Our first reaction to Iron Maiden's new single The Writing On The Wall By Merlin Alderslade Iron Maiden’s new song is a driving, mid-paced stomper. And we like it a lot
Download Pilot as it happened: Music, moshing and a whole lotta rain By Stephen Hill, Merlin Alderslade, Eleanor Goodman, Rich Hobson, Matt Mills, Elizabeth Scarlett Updated! Here’s what happened as it happened at Download Pilot Festival – the return of bands, fans and some classic Download weather
"I want to keep metal alive": Meet the influencers bringing metal to a new generation By Merlin Alderslade A new generation of influencers are introducing music fans to metal in a whole new way – and they’re taking over social media
The Brits ignored metal, so we made up our own Metal Brit Awards By Merlin Alderslade If the Brits’ organisers cared at all about heavy music, this is what the winners’ list would look like
Architects just released the best orchestral metal track since S&M By Merlin Alderslade Architects release orchestral version of Animals filmed at Abbey Road Studios – single taken from new album For Those That Wish To Exist
The story behind the song: Dance Macabre by Ghost By Merlin Alderslade, Polly Glass How Ghost’s Tobias Forge built a world around a myth, and reaped a gleeful “pure eighties rock-club banger” in Dance Macabre
“Satan is good!”: how rock’n’roll occultists Twin Temple took metal by storm By Merlin Alderslade Twin Temple preach Satanism, bathe their crowds in blood and love Elvis. And metal loves them
Nightwish’s Floor Jansen: “The way that things are now aren’t the way things are for life” By Merlin Alderslade The gospel according to Nightwish singer Floor Jansen
Metallica: “We’re taking this time to create and try new things” By Merlin Alderslade S&M2? Epic livestreams? Writing new material? Metallica made 2020 a little bit more bearable
System Of A Down’s New Music: Our First Impressions By Merlin Alderslade Metal Hammer editor Merlin Alderslade takes a deep dive into System Of A Down’s first new songs in 15 years, Protect The Land and Genocidal Humanoidz
Bill Bailey: 10 albums that changed my life By Merlin Alderslade From Mastodon to Bowie, this is the music that made metal-loving comedian and Strictly Come Dancing star Bill Bailey the wizard he is
Power Trip’s Riley Gale: the modern metal hero who was one of us By Merlin Alderslade Power Trip frontman Riley Gale’s death at the age 34 shocked the metal scene. We look back at the life and times of a genuine one-off
“Metallica’s best years are ahead of us”: 12 months in the life of metal’s biggest band By Merlin Alderslade Rehab, cancelled shows, a global pandemic and the long-awaited release of S&M2 – Lars, Kirk and Robert look back on 12 rollercoaster months in the life of Metallica
Dan Terminus just dropped the synthwave album of 2020 By Merlin Alderslade Synthwave wizard Dan Terminus’ Last Call For All Passengers is the perfect soundtrack to a party at the end of the world
Chris Motionless: 10 albums that changed my life By Merlin Alderslade Slipknot, Pantera, Weird Al Yankovic – these are the sounds in Motionless In White frontman Chris Motionless’ head
UK metallers Wargasm are soundtracking the return of NXT UK By Merlin Alderslade NXT UK is back and it's got a better soundtrack than ever with UK metallers Wargasm providing its official theme
Backxwash’s God Has Nothing To Do With This… is the most important album of 2020 By Merlin Alderslade Backxwash delivers thrilling trap metal dispatches from the battlegrounds of self-identity on debut album God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It
Power Trip’s Riley Gale: “Who cares about trying to make history? Just live your life the way you want to” By Merlin Alderslade In 2018, Power Trip singer Riley Gale spoke to Metal Hammer about life, death and everything in between. Here’s what he had to say
Robb Flynn: “I’m having twice as much sex as before the pandemic. It could have been worse.” By Merlin Alderslade Dropping incendiary new songs, taking to the streets to protest, spicing things up at home: Machine Head mainman Robb Flynn hasn’t wasted his lockdown time
The Story Behind The Song: Avenged Sevenfold’s Beast And The Harlot By Merlin Alderslade How Avenged Sevenfold’s 2005 breakthrough turned them from metalcore upstarts into genuine contenders
Jay And Silent Bob’s Jason Mewes: 10 albums that changed my life By Merlin Alderslade Jason ‘Jay And Silent Bob’ Mewes reaches into his record collection and pulls out King Diamond, Slayer and Björk
Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water: inside Limp Bizkit’s obnoxious masterpiece By Merlin Alderslade Limp Bizkit’s Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water sent nu metal supernova and changed everything for the band that made it – and not necessarily for the best
Trivium’s Matt Heafy: “M Shadows saved my voice” By Merlin Alderslade From metal’s need for unity to the joys of Tiger King, this is the world according to Trivium’s Matt Heafy
Within Temptation’s Sharon den Adel: “There are more better days than bad days” By Merlin Alderslade You put the questions to Within Temptation singer Sharon den Adel
The secret history of Avenged Sevenfold By Merlin Alderslade From teenage basketball camp to the arenas of the world, this is the inside story of Avenged Sevenfold’s stellar rise
