Laviea Thomas

Latest articles by Laviea Thomas

Native James, Nova Twins and Poppy

I'm bored to death of bands telling us they're "bringing rock back". Rock never left: it just evolved

By Laviea Thomas published

Rock is at its most exciting when it does something new, right?

Bands & Artists

"One last time let's sing together!" Pop punk heavyweights Sum 41 bid London a fond farewell with an electric show at Wembley Arena

By Laviea Thomas published

Sum 41's farewell tour touches down for their biggest UK show ever

Concerts & Shows
A photo of the band Spider on stage at Decolonise Fest, singing into the camera

The 8 best bands we saw at Decolonise Festival 2024

By Laviea Thomas published

We head to London's Decolonise Festival – a festival organised by punks of colour for punks of colour – to check out the very best of this year's offerings

Music Festivals
Poppy live on stage

"You can’t help but feel captivated by her presence on stage." Poppy wraps up her UK tour with an unforgettable, eccentric show in London

By Laviea Thomas published

Poppy’s latest material might trail deeper into electro-pop, but her KOKO show proves that she's still a metal girlie through and through.

Concerts & Shows
Photos of Metallica, Green Lung, Ghost, Limp Bizkit, Sabaton and Code Orange performing live onstage

Metal Hammer writers name their best gigs of 2023

By Matt Mills published

From the monolithic Metallica to rising stars like Green Lung, these are the greatest shows that Team Hammer saw this year

Concerts & Shows
Scene Queen, Courtney from Spiritbox, Cinnamon Babe and Alt Blk Era

10 songs proving that metalcore is back and that it's more diverse and exciting than ever

By Laviea Thomas published

From Scene Queen's chauvinist-baiting bimbocore to the genre-splicing bangers of Cinnamon Babe, Banshee and Bex, metalcore is on amazing form right now

Tracks & Singles
The crowd watch as Yungblud perform on stage during Leeds Festival 2019 at Bramham Park on August 23, 2019 in Leeds, England

Is Reading & Leeds 2022 rock’s big moment to come back?

By Laviea Thomas published

What Reading and Leeds’ first 34 acts tells us about the rock industry right now

Music Festivals