Articles by Alex Deller

"An enveloping paean to grabbing for one’s own future with both hands." Chelsea Wolfe proves she is one of music's most distinctive forces with She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She

By Alex Deller published 6 February 24

After working on movie soundtracks, Chelsea Wolfe returns to the wellspring for a bold new vision on She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She

Trivax/Fuming Mouth/To Kill Achilles/Hyperia

4 brilliant new metal bands you need to hear this month

By Rich Hobson published 1 February 24

From Middle Eastern black metallers Trivax to crusty death metal from Fuming Mouth, Dundee post-hardcore troupe To Kill Achilles and Canadian thrashers Hyperia, these are the new bands you need to hear in February 2024

Metal Hammer's 50 best albums of 2023 (and the stories behind them)

By Rich Hobson published 27 December 23

Sleep Token, Creeper, Within Temptation: 2023 has been a massive year for metal, and these 50 records represent the very best the year has had to offer

The 50 best metal albums of 2023 - as voted by the readers of Metal Hammer

By Rich Hobson published 13 December 23

From Metallica to Sleep Token, Avenged Sevenfold to Babymetal, these are the best metal albums of 2023 - as voted by you!

“My whole motive was to open the door for kids who look like me." UnityTX are fighting for metal to be a scene for everyone. As it happens, their blend of hardcore, rap, nu metal and industrial absolutely slaps, too

By Alex Deller published 11 December 23

Growing up in a "not-so-good neighbourhood" and even being homeless at one point, it's safe to say Jay Webster has fought hard to get UnityTX off the ground

A portrait of members of Superchunk stood in a row

“We didn't emulate Mudhoney's behaviour because we might not be alive if we had!" Superchunk look back on the decade that helped birth and destroy US alt rock

By Alex Deller published 14 November 23

Superchunk's Mac McCaughan and Jim Wilbur talk us through a life spent on the fringes of alt rock – and being inadvertent godparents of mainstream emo

A montage of members of guns n roses, metallica and nirvana on a colourful background

Ten times massive bands covered punk songs (and didn’t ruin them)

By Alex Deller published 4 October 23

The rock and metal titans who managed the tricky task of paying homage to their punk roots without messing it up

Crypta, Allfather Ottto and Wallowing pose for different promo shots

Grizzly death metal, electrifying hardcore, sludgy thrash and extreme weirdness...here are the best new bands you need to hear this month

By Matt Mills published 18 September 23

Gagging for some brilliant new metal to wrap your ears around? We have you covered

Baroness may have dropped the colour-coded albums, but Stone sees them on as vibrant and glowing form as ever

By Alex Deller published 14 September 23

Baroness' sixth studio album is another wonderful journey through myriad emotions

Kvelertak's Endling is another thrilling reminder of why they're one of modern metal's most unique and riotously entertaining bands

By Alex Deller published 7 September 23

Though not every wild swing on Endling quite lands, it's hard not to get swept up in Kvelertak's brilliant chaos

Bob Mothersbaugh, Mark Mothersbaugh, Alan Myers, Gerald Casale and Bob Casale of the punk new wave music group "Devo" pose for a portrait covered in tape and nylon material in circa 1980

“You could hear real outsider music easily - mix all that up with working class attitude and you've got the essence of the stew”: How Ohio became the unofficial home of the world's weirdest music

By Alex Deller published 6 September 23

Ohio might not be but the world's most obvious hub of outlier rock'n'roll, but the sounds spawned by its underground music scenes shaped the darkest corners of indie, punk and grunge as we know them – and the world's biggest cult band

The 50 best metal albums of the 2000s

By Merlin Alderslade published 28 July 23

From nu metal classics by Slipknot, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit to metal legends like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest bouncing back in style, these are the albums that defined the 2000s

Jesus Piece/Punk Rock Factory/Distant/Fvnerals

4 brilliant new bands you need to hear this month

By Alex Deller published 12 July 23

From the brutal hardcore of Jesus Piece to Distant's sci-fi deathcore, Fvnerals' nihilistic drone-metal and Punk Rock Factory's fun covers, you need to check out these brilliant new bands

A beginner’s guide to Dischord Records in five essential albums

By Alex Deller published 29 June 23

The story of Dischord, home of harDCore, and the most ethical institution in the music industry, told via five essential records

Nina Simone, Bob Marley and powerviolence: why Zulu are the most vital hardcore band of 2023

By Alex Deller published 14 June 23

Code Orange and Turnstile might have put hardcore back on mainstream radars, but LA's Zulu are paving the genre's future

4 brilliant new metal bands you need to hear this month

By Stephen Hill published 25 May 23

From masked nu metal revivialists Blackgold to 'cyber-grind' pioneers Thotcrime, you need to check out these brilliant new metal bands

7 brilliant metal albums you might have missed last month

By Rich Hobson published 16 May 23

Grave Pleasures, As Everything Unfolds and Dodheimsgard are among the albums that might have flown under the radar in April

A beginner's guide to noise rock in five essential albums

By Alex Deller published 16 May 23

It's ugly, it's uncompromising and it's totally mind-blowing: your guide to noise rock in five albums that (almost) define the genre

Killer albums you need to hear in March 2023

7 killer metal albums you might have missed this month

By Rich Hobson published 31 March 23

From Kruelty and Demonstealer to Ad Infinitum, nothing,nowhere. and Lana Del Rabies, don't sleep on these brilliant new metal albums

Astriferous/Undeath/Scowl/Kaelan Mikla/Vauruva

5 brilliant up-and-coming bands you need to check out this month

By Liz Scarlett published 23 February 23

From Californian hardcore heroes Scowl to Icelandic post-punks Kaelan Mikla and Brazilian black metal brutes Vauruva, these are the 5 new bands you need to check out this month

The 50 best metal albums of 2022

By Rich Hobson published 26 December 22

From Ghost and Slipknot to Zeal & Ardor and Ithaca, these are the best albums of the last 12 months

Kassogtha/Fellowship/1914/Gospelheim/Melted Bodies

5 new bands you need to hear this month

By Rich Hobson published 19 December 22

From Gojira-style Swiss prog metal to anti-war Ukrainian death metal, these are 5 new bands you need to hear right now

The best death metal albums of 2022: Venom Prison/Lorna Shore/Autopsy/Party Cannon/Imperial Triumphant

The 10 best death metal albums of 2022

By Rich Hobson published 14 December 22

From Aborted and Immolation to Venom Prison and Lorna Shore, these are the 10 best death metal records of 2022

Rain City Drive/VRSTY/Haoxed/Defacing God/Spite

"I want to be a household name like Slipknot or Slayer": 5 new bands you need to hear this month

By Dannii Leivers published 23 November 22

From gothic reflections of smalltown America to world-conquering deathcore, these are the five new bands you need to know this month

An Abstract Illusion/Grief Ritual/State Of You/God Alone/Gozer

5 new bands you need to hear this month

By Matt Mills, Will Marshall, Alex Deller published 1 November 22

From Tory-bashing metalcore to experimental mathcore and Britain's answer to Every Time I Die - these are the five new metal bands you need to hear this month