
Stephen Hill
Since blagging his way onto the Hammer team a decade ago, Stephen has written countless features and reviews for the magazine, usually specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal, and still holds out the faint hope of one day getting his beloved U2 into the pages of the mag. He also regularly spouts his opinions on the Metal Hammer Podcast.
Latest articles by Stephen Hill

“We still haven’t come eye-to-eye on how things should be done”: The story of the new System Of A Down album that will (probably) never happen
By Stephen Hill published
Since reuniting in 2011, System Of A Down have headlined festivals, packed arenas and released just two songs. What’s the situation with their long-anticipated sixth album? Not promising…

"I want us to be the scariest ride at the amusement park": How Lorna Shore became deathcore's defining stars
By Stephen Hill published
Lorna Shore's first decade was blighted with line-up changes and uncertainty, but with Will Ramos and a viral hit on TikTok they broke through the deathcore ceiling to define a new movement of heaviness

"I got really tired of seeing my own face, or seeing a stranger’s opinion of me every day." Bad Omens are the hottest young band in metal - and Noah Sebastian is not exactly happy about it.
By Stephen Hill published
Noah Sebastian might just be modern metal's most reluctant rock star

“We’ll lead our own pack!” The checkered story of Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff, from festival chaos to a star-studded music video
By Stephen Hill published
Connected forever with the anarchy of Woodstock ’99 and a music video featuring Snoop Dogg and Korn, Limp Bizkit’s cathartic banger has the most complicated legacy of any nu metal song

"Bob walked in and started berating everyone that was eating." How a furious Bob Geldof ruined a posh feast and inadvertently had Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Springsteen and the rest eating chicken and waffles during We Are The World
By Stephen Hill published
This is one anecdote that seems to have been left off of Netflix's The Greatest Night In Pop documentary

“They had the potential to be one of their era’s defining bands”: How rising nu metal stars Human Waste Project suddenly disappeared
By Stephen Hill published
Led by body-piercer turned magnetic vocalist Aimee Echo, Human Waste Project were one of the most promising bands of the nu metal takeover. Then they split out of nowhere. This is what happened.

"Let freedom ring with a shotgun blast!": the brutal true story behind Machine Head's Davidian, one of the defining anthems of '90s metal
By Stephen Hill published
The opening track on Machine Head's stunning debut album Burn My Eyes, Davidian has its roots in real life horrors

"Considering how people scoffed at the idea of Static-X without their most recognisable member, this line-up continues to prove its worth." Static-X's Project: Regeneration Vol. 2 is worthy of the band's legacy
By Stephen Hill published
A decade on from the passing of Wayne Static, Static-X's bizarre continuation are nonetheless going strong with solid - if a little rudimentary - industrial metal bangers

Every No Doubt album ranked from worst to best
By Stephen Hill published
With Gwen Stefani's chameleonic ska punk warriors reuniting for Coachella this year, we've ranked every album in their discography

10 heavy metal solo careers that fell completely flat
By Stephen Hill published
Not everyone can be Ozzy Osbourne or Ronnie James Dio…

"We want to challenge ourselves": Code Orange are evolving beyond hardcore to grasp at something much bigger
By Stephen Hill published
After up-ending hardcore with 2017's Forever and embracing alt-metal on 2020's Underneath, Code Orange set their sights on conquering the rock world with The Above

"You want to touch people with eclectic taste in music." Synyster Gates talks The Beatles, Avenged Sevenfold's bold new era and the artists taking alternative music forwards
By Stephen Hill published
We have a catch-up with Avenged Sevenfold's fret-ripping guitarist

"Dave Grohl said Arms Wide Open was one of the best songs ever written." Mark Tremonti on Creed, Alter Bridge, singing Sinatra and everything in between
By Stephen Hill published
Mark Tremonti regales us with the life lessons he has learned through a career in music

Metal Hammer's 50 best albums of 2023 (and the stories behind them)
By Rich Hobson published
Sleep Token, Creeper, Within Temptation: 2023 has been a massive year for metal, and these 50 records represent the very best the year has had to offer

"Beavis and Butt-Head liked it, that was always a big thing!” How Prong got massive for a minute in the 90s with Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck
By Stephen Hill published
Prong became one of the 90s' most unlikely metal success stories...even if the mainstream success didn't last long

"It’s more than sales – it inspired an entire generation of young girls to know they had a place in heavy music." Inside Fallen: the album that turned Evanescence into instant 21st century metal superstars
By Stephen Hill published
No rock band had an explosive a rise in the 2000s as Evanescence. This is the story of their classic debut album

Metal Hammer writers name their best gigs of 2023
By Matt Mills published
From the monolithic Metallica to rising stars like Green Lung, these are the greatest shows that Team Hammer saw this year

The 10 best hip-hop albums of 2023
By Stephen Hill published
2023 was another golden year for hip-hop, and here are the 10 essential albums you need to hear

The 10 best indie albums of 2023
By Stephen Hill published
Returning superstars, bright young things and cult heroes ensured that 2023 was a banner year for indie

"Collaborate with Amy Lee? That would be incredible!" Guitar hero Sophie Lloyd on why Evanescence mean so much to her - and to rock music in general
By Stephen Hill published
Sophie Lloyd explains how Evanescence's classic debut album Fallen impacted her as a young music fan

Here are the best new metal bands you need to hear this month
By Merlin Alderslade published
From Skyrim-inspired nu-industrial noise to happy-go-lucky black metal (wait, what?!), here are some of the best new metal bands we've found for you this month

The 50 best metal albums of 2023 - as voted by the readers of Metal Hammer
By Rich Hobson published
From Metallica to Sleep Token, Avenged Sevenfold to Babymetal, these are the best metal albums of 2023 - as voted by you!

10 massive metal bands we want new albums from in 2024
By Stephen Hill published
From Ozzy Osbourne to Tool, a host of metal legends look ready to make 2024 a star-studded year

"Rat Wars is the most personal, cathartic and brutal record of their career." With a little help from Lamb Of God and Godflesh, Health have made an album fit for goth clubs and mosh pits alike
By Stephen Hill published
Health's evolution from underground art noise favourites to modern metal scene mainstays has reached a new peak
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