Latest articles by Joe Daly
From the monolithic Metallica to rising stars like Green Lung, these are the greatest shows that Team Hammer saw this year
From War Pigs to Fairies Wear Boots, this is everything you need to know about each song on Black Sabbath’s chart-topper
From Metallica to Sleep Token, Avenged Sevenfold to Babymetal, these are the best metal albums of 2023 - as voted by you!
From the otherwise hair metal backdrop of Los Angeles, Slayer began a campaign of pure, satanic thrash with Show No Mercy
Former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland's death was the sad culmination of a long downward spiral of drug abuse – one which he had little chance of escaping.
In 1986, a coked-up Stephen King directed his first feature film, Maximum Overdrive - then engaged in a goofy trans-Atlantic interview with AC/DC, who provided the soundtrack
After the release of 13, Black Sabbath promised one more album before their farewell tour. Schedule conflicts and health scares meant it never came to be.
Paranoid? Sabbath Bloody Sabbath? Heaven And Hell? Hammer's top writers duel it out to declare Sabbath's best album ever
They are the band that have defined and redefined heavy metal. But which album is their greatest? Our writers get in the ring
From Black Sabbath to Metallica’s Cliff Burton, these excellent gigs also proved to be bittersweet goodbyes
From Bruce Dickinson teaming with Rob Halford to Dave Grohl’s Probot album, here are the times big names made great metal songs even greater
Not every band can be as huge as The Beatles or Led Zeppelin in America – just ask Slade, The Small Faces and Status Quo
From Night Of The Living Dead to Rec, these are the times the undead scared the life out of us
Breakout Indonesian metal stars Voice Of Baceprot bring their debut US tour to the West Coast as they play San Diego's Stage Room
The chameleonic songwriter has reached new heights with her fourth studio album
Since co-founding Tenacious D in 1994, Jack Black has enjoyed celebrated film and music careers – and he’s been a champion for heavy metal at every chance along the way
Cocksucker Blues is one of rock’n’roll’s most notorious documentaries – that’s why the Rolling Stones blocked the director from releasing it
Run To The Hills rocketed Iron Maiden to new levels of popularity, despite being made during one of the most stressful times in their history
This hyper-low-budget heavy metal comedy – featuring Slayer, Lamb Of God and Morbid Angel – was shelved for years before finally getting released on YouTube
Stone Sour, Probot and A Perfect Circle may not be their members’ most famous projects, but that didn’t stop them from being brilliant
"It abruptly emerged, halted mid-sky, then darted from zero to breakneck speed. A phenomenon far beyond even today's aviation capabilities" - Lemmy
Spooky goings-on and controversy in the US have inspired rumours that Iron Maiden’s magnum opus was cursed by supernatural forces. Are they right? Probably not…
In the 2000s, directors Suroosh Alvi and Eddy Moretti went to war-torn Iraq and met thrash band Acrassicauda. The documentary they made is a stunning testament to the power of music in life-threatening times.
