The Rocks 2023 winners revealed
See the full winners list
Last updated 4th Aug 2023
Iron Maiden, Queen's Brian May, Download Festival and Metallica are among the big-name winners of The Rocks 2023.
The Rocks is Planet Rock’s annual celebration of the finest British and international rock music, and it was devised by our very own Wyatt as a direct response to the countless award ceremonies that perennially turn their noses up at our beloved genre.
This year, there were two fan-voted categories – Best New Band and Greatest Album Cover of All Time – and thousands of Planet Rock listeners had their say.
No strangers to Planet Rock’s airwaves, the brilliant Kira Mac triumphed in the Best New Band category ahead of Empyre and Takeaway Thieves.
The seminal Ken Kelly painting that adorned Rainbow’s 1976 magnum opus ‘Rising’ was crowned the Greatest Album Cover of All Time ahead of Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ and Iron Maiden’s ‘Somewhere in Time’.
Elsewhere, legendary Queen guitarist Brian May scooped the Rocks Honours award, which recognises artists for their outstanding contribution to rock music.
Sir Brian follows in the hallowed footsteps of previous winners, Heart's Ann Wilson in 2022 and Whitesnake’s David Coverdale in 2021.
You can check out all seven winners at The Rocks 2023 below including Best Album, Best British Band, Best International Band and new category, Extraordinary Contribution to Rock.
The Rocks 2023 full winners list:
Best New Band
WINNER: Kira Mac
2nd place: Empyre
3rd place: Takeaway Thieves
Greatest Album Cover of All Time
WINNER: Rainbow – 'Rising'
2nd place: Pink Floyd – 'The Dark Side of the Moon'
3rd place: Iron Maiden – 'Somewhere In Time'
Best Album
WINNER: Metallica – '72 Seasons'
Best British Band
WINNER: Iron Maiden
Extraordinary Contribution to Rock
WINNER: Download Festival
Best International Band
WINNER: Ghost
Rocks Honours
WINNER: Brian May
The Rocks previous winners:
You can also check out all the winners from the past four years below: