Metal Hammer Reviews

Health dance in the face of despair on new album Conflict DLC

By Matt Mills Published 13 December 25

The lyrics on the L.A. trio’s sixth album observe the ugliness of 2025, while the music urges you to wiggle your worries away

Ice Nine Kills' A Work Of Art is metal's most shocking show: Review

By Rich Hobson Published 12 December 25

Even if they don't carry on (Silver) Screaming, Ice Nine Kills prove they're ready for the big leagues with the brilliantly bonkers A Work Of Art tour

Sabaton's Legendary tour lives up to its name: Review

By Rich Hobson Published 8 December 25

Thanks, but no tanks: history-loving Swedes Sabaton reinvent their stage show for the Legendary tour

5 Comments

British-Iranian metal mystics Lowen prove themselves as the next big thing with spellbinding London show

Nina Saeidi of Lowen performing onstage in 2025

By Matt Mills Published 5 December 25

Playing their biggest headline concert while backed up by dancers and a cellist, the rising prog metal band meld Persian folk and themes with full-throttle riffage

Harpy's debut EP is the horniest release of 2025 and it's not even close

By Emily Swingle Published 25 November 25

Alt singer-songwriter Harpy tells us exactly what she wants via throbbing dark electro and writhing industrial metal. Subtle, this ain't

Aerosmith and Yungblud's One More Time EP is a surprising but welcome triumph

Yungblud posing with Steve Tyler and Joe Perry

By Jack Rogers Published 21 November 25

Rock's past and present meet in the middle and make a certain kind of magic in hopes of securing its future

5 Comments

Two years on from their farewell show in New York, Kiss return to the stage in Las Vegas

By Clay Marshall Published 16 November 25

Kiss are back, and Classic Rock were there to witness it

5 Comments

Pupil Slicer have just made one of the most diverse, engrossing and essential heavy albums of 2025

By Paul Travers Published 3 November 25

Roping in hardcore, mathcore, doom, black metal, industrial, post-rock...Pupil Slicer do it all in style on new album Fleshwork

Avatar’s Don’t Go In The Forest is the album for people who like their massive 80s-inspired tunes with a side order of creepiness

By Holly Wright Published 28 October 25

Avatar finally go for the commercial jugular on Don’t Go In The Forest

Creeper are dead and loving it on brilliantly bloody new album Sanguivore II: Mistress Of Death

Creeper posing for a photograph while covered in blood

By Dannii Leivers Published 27 October 25

Creeper are in full fangbanging mode on their excellent fourth album

Nine Treasures might be the next band to blaze a path out of Mongolia

By Joe Daly Published 22 October 25

You might not have heard of Nine Treasures, but this is a great time to educate yourself

Psychonaut’s World Maker is a devastating space-metal odyssey everyone needs to hear

Psychonaut in 2025, next to the artwork for their album World Maker

By Matt Mills Published 22 October 25

Psychonaut are far from superstars in the metal scene, but World Maker deserves to change that

40 years in, Max Cavalera is still finding ways to freshen up his formula

By Paul Travers Published 21 October 25

You might not be surprised to find that the new Soulfly album bangs

Much hyped UK metal hopefuls Conjurer are back to their very best on Unself

Conjurer sat in chairs against a black bakcground

By Stephen Hill Published 20 October 25

Conjurer's new album is the sign of one of the UK's most promising metal bands delivering once again

What happened when Killswitch Engage brought one of the year’s biggest metal lineups to Wembley Arena

Killswitch Engage singer Jesse Leach onstage in 2025

By Matt Mills Published 18 October 25

The venue may not be heaving, but Killswitch Engage, Hatebreed, Fit For An Autopsy and Decapitated still put on a night of top-to-bottom excellence

Concerts & Shows

Coroner’s Dissonance Theory is the smartest thing to come out of thrash metal all year

By Matt Mills Published 17 October 25

On their comeback album Dissonance Theory, Coroner embrace all the speed and brutality of thrash while leaving the cliches at the door

Think Sabaton go on about war too much? Do they have the album for you!

By Holly Wright Published 17 October 25

Sabaton mix it up on album 11

Bleed From Within just played the biggest show of their lives and pulled out all the stops

Scott Kennedy of Bleed From Within singing onstage in 2024

By Matt Mills Published 11 October 25

Bleed From Within hit a new apex at London’s O2 Kentish Town Forum, where they were backed up by special guests, bagpipe players and an uber-passionate audience