These 4 obscure black metal bands deserve to be as big as Emperor and Dimmu Borgir
From Brazilian trailblazers to a shadowy Norwegian one-man outfit, these are the cult bands every black metal fan should know
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My weird night sleeping on King Diamond’s floor surrounded by human skulls and a Satanic altar
In 1983, one intrepid journalist flew to Copenhagen to interview Mercyful Fate – and endured a night of occult weirdness and table football
The turbulent story of Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry, the 80s metal classic that tore the band apart
1984’s Stay Hungry should have turned Twisted Sister into megastars - but it was the beginning of the end for them
"You can hear how much bigger it sounds!" How Amorphis went large with 2018's Queen Of Time
Thirteen is definitely not unlucky for Finnish prog metallers Amorphis whose Queen Of Time delivered the goods in style
The debauched story of Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite For Destruction, the album that electrified 80s rock
Guns N’ Roses Appetite For Destruction is one of the greatest debut albums in history
“A wolf in sheep’s clothing”: Deftones’ Diamond Eyes is a cunning prog masterpiece
When tragedy led to ditching the album they’d planned to release, the “Radiohead of metal” delivered something much more unorthodox
Metal Hammer's tracks of the week: May 16 2025
Lorna Shore, Within Temptation and President are among the best new metal songs this week. Plus, vote for your favourite!
We rank every Architects album from worst to best
One of the UK's greatest ever metal exports has amassed a hell of a catalogue. Here's our guide to every album, in reverse order of greatness
A tribute to Ronnie James Dio: July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010
Ronnie James Dio: July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010
"I lost a daughter, the only child I ever had and I didn’t want to deal with that." Randy Blythe explains how his new book is all about making peace with trauma and strife
Lamb Of God's frontman has a new book in Just Beyond The Light: Making Peace With The Wars Inside Our Head
How Harper became metal's youngest star
From appearing on America's Got Talent to getting endorsements from Bring Me The Horizon and Spiritbox, Harper is leading metal's next generation
The best metal albums of 2025 (so far)
From Killswitch Engage and Ghost to Spiritbox and Bloodywood, these are the best metal albums of 2025 so far
Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia on tech, Depeche Mode and new album Sleepless Empire
Italian gothic metallers Lacuna Coil are showing no signs of slowing down
The chaotic birth of prog metal giants Mastodon
How Mastodon crawled from the Atlanta underground metal scene to become one of the most important bands of the 21st century
How prog metal icons Dream Theater went full nerd-mode with epic concept album The Astonishing
There’s big, and then there’s Dream Theater’s 2016 prog metal blow-out The Astonishing
The epic story of the Scorpions, the German band who smashed through the barriers to conquer America
The Scorpions proved that Britain and the US didn’t have the monopoly on hard rock and heavy metal
The rise, fall and resurrection of Armored Saint, the cult band who should have been as big as Metallica
Armored Saint were one of the greatest 80s metal bands never to hit the big time
10 epic ballads that show there was more to thrash metal than speed
There was more to thrash metal than speed
How Incubus pushed back against nu metal with Morning View
Incubus may have risen at the same time as nu metal, but they wanted nothing to do with it
