Latest articles by Dannii Leivers
"An ambitious blend of groove, death and nu metal elements, with frenzied Afrobeat polyrhythms." Dzikkuh proves Togo's Arka'n Asrafokor are the band every metalhead should know in 2024
Cited as "Togo's only metal band", Arka'n Asrafokor set their sights on global recognition with ambitious second album
"At a certain point we beat Britney Spears!" How Ice Queen made Within Temptation symphonic metal's first superstars - and changed heavy music forever
With Ice Queen, Within Temptation helped to crystallise the scene we know today as symphonic metal
Within Temptation's Sharon Den Adel shares her experiences of visiting a war-torn Ukraine
Hiding from drones, hoping to hear the voice of Mark Hamill – Within Temptation's Sharon Den Adel experiences the war in Ukraine first-hand in this exclusive diary
Inside the day Nightwish fired Tarja Turunen: “The whole thing was such a shock”
When Nightwish dismissed their lead singer via open letter, the fallout was so public and intense that even the Finnish prime minister got involved
How tragedy, Brexit and a certain Oli Sykes helped While She Sleeps break big with Silence Speaks
While She Sleeps take us inside their biggest song
Halestorm's Lzzy Hale on rock, religion, queer awakenings and a whole lot more
Lzzy Hale dishes out the lessons she's learned during a life in rock 'n' roll
Kittie broke the mould in the male-dominated world of nu metal. Now they're back
Kittie look back on their turbulent career and what comes next as they return to the metal scene
Meet Delilah Bon, the genre-splicing 'brat punk' raging against misogyny and fighting for bodily autonomy
Delilah Bon's blend of punk, nu metal and hip hop hits hard, and her message seems to be infuriating all the worst people
Alien Ant Farm Mantras review: "Nostalgia is big business, and Mantras is swimming in it."
Alien Ant Farm produce an enjoyable, nostalgic comeback
Meet five excellent young bands inspired by Tool
Hawxx, Ou, Mountain Caller, Wheel and Every Hell are channelling current Metal Hammer cover stars Tool in a variety of weird and wonderful ways
Imminence 'The Black' review: "The quartet’s darkest, most varied and heaviest album by some margin."
Imminence have spread their wings to deliver the goods on album number five
"We’ve never done a proper, real tour together. Which is nuts, because we’ve toured with everyone!": How Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine have teamed up for 2025's biggest metal event
In 2005, two rising stars of metal's next generation released landmark albums. Next year, they'll tour together for the first time to celebrate them
“We were coming back and taking no prisoners”: every Kittie album in their own words
Ahead of the release of their new album Fire this summer, we asked Kittie’s Morgan and Mercedes Lander to look back over every album they’ve made so far
"The work of a band on the form of their career": Fresh from supporting Bad Omens and Northlane, unsung metalcore heroes Erra step up to the big leagues with new album Cure
Six albums in and Alabama's Erra are pushing their progressive metalcore sound to greater heights than ever before on new album Cure
"Nightwish can nail anything they turn their hand to." Nightwish’s cover of Symphony Of Destruction by Megadeth may be obscure, but it’s an ingeniously out-of-character triumph
In 2004, symphonic metal masters Nightwish covered Megadeth’s gritty thrash anthem, and the result was shockingly excellent
“We knew if we stuck together, we would create great things.” Amaranthe have three vocalists and make music that resembles ABBA on a bloodthirsty rampage. They might just be the most extra band in heavy metal
Swedish metallers Amaranthe open up on a career - and a sound - like no other
For 10 years Sheer Mag were hounded by record labels but refused to sign: Now they're ready for the attention
Mixing power-pop with peacocking seventies rock and disco, Philadelphia's Sheer Mag have finally found a home at Jack White's Third Man Records
"Love them or dismiss them, Exit Emotions will only propel Blind Channel towards the arenas calling their name": Former Eurovision contestants step up as leading lights in the nu metal revival
The self-described "Backstreet Boys of metal", Blind Channel capture the anthemia and energy of peak nu metal with new album Exit Emotions
7 brilliant new metal bands to watch out for in 2024
From Japanese Samurai metallers Ryujin to 'bimboviolence' pioneers BRAT, rising alt metal stars Alt Blk Era and mysterious black metallers The Sun's Journey Through The Night, these are the bands you need to hear in 2024
"Paris Hilton is a huge icon to me." Bimbocore, righteous feminism and "twerkle pits": how Scene Queen became the unlikely heroine metal needs right now
Scene Queen isn't your average metal icon. And she wouldn't have it any other way
“Computers crashed several times… I recorded vocals four or five times. But on the other hand, I started doing my job alone, learning many things”: Why Tarja Turunen recruited Mike Oldfield, Trevor Rabin and Steve Rothery for Outlanders
Former Nightwish singer’s new direction took nearly a decade to deliver – but she’s ready to do it all over again
"We need to keep bringing new bands through": we talk to a Download Festival booker about the future of metal and running the UK's biggest rock fest
Download Festival has been the biggest celebration of alternative music in the UK for over 20 years - but its ability to foster the next generation has never been more crucial
"We felt like we'd failed": SiM were one of Japan's best kept metal secrets, but after writing a song for Attack On Titan they're ready to conquer the world
Mixing nu metal, funk and reggae, SiM already enjoyed succcess in Japan, but after almost 20 years they finally broke through internationally - with the help of an anime about flesh-eating giants
