Merlin Alderslade
Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.
Latest articles by Merlin Alderslade

Slipknot's Clown reveals how rock icons Kiss changed his life forever
By Merlin Alderslade Published
You might not be surprised to find that Clown's sense of showmanship is inspired by the showiest rock band of them all

Get an exclusive blue vinyl edition of new Evanescence album Sanctuary
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Evanescence's new album is imminent, and you can bag yourself a beautiful vinyl variant right here

How much-missed Huntress singer Jill Janus found her true calling in heavy metal
By Tom Dare Published
Much-missed Huntress singer Jill Janus had one of the most unusual career paths in heavy metal history

From Nirvana fan to metal icon, life lessons from Within Temptation's Sharon den Adel
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Fronting one of Europe's biggest metal bands has given Sharon a special kind of insight through her career. Here's what she's learned

Inside Thailand's passionate but overlooked metal scene, from alley bars to open air festivals
By Merlin Alderslade Published
We head inside the Thai metal scene via the country's biggest rock festival, Rock Alarm. Our hosts? Bangkok metalcore crew Defying Decay

Five Finger Death Punch announce UK tour with Lamb of God and Bleed From Within
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Arena metal main eventers Five Finger Death Punch will be bringing some US and UK riff monsters with them for the ride when they hit the UK and Europe in 2027

"We're not a bunch of poodles." Why Iron Maiden stayed hands-off with their new film
By Merlin Alderslade Published
You might assume that Iron Maiden wanted strict creative control over the definitive telling of their story. You'd be wrong

How Beast And The Harlot transformed Avenged Sevenfold from metalcore upstarts into rock’n’roll stars
By Merlin Alderslade Published
How Avenged Sevenfold wrote their 2005 banger Beast and The Harlot

How Wicked 2 ruined one key plan for new Foo Fighters album Your Favorite Toy
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Dave Grohl reveals a surprising fact about the new Foos record - and it's all down to last year's Wicked sequel

Ville Valo reveals some of the surprising influences behind Him
By Merlin Alderslade Published
From beloved pets to a definitely not metal US singer-songwriter, Ville opens up on what helped Him find their identity

How Benji Webbe became a British metal icon
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Benji Webbe has faced his share of hardships - and come out as a resilient force of positivity in British metal

How Twin Temple bewitched the metal scene - without playing a single note of metal
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Twin Temple are one of the most unlikely breakouts of the 2020s metal scene. This is their story

Why Amy Lee is embracing having a platform in an increasingly dangerous world
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Evanescence's leader is keenly aware that the world is going to hell, but she sees a light at the end of the tunnel

Every metal album to get to number one in the UK - and the story behind them all
By Rich Hobson Published
From Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden to Skindred and Sleep Token, here's every single time metal topped the album charts in the UK

“Metallica have tried some crazy things, some which have worked better than others. That’s a part of being an artist”: Twenty thousand people, an 80-piece symphony and the world’s biggest metal band – the epic story behind rock’s greatest orchestral gig
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Metallica’s S&M2 remains the ultimate meeting of metal and classical music

Watch a tearful Yungblud pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in Birmingham last night
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Yungblud made the most of playing Ozzy's home city

Bruce Dickinson opens up on what it was like joining Iron Maiden just as they were blowing up
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Bruce Dickinson joined Maiden at a crucial point in their career. We all know what happened next

A guide to every Poppy album so far
By Dannii Leivers Published
From debut Poppy.Computer to this year's Empty Hands, here's what you need to know about the discography of one of modern metal's most unique creatives

What it was like seeing Metallica in their early days, according to Death Angel frontman Mark Osegueda
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Mark knew that Metallica were destined for great things from the very start

7 metal songs from the year 2000 that were way ahead of their time
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Metal was in a time of serious evolution as the New Millennium dawned, and these seven bands were already getting ahead of the pack

Bring Me The Horizon will play Count Your Blessings in full at a special UK show this summer
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Bring Me The Horizon doing Count Your Blessings in full in Manchester this July? There's a sentence we didn't expect to be writing today

How metal became a lifelong passion for WWE Women's World Champion Stephanie Vaquer
By Merlin Alderslade Published
From her love of Iron Maiden and Megadeth to her fiery entrance, Stephanie Vaquer is one of WWE's most metal superstars ever

"People were throwing coins!" What it's like playing to a hostile Iron Maiden crowd, according to Atreyu
By Merlin Alderslade Published
Atreyu might be one of metalcore's most celebrated bands, but they had a hard time winning over a rowdy Maiden crowd in Mexico
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