Articles by: Sophie Maughan

The 50 best metal albums of 2022

By Rich Hobson published 26 December 22

From Ghost and Slipknot to Zeal & Ardor and Ithaca, these are the best albums of the last 12 months

Best power metal albums of 2022: Blind Guardian/Battle Beast/Hammerfall/Sabaton/Bridear

The 10 best power metal albums of 2022

By Rich Hobson published 12 December 22

From Sabaton and Blind Guardian to Wind Rose and Bridear, these are the 10 best power metal albums of 2022

Lacuna Coil’s Comalies XX: a goth metal classic reconstructed

By Sophie Maughan published 12 October 22

Album review: Lacuna Coil give 2002’s landmark album Comalies an impressive 20th anniversary do-over

Worm Shepherd's Ritual Hymns: "A nightmarish wormhole of lurching slams and fervent blasts"

By Sophie Maughan last updated 14 January 22

Massachusetts newcomers Worm Shepherd assert themselves as extreme symphonic metal's newest heavy hitters on album #2, Ritual Hymns

Bullet For My Valentine - S/T album art crop

Bullet For My Valentine bring the heavy back on their self-titled new album

By Sophie Maughan published 18 October 21

Bridgend’s metal behemoths Bullet For My Valentine cover all the bases on their seventh album, Bullet For My Valentine

Lacuna Coil’s Live From The Apocalypse is the perfect aural antidote to the pandemic

By Sophie Maughan published 22 June 21

Milanese metallers Lacuna Coil make a hard copy of their COVID-busting livestream on Live From The Apocalypse

Hacktivist’s Hyperdialect: the genre-smashing soundtrack to an imaginary revolution

By Sophie Maughan published 14 June 21

Grime metal insurrectionists Hacktivist add more prongs to their attack on new album Hyperdialect

Devil Sold His Soul’s new album Loss is a cinematic triumph over turmoil

By Sophie Maughan published 15 April 21

Cinematic post-hardcore heroes Devil Sold His Soul put a turbulent decade behind them on new album Loss

Love And Death’s Perfectly Preserved: songs of angst and devotion

By Sophie Maughan published 8 February 21

Korn guitarist Brian ‘Head’ Welch’s other band Love And Death make their long-awaited second coming with new album Perfectly Preserved

Jinjer’s Alive In Melbourne is a sh*t-kicking reminder of how great gigs used to be

By Sophie Maughan published 17 November 20

Tech-metal marauders Jinjer are captured full pre-COVID flight on Alive In Melbourne

DevilDriver’s pulverising Dealing With Demons Vol.1 is a roar in the face of adversity

By Sophie Maughan published 1 October 20

Dez Fafara soundtracks his personal struggles on DevilDriver’s new album Dealing With Demons Vol. 1

Obsidian Kingdom’s Meat Machine: mind-altering menace from post-metal shapeshifters

By Sophie Maughan published 30 September 20

Barcelona voyagers Obsidian Kingdom venture into unexplored territories on new album Meat Machine

Metal all-stars Kill The Lights nail the groove and the glory on debut album The Sinner

By Sophie Maughan last updated 10 February 21

Ex-Bullet For My Valentine man ‘Moose’ Thomas comes out swinging with Kill The Light’s debut album The Sinner

Currents’ The Way It Ends: an uncompromising yet accessible call to arms

By Sophie Maughan last updated 8 June 20

Currents’ mix of metalcore, post-hardcore and punk dissonance has never sounded as potent as it does on new album The Way It Ends

10 essential tech metal albums

By Sophie Maughan published 1 June 20

Tech metal is the very definition of order in chaos, and here are 10 albums that prove it

Theraphosa’s Transcendence album is a blackened exploration of the soul

By Sophie Maughan published 27 May 20

French trio Therophosa crank up the dark progressive grooves on new album Transcendence

10 essential Deathcore albums

By Sophie Maughan last updated 20 December 20

Where hardcore meets death metal you’ll find these 10 throat-shredding deathcore albums

Lacuna Coil - Black Anima: The Milan metallers dig deeper into their dark side

By Sophie Maughan published 11 October 19

Lacuna Coil's new album Black Anima elevates a band already on career-defining form

The 20 Best Lacuna Coil songs of all time

By Sophie Maughan published 5 September 19

We asked, you voted and now the results are in: here, we count down the 20 best Lacuna Coil songs ever recorded

Why Cane Hill have ditched nu metal for their new EP

By Sophie Maughan published 10 December 18

Elijah Witt reveals why Cane Hill have moved away from their nu metal sound for something a little different

New Band Of The Week: The Uncharted

By Sophie Maughan published 3 December 18

How did a bunch of lads from the Cotswolds end up producing this?!

The Algorithm: Compiler Optimization Techniques album review

By Sophie Maughan published 15 November 18

Gallic electro-metaller The Algorithm pushes the dial towards technical ecstasy with Compiler Optimization Techniques

New Band Of The Week: Walking Dead On Broadway

By Sophie Maughan published 29 October 18

Inverting deathcore hallmarks on their heads, Walking Dead On Broadway are injecting some freshness into the formula

The Black Queen – Infinite Games album review

By Sophie Maughan published 28 September 18

Greg Puciato’s synth-driven venture The Black Queen enters a dystopian realm with Infinite Games

Lovebites – Battle Against Damnation album cover

Lovebites – Battle Against Damnation album review

By Sophie Maughan published 6 June 18

Japan’s enthralling power metal five-piece Lovebites fire their way to elite status with Battle Against Damnation