Latest articles by Chris Chantler
How Nile drew on desperation and Egyptian mythology to make the album that redefined death metal for the 21st century
The story of Nile’s monstrous Black Seeds Of Vengeance
US occult rock pioneers Coven were praising Satan on record a year before Black Sabbath
US occultists Coven were praising Satan on record a year before Black Sabbath
“Lars played me the whole song down the phone. He said, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘Are you kidding?!’”: The inside story of the greatest Metallica album Metallica didn’t write
Hardcore ragers, occult metal classics, Southern rock anthems
The ultimate Motorhead playlist (as picked by Metallica, Judas Priest and more)
We asked some of metal's biggest names to share which Motorhead songs mean most to them
Metal Hammer's albums of the year: 2025
From chart-toppers Ghost and Sleep Token to rising stars Lorna Shore and Spiritbox, 2025 has been a massive year for metal
How Judas Priest bounced back with their best song in a decade: Painkiller
Heavy metal doesn't come much better than this absolute classic
The best new metal bands you need to hear in November 2025
Deathcore newcomers Face Yourself, NWOBHM revivalists Seven Sisters, bone-faced black metallers Abduction and videogame inspired alt metallers Luna Kills, these are the new metal bands you need to hear in November 2025
Don't panic, but it looks like zombie metal is a thing (luckily, Dominum are really good at it)
Ever asked the question 'What if someone did Powerwolf but with zombies?' No? Well, Dominum have answered it anyway! And they're great!
How Florida became the death metal capital of the world
With the likes of Morbid Angel, Deicide and Death leading the charge, death metal blew up in Florida in the late 80s and early 90s
The wild story of the spoof heavy metal band who beat Spinal Tap by a year
Spinal Tap weren’t the first spoof heavy metal band
The twisted story of Tobias Forge’s favourite cult horror-metal band, Death SS
They were as infamous as they were influential, inspiring everyone from Venom to Ghost. This is how Death SS became a cult metal legend
How Emperor made black metal masterpiece In The Nightside Eclipse and changed metal forever
Emperor’s landmark debut In The Nightside Eclipse is one of the most important metal albums of the 1990s
The 50 greatest Iron Maiden moments
From playing to a room filled with nuns to losing a drum battle against a teddy bear, these moments helped make Iron Maiden Britain's most iconic metal band
The ultimate Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath playlist
Members of Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Halestorm and more choose the best songs featuring the Prince Of Darkness
Biff Byford on Lemmy, inspiring thrash metal and the greatest heavy metal riff ever written
Ever wondered who'd win in a fight between Vikings and Saxons? Biff Byford has the answer
The twisted story of Morbid Angel and the birth of death metal
How a bunch of kids from Florida took metal into extreme new realms
"It’s peak Cradle." British black metal institution Cradle Of Filth continue to soar
Fourteen albums in, Cradle Of Filth reconnect with their roots to produce an expansive, era-encompassing epic
"We made power metal survive!"
Avantasia frontman Tobias Sammet takes fan questions on power metal, dream guests and more
The best Black Sabbath songs that don’t feature Ozzy Osbourne or Ronnie James Dio
Ozzy and Dio may be Sabbath’s best-known singers, but these bangers with less-famous voices deserve their share of the love
J.B. Christofferon shares the secret of Grand Magus's stability
With a stable line-up since the beginning, Sweden's Grand Magus have been staunch defenders of the faith for over 25 years
We made a timeline of everything that’s happened in human history using only Iron Maiden songs
Iron Maiden have written songs about dinosaurs, the Second World War and many, many things in between. So, here’s the history of Planet Earth as told through the metal legends’ lyrics.
Metal Hammer's 50 best albums of 2024
From Judas Priest's Invincible Shield to Nightwish's Yesterwynde and Opeth's return to extremity, these are the metal albums that ruled 2024
