a Down – Toxicity
- 2002 – Isis – Oceanic
- 2003 – Hell Is for Heroes – The Neon Handshake
- 2004 – Isis – Panopticon
- 2005 – Coheed and Cambria – Good Apollo, I'm [Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness]
- 2006 – The Bronx – The Bronx
- 2007 – Biffy Clyro – Puzzle
- 2008 – Genghis Tron – Board Up the House
- 2009 – Mastodon – Crack the Skye
- 2010 – Bring Me the Horizon – There Is a Hell Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let's Keep It a Secret
- 2011 – Mastodon – The Hunter
- 2012 – The Menzingers – On the Impossible Past
- 2013 – letlive – The Blackest Beautiful
- 2014 – Lower Than Atlantis – Lower Than Atlantis
- 2015 – Bring Me the Horizon – That's the Spirit
- 2016 – Panic! at the Disco – Death of a Bachelor
- 2017 – All Time Low – Last Young Renegade
- 2018 – Twenty One Pilots – Trench
- 2023 – Sleep Token – Take Me Back to Eden
- 2024 – Twenty One Pilots – Clancy
- 2025 – Sleep Token – ''Even In Arcadia''
Hall of Fame/Throwback
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 | [Image:Flag of Sweden.svg|border|center|30px] | 27 October 1998 | #136, June 2010 | |
| Jupiter | Cave In | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 8 August 2000 | #138, August 2010 | Jacob Bannon of Converge |
| Weezer | Weezer | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 10 May 1994 | #139, September 2010 | Gustav Woods of Young Guns |
| Smash | The Offspring | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 8 April 1994 | #140, October 2010 | Frank Turner |
| White Pony | Deftones | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 20 June 2000 | #142, December 2010 | |
| Jane Doe | Converge | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 4 September 2001 | #145, March 2011 | Winston McCall of Parkway Drive |
| Queens of [the Stone Age (album)|Queens of the Stone Age] | Queens of the Stone Age | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 22 September 1998 | #146, April 2011 | |
| Hello Rockview | Less Than Jake | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 6 October 1998 | #149, July 2011 | |
| Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation | Funeral for a Friend | [Image:Flag of Wales 2.svg|border|center|30px] | 20 October 2003 | #151, Summer 2011 | |
| Tell All Your Friends | Taking Back Sunday | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 26 March 2002 | #152, September 2011 | |
| Relationship of Command | At the Drive-In | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 12 September 2000 | #153, October 2011 | |
| From Under the Cork Tree | Fall Out Boy | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 3 May 2005 | #155, December 2011 | |
| New Found Glory | New Found Glory | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 26 September 2000 | #158, March 2012 | |
| The Artist in the Ambulance | Thrice | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 22 July 2003 | #159, April 2012 | |
| Good Mourning | Alkaline Trio | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 13 May 2003 | #160, May 2012 | |
| Start Something | Lostprophets | [Image:Flag of Wales 2.svg|border|center|30px] | 2 February 2004 | #161, June 2012 | Aled Phillips of Kids In Glass Houses |
| Ideas Above Our Station | Hundred Reasons | [Image:Flag of United Kingdom.svg|border|center|30px] | 20 May 2002 | #162, July 2012 | Rou Reynolds of Enter Shikari, Frank Turner |
| Suicide Season | Bring Me the Horizon | [Image:Flag of United Kingdom.svg|border|center|30px] | 29 September 2008 | #164, Summer 2012 | Sam Carter of Architects |
| A Fever You Can't Sweat Out | Panic! at the Disco | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 27 September 2005 | #165, September 2012 | Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy Mike Ferri of We Are the In Crowd |
| The Used | The Used | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 25 June 2002 | #166, October 2012 | Chris Pennells of Deaf Havana |
| The Young and the Hopeless | Good Charlotte | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 30 September 2002 | #167, November 2012 | |
| Alive or Just Breathing | Killswitch Engage | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 21 May 2002 | #168, December 2012 | Matt Heafy of Trivium |
| Ascendancy | Trivium | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 15 March 2005 | #171, March 2013 | |
| What It Is to Burn | Finch | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 12 March 2002 | #172, April 2013 | |
| The Bronx | The Bronx | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 26 August 2003 | #173, May 2013 | |
| Love Metal | HIM | [Image:Flag of Finland.svg|border|center|30px] | 14 April 2003 | #174, June 2013 | |
| Infest | Papa Roach | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 25 April 2000 | #175, July 2013 | |
| Tomorrow Come Today | Boysetsfire | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 1 April 2003 | #176, August 2013 | |
| As the Palaces Burn | Lamb of God | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 6 May 2003 | #177, Summer 2013 | |
| Bleed American | Jimmy Eat World | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 24 July 2001 | #178, September 2013 | |
| Take to the Skies | Enter Shikari | [Image:Flag of United Kingdom.svg|border|center|30px] | 19 March 2007 | #179, October 2013 | |
| Miss Machine | The Dillinger Escape Plan | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 20 July 2004 | #180, November 2013 | |
| Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness | Coheed and Cambria | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 20 September 2005 | #181, December 2013 | |
| Gutter Phenomenon | Every Time I Die | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 23 August 2005 | #184, March 2014 | |
| Perseverance | Hatebreed | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 12 March 2002 | #185, April 2014 | |
| Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water | Limp Bizkit | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 17 October 2000 | #186, May 2014 | |
| A [Place in the Sun (Lit album)|A Place in the Sun] | Lit | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 23 February 1999 | #187, June 2014 | |
| The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild | Sikth | [Image:Flag of United Kingdom.svg|border|center|30px] | 18 August 2003 | #188, July 2014 | |
| Superunknown | Soundgarden | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 8 March 1994 | #189, August 2014 | |
| Punk in Drublic | NOFX | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 19 July 1994 | #191, September 2014 | |
| Hollow Crown | Architects | [Image:Flag of United Kingdom.svg|border|center|30px] | 26 January 2009 | #192, October 2014 | |
| Slaughter of the Soul | At the Gates | [Image:Flag of Sweden.svg|border|center|30px] | 14 November 1995 | #193, November 2014 | |
| Get Some | Snot | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 27 May 1997 | #197, March 2015 | |
| Follow the Leader | KoЯn | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 18 August 1998 | #198, April 2015 | |
| Crisis | Alexisonfire | [Image:Flag of Canada.svg|border|center|30px] | 22 August 2006 | #202, August 2015 | |
| Nothing Personal | All Time Low | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 7 July 2009 | #203, Summer 2015 | |
| The Gift of Game | Crazy Town | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 9 November 1999 | #204, September 2015 | |
| Menace to Sobriety | OPM | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 15 August 2000 | #205, October 2015 | |
| This War Is Ours | Escape the Fate | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 21 October 2008 | #206, November 2015 | |
| Anthology | Alien Ant Farm | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 6 March 2001 | #207, December 2015 | |
| The Best in Town | The Blackout | [Image:Flag of Wales 2.svg|border|center|30px] | 25 May 2009 | #210, March 2016 | |
| Nightmare Anatomy | Aiden | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 4 October 2005 | #211, April 2016 | |
| Saosin | Saosin | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 26 September 2006 | #212, May 2016 | |
| Ocean Avenue | Yellowcard | [Image:Flag of United States.svg|border|center|30px] | 22 July 2003 | #213, June 2016 | |
| Billy Talent | Billy Talent | [Image:Flag of Canada.svg|border|center|30px] | 16 September 2003 | #214, July 2016 |