Articles by Steve Appleford, Writer

Steve Appleford is a Los Angeles music journalist who has also written for Rolling Stone, Revolver and the Los Angeles Times. Over the years he's interviewed major artists across multiple genres - including Black Sabbath, Slayer, Queens of the Stone Age, System of a Down, KISS, Lemmy, the Who, Neil Young, Beastie Boys, Beyonce, Tom Jones, and a couple of Beatles.

Articles by: Steve Appleford

"In Russia, when you see a bear, it's not ****ing funny." Alex Terrible is a bear-wrestling, bareknuckle fighting controversy magnet. He's also made Slaughter To Prevail unlikely metal icons

By Steve Appleford published 26 April 25

We head Stateside to speak to the man behind the mask as Russian deathcore crew Slaughter To Prevail prepare to unleash their new album

"I’m uncontrollable when I drink, so I don’t know what happens next." How Jinjer's Tatiana Shmayluk found peace after years of unrest and turmoil

By Steve Appleford published 9 April 25

It's been a rough few years for Jinjer, but new album Duél shows they're stronger than ever

A composite photograph of Slaughter To Prevail’s Alex Terrible onstage and a brown bear

When you look into a human’s eyes, you feel this soul. You look into this bear’s eyes, you don’t see anything in there”: Slaughter To Prevail frontman Alex Terrible’s guide to wrestling bears

By Steve Appleford published 8 March 25

Thinking of wrestling a Russian brown bear? Slaughter To Prevail’s Alex Terrible has some tips

"My anger is a gift. But it's consuming me." Inside the rebirth of Jason Aalon Butler's genre-splicing punk machine, Fever 333

By Steve Appleford published 1 January 25

Forced to rebuild from scratch, Jason Aalon Butler is finding ways to harness the storm - and find his peace - on Fever 333's Darker White

"We have lost friends, to ODs, suicide. And we see each other out there still holding it down." How Papa Roach survived the rise and fall of nu metal to be bigger than ever in 2024

By Steve Appleford last updated 31 December 24

From touring with Korn and meeting pop stars to barely selling 200 tickets and almost getting dropped from their label, Papa Roach endured to prove themselves the ultimate rock survivors

"I was in the hallway with Slipknot and I got screamed at." Vended might have big links to heavy metal royalty, but that doesn't mean they're getting an easy ride

By Steve Appleford published 26 December 24

Vended feature two spawns of Slipknot, but they're attempting to build their own legacy through their own terms. We head to LA to find out more

‘The Hu didn’t speak a lick of English, but we both knew the language of rock. It’s a tribal warrior call!”: The greatest Papa Roach collaborations, in their own words

By Steve Appleford published 17 November 24

From The Hu and Within Temptation to Carrie Underwood and Pharrell, Papa Roach are the kings of the collaboration – and here are the most memorable

"I've got poop on me!" We took Kittie to a cat cafe (obviously) to ask them about their amazing comeback, the nu metal nostalgia train and surviving the music industry as a band of young women

By Steve Appleford published 30 July 24

What happened when we took Kittie to a cat cafe in LA to talk life, music and fur babies?

"I can't be Dave Grohl or Ryan Reynolds." We spent the day with Tool and, can we shock you? They're still weird as hell.

By Steve Appleford published 6 May 24

Like the rest of us, Tool are hoping they can get it together enough to record another album before somebody dies

“I would do meth in the private bathroom in the back. At the time, I was out of my mind”: the dark confessions of Korn’s Jonathan Davis

By Steve Appleford published 14 April 24

In 2018, Korn’s Jonathan Davis invited Metal Hammer into his private lair in Bakersfield, to talk addiction, rehab and his debut solo album Black Labyrinth

"The path of witchcraft has brought me so much joy." We explored LA's weirdest and most wonderful book store with goth-doom queen and practising witch, Chelsea Wolfe

By Steve Appleford published 8 April 24

Bewitching singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe accompanies us on a browse through one of LA's most unique spots

"The neighbours are a little weirded out by us. They’re wary of the neighbours who moved in and painted the house black." I spent an evening at the fascinating secret home of Twin Temple, the Satanic couple who make doo-wop for the Devil

By Steve Appleford published 12 November 23

You've never been inside a home quite like this

Avenged Sevenfold on the cover of the new issue of Metal Hammer

"We want to give people anxiety": how Avenged Sevenfold made 2023's strangest, most divisive heavy metal record with Life Is But A Dream...

By Steve Appleford published 1 July 23

Avenged Sevenfold shocked many fans with their eighth studio album. As the band themselves tell us, however, it was simply the record they had to make

Avenged Sevenfold found angry reactions to the band's new material hilarious: "we were just laughing"

By Metal Hammer published 6 June 23

Avenged Sevenfold aren't a band afraid to cause a stir, even if it's in their own fanbase

Avenged Sevenfold’s Life Is But A Dream… – the ultimate track by track breakdown

By Steve Appleford published 27 May 23

Avenged Sevenfold talk us through their upcoming new album Life Is But A Dream… track by track

Evil never dies: the resurrection of King Diamond

By Steve Appleford last updated 11 August 20

Ten years ago, Mercyful Fate frontman King Diamond was on the verge of death. In 2020, the metal legend finds himself facing the most important 12 months of his career

Five Finger Death Punch: "We thought Ivan was going to f**king die"

By Steve Appleford last updated 14 February 20

After years of turbulence, Five Finger Death Punch are finally all on the same page again. Now, they’re setting their sights on becoming the biggest metal band in the world

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