
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

Five new bands you need to hear if you love Smashing Pumpkins
By Stephen Hill published
Smashing Pumpkins sound like no-one but themselves, but here are five new bands who've taken inspiration from Billy Corgan's band

"They're just beautiful, musically." Watch George Michael defend Joy Division against Morrissey and Tony Blackburn in this peak 80s exchange
By Stephen Hill published
Turns out The Smiths frontman Morrissey was not a big Joy Division fan, but pop superstar in the making George Michael definitely was

A beginner's guide to Factory Records in five essential albums
By Stephen Hill published
The story of the Manchester indie label that changed the world

Cave In's Anchor: how the "emo-metal Radiohead" helped put the final nail in the nu metal coffin
By Stephen Hill published
Cave In almost became metal's next big thing after ditching metalcore, writing "their own Black Hole Sun" and touring with Foo Fighters and Muse

10 pop covers of metal songs you won't believe actually happened
By Stephen Hill published
From Lil Uzi Vert covering Chop Suey to Maroon 5 defanging a Nine Inch Nails classic, these covers will stun, embarrass and, in some cases, delight you!

A beginner's guide to 90s UK indie in five essential albums
By Stephen Hill published
There was more to 90s indie than just Britpop, but it's a pretty good place to start... Here, the story of how one decade saw a genre morph beyond all recognition, told by the albums that made it happen

"The prospect of rockers descending on Earls Court is too awful to contemplate.” How angry locals, a Tory councillor and a jailed Scott Weiland killed Ozzfest UK '99
By Stephen Hill published
Ozzfest UK 1999 was set to be one of the best metal weekenders ever. Then a combination of political interference and bad luck ruined everything

10 terrible metal albums with one classic song
By Stephen Hill published
These metal albums were pretty much all stinkers - apart from one absolute banger that saved the day

Every single Avenged Sevenfold album ranked from worst to best
By Stephen Hill published
From debut album Sounding The Seventh Trumpet to proudly off-the-rails latest album Life Is But A Dream..., this is every Avenged album ranked in order of awesomeness

Every Depeche Mode album ranked from worst to best
By Stephen Hill last updated
Updated From synth-pop to industrial-noir, Depeche Mode have one hell of a catalogue. But which album is your Personal Jesus? Here's our guide to every studio album, worst to best

How The Mars Volta's De-Loused In The Comatorium brilliantly rewired prog rock for a new generation of punk rock kids
By Stephen Hill published
Released in June 2003, The Mars Volta's debut album De-Loused In The Comatorium is a prog-punk masterpiece

Beastie Boys fan? Here's five new bands you need to hear
By Stephen Hill published
Ch-Check it out: five fresh new bands sure to delight fans of the Beastie Boys

The greatest frontman of all time? Dave Gahan's irresistible energy ensures that Depeche Mode exude life after death
By Stephen Hill published
Dave Gahan gives a masterclass in stadium rock showmanship as Depeche Mode hold Twickenham spellbound

A beginners' guide to UK 80s indie in five essential albums
By Stephen Hill published
The 1980s were a hugely fertile period for free-thinking, boundary-pushing British 'indie' bands. Here is the story of the genre via five essential albums

“We don't want people to know what we think”: Why Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures may be the most important record to emerge from the UK punk scene
By Stephen Hill published
Released on June 15, 1979, Joy Division's bleak, beautiful masterpiece has lost none of its power or stark dread

A beginner's guide to US indie in five essential records
By Stephen Hill published
From its punk-rock roots to its genre-bending modern wave, we trace the story of US indie in five key albums

Five new bands you need to hear if you love The Fall
By Stephen Hill published
With a whopping 31 albums in their back catalogue, it figures that cult favourites The Fall have influenced a legion of fearless, boundary-pushing bands in their wake – here, five of the best

Nirvana fan? Here are five new bands you need to hear
By Stephen Hill published
Nirvana have inspired hundreds of bands since they turned music on its head some 30-odd years ago – here are five examples of how their influence is still making magic

Five new bands you need to hear if you love Pulp
By Stephen Hill published
Pulp have had one of the most fascinating careers in British music, so it figures they've inspired a legion of fans to create their own take on the Sheffield legends' legacy. Here, five of the best new bands to do it

A beginners guide to grindcore in five essential albums
By Stephen Hill published
Maybe the most relentlessly extreme subgenre of all, grindcore has been a mainstay of the underground since it screamed onto the scene in the 80s

Five new bands you need to hear if you love Joy Division
By Stephen Hill published
Joy Division have become one of the most influential alternative bands of the last 40 years, and these five new bands are bringing that sound bang up to date

A beginners guide to 90s hardcore in five essential albums
By Stephen Hill published
Hardcore went through some fascinating evolutions in the 90s. Here are the albums that tell that tale best

Five new bands you need to hear if you love Blur
By Stephen Hill published
Blur may be making a comeback, but these five young bands have been keeping their seats warm in their absence
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