Latest articles by Stephen Hill
The brilliant new metal bands you need to hear in January 2025
From the post-hardcore squall of Hidden Mothers to Lutharo's invigorating mix of power metal and melodeath, to one-woman black metaller Hulder and Saudi Arabian tech-prog-metallers Ana.n7n, these are the bands you need to hear in January 2025
Arch Enemy discuss “chaotic” new album Blood Dynasty
Band founder Michael Amott spills the secrets of Arch Enemy’s highly anticipated new album
These classic metal albums turn 20 in 2025
Trivium’s Ascendancy, Bullet For My Valentine’s The Poison and Avenged Sevenfold’s City Of Evil are 20 years old now, and your knees aren’t what they used to be
Talking Heads open up new worlds on the genre-bending Remain In Light
In which Talking Heads seamlessly merged funk, afrobeat and early hip-hop rhythms with their more abrasive art-rock ideas
"It’s actually Sid Wilson’s favourite Slipknot song." Inside nu metal's greatest deep cuts
From a Slipknot buried treasure to the long-overlooked Korn rarity, these are the overlooked classics in the nu metal canon
Metal Hammer's 50 best albums of 2024
From Judas Priest's Invincible Shield to Nightwish's Yesterwynde and Opeth's return to extremity, these are the metal albums that ruled 2024
"People said, 'You're going to be a one hit wonder.'" How Higher cemented Creed as rock's new superstars
Inspired in part by recurring nightmares and visions of heaven, Higher cemented Creed as one of the most successul rock bands of the new millennium
The 10 best hip-hop albums of 2024
From Los Angeles to London, Belfast to Tampa, the hip-hop world has thrown up some of 2024's most thrilling, imaginative and essential releases
Friends of the late, great Mark Lanegan - including Josh Homme, Dave Gahan, Chrissie Hynde and Bobby Gillespie - assemble in London for an emotional celebration of a truly singular talent
On what would have been Mark Lanegan's 60th birthday, friends and peers salute a much-missed musical maverick
How The Black Dahlia Murder triumphed over tragedy with Servitude
The 2022 passing of Trevor Strnad could easily have spelled the end for The Black Dahlia Murder. Instead, they rallied to create an album worthy of his legacy
Armed with 40 years of anthems and some stellar support acts, Sepultura’s final UK show is an unmitigated triumph
Celebrating their seminal classics and modern material alike, Sepultura bow out in impeccable form at London’s Hammersmith Apollo
The Battle Of Los Angeles at 25: how Rage Against The Machine just about kept it together to create one final masterpiece
The wheels were already beginning to come off Rage Against The Machine by 1998. Luckily, they managed to get into the studio together and prove they had one last statement to give the world
Korn's classic debut at 30: the weirdness, the trauma and the beginning of nu metal
On October 11 1994, five misfits from Bakersfield, California would release an album that would change metal forever
System Of A Down bassist Shavo Odadjian ditches quirky nu metal for incendiary deathcore with Seven Hours After Violet
Almost 20 years since his last ful-length album, Shavo Odadjian is roaring back with his heaviest band to date
Jason Aalon Butler reignites the sparks of inspiration on Darker White
Jason Aalon Butler reignites the sparks of inspiration with an all-new lineup for Fever 333
Your essential guide to Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nothing to f’ wit, and here's why
Servitude is the best tribute to Trevor Strnad Black Dahlia Murder fans could have asked for
Even tragedy can't stop The Black Dahlia Murder being one of extreme metal's most reliably brilliant bands
A deep dive into Nine Inch Nails' masterpiece The Fragile at 25
Released on September 21, 1999, Nine Inch Nails third studio album, The Fragile, remains a fascinating piece of outsider art
How Sweden's Thrown became breakout stars of metalcore's most aggro subgenre: pissedcore
Mixing metalcore, groove metal and hip hop, Sweden's Thrown have become unlikely poster boys for a new subgenre
Crows dazzle in the darkness on Reason Enough
London post-punks Crows evoke the spirit of Joy Division, PiL and ghosts of the past on album three
Every Talk Talk album ranked from worst to best
The complete studio output of Mark Hollis' groundbreaking, hugely influential band, re-reviewed and ranked
10 Britpop-era indie bands we need to reform in 2025
Bummed at missing out on Oasis tickets? Us too. The Verve, Supergrass, Elastica, Super Furries... we need you back now, please
The Holy Bible at 30: Revisiting Richey Edwards' haunting masterpiece
Released on August 30, 1994, the Manic Street Preachers' third album The Holy Bible remains one of the most unique, singular albums in history.
