Stephen Hill

How Oathbreaker made one of the 21st century's best metal albums - and then disappeared

By Stephen Hill published 21 April 26

Oathbreaker seemed destined for greatness after the release of the superb Rheia. Then the band went on a near-ten-year hiatus. But why?

The mysterious disappearance of the UK's answer to Korn

By Stephen Hill published 20 April 26

Pulkas were beloved in the UK metal press and signed to one of underground metal's most illustrious labels - so what happened?

The story of the album that almost killed Metallica

By Stephen Hill published 20 April 26

Metallica almost destroyed themselves making 2003's St. Anger

The Corrosion Of Conformity classic that got them championed by Metallica

By Stephen Hill published 12 April 26

Corrosion Of Conformity might have thought they'd already peaked by 1994. They were very wrong

How Unplugged marked a heartbreaking end of an era for Alice In Chains

By Stephen Hill published 11 April 26

30 years ago this week, Alice In Chains played a legendary MTV Unplugged set that has only grown more poignant with time

How Slipknot's sweariest, angriest song helped them land the heaviest number one album ever

By Stephen Hill published 8 April 26

As soon as people heard that crushing first song on Iowa, they knew we weren't getting a soft, sell-out second album

How In This Moment's Maria Brink finally got her message heard

By Stephen Hill published 23 March 26

In this Moment have been on the metal scene for two decades, but it took years for frontwoman Maria Brink to truly get her message heard

The bizarre story of Whale and their extremely unlikely smash hit single

By Stephen Hill published 20 March 26

When three acquaintances decided to make a joke song about a bizarre topic just for the hell of it, they can't have foreseen what'd happen next

The story of Limp Bizkit's Nookie - and why it's a more poignant song than you might think

By Stephen Hill published 19 March 26

What seemed like a throwaway lyric tacked onto a catchy Bizkit banger actually had some profound meaning for Fred Durst

The story of President, metal's newest masked sensation

By Stephen Hill published 17 March 26

From an overpacked tent debut at Download Festival to sell-out shows across the Atlantic, President are quickly becoming one of metal's biggest new bands

The ultimate Motorhead playlist (as picked by Metallica, Judas Priest and more)

By Rich Hobson published 11 March 26

We asked some of metal's biggest names to share which Motorhead songs mean most to them

How Machine Head bounced back from firings, studio disasters and, erm, constipation

By Stephen Hill published 9 March 26

When Machine Head needed a good follow-up to their classic debut album, boy did they deliver - but not without facing some challenges

How a crazy riot got Slayer banned from a famous Hollywood venue for 25 years

By Stephen Hill published 6 March 26

Slayer were used to controversy, but when they rocked up to play the Hollywood Palladium in 1988, they didn't expect this.

Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera names the greatest riff in heavy metal – and the controversial 80s album he thinks is a “joke”

By Stephen Hill published 28 February 26

The soundtrack to ex-Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera’s life

The surprising story behind the Deftones song the band hate - but became a massive hit

By Stephen Hill published 20 February 26

Its video is iconic and its impact undeniable, but this Deftones classic has a slightly confused legacy

Allt are writing a soundtrack to the end of the world

By Stephen Hill published 19 February 26

Turns out growing up near a weapons testing facility will give you a sense of foreboding doom

Dave Mustaine has big plans for the end of Megadeth

By Stephen Hill published 16 February 26

Dave Mustaine remains defiant even as Megadeth approach the end

“We just went with it, hoping that it would be more of a blessing than a disaster.” How Alien Ant Farm’s bizarre cover of Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal turned them from D-listers to nu metal giants (for a bit, anyway)

By Stephen Hill last updated 13 February 26

In 2000, Alien Ant Farm were nu metal also-rans struggling to find their place. Then a thumbs up from Papa Roach and a Michael Jackson cover changed their fortunes overnight

How Sepultura got help from an indigenous tribe to write one of their defining anthems

By Stephen Hill published 13 February 26

This track was truly trailblazing for heavy music

How a beloved rock band took aim at a pop megastar and ushered in a genre-mashing masterpiece with a 90s classic

By Stephen Hill published 5 February 26

This Faith No More song is so catchy, Disturbed covered it on two separate occasions

Nirvana's most controversial song and why it made a US President smash up his own kid's CD

By Stephen Hill published 3 February 26

Kurt Cobain was convinced no one could misunderstand the intent of the lyrics to this track. Sadly, many still did

From Soviet Union pop to Ukrainian metal, this is the life story of Jinjer's Tatiana Shmayluk

By Stephen Hill published 3 February 26

As frontwoman of tech metal stars Jinjer, Tatiana Shmayluk has manifested an incredible career against the odds

How the reluctant ‘Godfathers Of Hardcore’ wrote the mosh-pit classic that put East Coast punk on MTV

By Stephen Hill published 31 January 26

Sick Of It All helped take hardcore into the mainstream

The three iconic metal albums that changed Ice-T’s life

By Stephen Hill published 31 January 26

Riffs, beats and smackdowns - this is the soundtrack to Ice-T’s life