Stephen Hill

How Sugar started System Of A Down’s climb to dominance

By Stephen Hill published 9 January 26

1998 single Sugar brought the future nu metal superstars to the dance – and they were weird as hell

How Dave Grohl, Ben Stiller, and Maynard James Keenan helped Tenacious D unleash Tribute

By Stephen Hill published 1 January 26

Tenacious D had friends in high places, and they used them to bring this 2000s smash hit to life

How an unexpected arrest accidentally gave Limp Bizkit their big break

By Stephen Hill published 28 December 25

How Type O Negative, Sepultura and Life Of Agony helped turn Roadrunner Records into the most influential metal label of the 90s

By Stephen Hill published 27 December 25

"It was the perfect tragedy. Heavy metal albums found in their rooms, antisocial behaviour." How Lemmy, Corey Taylor, Henry Rollins and the metal community united to save three teenagers at the heart of a murder case that shocked America

By Stephen Hill published 26 December 25

The story of the West Memphis Three captured the attention of the metal world - and some of its biggest artists took action

Metal Hammer's albums of the year: 2025

By Metal Hammer published 25 December 25

From chart-toppers Ghost and Sleep Token to rising stars Lorna Shore and Spiritbox, 2025 has been a massive year for metal

A Perfect Circle have made four albums. These are the stories behind them all

By Stephen Hill published 21 December 25

A Perfect Circle’s Billy Howerdel breaks down his band’s four studio albums

How Killswitch Engage's The End Of Heartache brought some romance to the metal scene

By Stephen Hill published 15 December 25

One of the gretaest metalcore songs ever written turned this band into household names

How Skindred mixed reggae and metal to produce a classic 2000s rock banger

By Stephen Hill published 9 December 25

How Skindred hit on the ragga-metal classic that would save frontman Benji Webbe’s career

How Laid To Rest – against all odds – gave Lamb Of God an actual career

By Stephen Hill published 8 December 25

The opening track of 2004’s Ashes Of The Wake helped lift the band from heavy metal underdogs to generation-defining superstars

The story behind the Foo Fighters classic that everyone assumed was about Kurt Cobain

By Stephen Hill published 7 December 25

People misinterpreted this song's meaning for years, but it made it no less poignant

How Cave In briefly became alt-metal’s next big thing with their single Anchor

By Stephen Hill published 5 December 25

In 2003, Cave In embraced mainstream attention and wrote Anchor. Unfortunately, their stint in the big time would be short-lived.

How Coheed And Cambria turned a tumultuous break-up into landmark prog metal song Welcome Home

By Matt Mills published 4 December 25

Thanks to its venomous lyrics and hard, screeching riff, Welcome Home became a Platinum-selling breakthrough moment

How A Certain Shade Of Green turned Incubus into poster boys for a scene they hated

By Stephen Hill published 4 December 25

With one song, they suddenly found themselves at the front of a music scene they truly hated

"They talk about that album in the same way I talk about Ziggy Stardust...and it was the first time a Slipknot member had unmasked!" How a metal icon embraced horror and glam rock to make one of the most surprising side projects ever

By Stephen Hill published 2 December 25

When it was revealed that one of Slipknot's most beloved members had a new project on the go, no one could have predicted how it'd end up sounding

How Korn broke the charts with a smutty song, a controversial look and a truly deranged video

By Stephen Hill published 27 November 25

Anyone who grew up with nu metal has a very different idea of what the letters A, D, I, D, A and S mean

The crazy forgotten project featuring a host of rap and metal superstars

By Stephen Hill published 27 November 25

This could have been incredible, but it was an absolute flop

Inside the top secret HQ of Sabaton, power metal's biggest band

By Stephen Hill published 23 November 25

20 years on from their debut, Hammer joined Sabaton in their hometown of Falun to dive into the band's history

The surprising influences behind Metallica's most successful single (and no, it isn't Enter Sandman)

By Stephen Hill published 20 November 25

With a new look, a new attitude and a dizzying new set of musical influences, Metallica crafted one of their most controversial singles. It was also their best-selling

How a Primus song about a beaver sparked a surprise encounter with Winona Ryder

By Stephen Hill published 19 November 25

When Primus wrote this weird art rock classic, they weren't expecting a visit from one of America's coolest actresses

Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta names the essential hardcore bands everyone needs to hear

By Stephen Hill published 17 November 25

If you need someone to guide you through the world of hardcore, you won’t find a bigger aficionado than the frontman of Hatebreed

The surprise smash hit 90s rap-rock single that beat Alanis Morissette to an MTV award

By Stephen Hill published 16 November 25

No one saw this coming in 1995!

How Trent Reznor wrote Nine Inch Nails' first big hit - and why it annoyed the hell out of him

By Stephen Hill published 14 November 25

This dancefloor anthem turned Nine Inch Nails into household names in the 90s

The story of the landmark Alice In Chains album that paved the way for Nirvana’s Nevermind

By Stephen Hill published 1 November 25

A year before Nirvana broke out with Nevermind, Alice In Chains Seattle’s grunge scene on the map