Metal Hammer, the world's biggest metal media brand, is turning 40 and will be marking the occasion by kicking off a full year of celebrations. Starting with an exclusive industry party set to take place in London this week, Hammer will be unveiling a series of special events, collaborations, tie-ins, new brand extensions and more, with 40 separate activations in total set to launch across the coming twelve months.
"Reaching our 40th anniversary is incredible!" says Metal Hammer Editor, Eleanor Goodman. "Be it honouring legends like Black Sabbath, Metallica and Iron Maiden or platforming exciting younger artists in the scene today like Spiritbox, Orbit Culture and Castle Rat, from the UK and US to Australia, mainland Europe, Africa and Asia, we've been proud to fly the flag for metal in all its forms across the last four decades.
"We've got so much fun stuff planned for the coming weeks and months to mark this amazing milestone, and we can't wait to celebrate it all with the people that matter most - our incredible readers and community who have kept Metal Hammer going through the years. Thank you for your support - we're only just getting started."
The UK edition of Metal Hammer magazine was founded in 1986, growing to become the world's foremost authority on metal. Over its four-decade lifespan, it's helped break dozens of household name bands, including Korn, Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, Trivium, Lamb Of God, Nightwish, Babymetal, Ghost and Sleep Token.
In 2003, Hammer launched its own awards show, the Golden Gods, which ran for 15 years and saw attendance from the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Slipknot, Iron Maiden, Bring Me The Horizon, Kiss, Motörhead, Def Leppard, Motley Crue and more, with film, TV and pop culture stars including Sir Christopher Lee, Bill Bailey, Triple H, Brian Blessed and Jessica Pimentel also celebrated with special awards over the years.
During the 2000s and 2010s, the brand launched a series of acclaimed tours including the Defenders Of The Faith tour, which ran for four editions and featured the likes of Lamb Of God, Five Finger Death Punch, Trivium and Ghost on its lineups, plus an extreme metal off-shoot, Destroyers Of The Faith, and the Metal Hammer Razor tour, which spotlighted upcoming bands in the British metal scene.
Metal Hammer was also one of the first major music brands to launch its own podcast in 2009, as well as hosting the Metal Hammer Radio Show from 2013-2018 and a historic Spotify collaboration, In Residence, in 2016.
In recent years Metal Hammer has launched its own store featuring exclusive designs and collaborations with major metal artists, as well as becoming a key commercial partner of Danny Wimmer Presents, the North American festival company behind the likes of Louder Than Life, Aftershock and Sonic Temple.
Metal Hammer's 40th anniversary celebrations will see the brand return to more fan-focused events and tie-ins, with plenty more announcements due in the coming weeks. Watch this space. 🤘
