Heavy Metal Truants is go!

Our annual charity bike ride from Alexandra Palace to Castle Donington for Download Festival kicked off today.

Nearly 40 cyclists are set off from Alexandra Palace in London this morning for a 162 mile bike ride to the hallowed home of rock and metal – Castle Donington. Made up of bands, fans and various members of the music industry (including our Editor-In-Chief and co-founder Alexander Milas), the Truants are raising money for Nordoff Robbins, Childline, and Teenage Cancer Trust.

Special names joining main man Milas include uber producer Andy Sneap (Testament, Accept, Megadeth), Kev Bower (Hell), Gizz Butt (The More I See), David Silver (Savage Messiah), Aaron Aedy (Paradise Lost) and James Monteith (Tesseract).

They’re currently on their way to Donington and are scheduled to arrive at Download Festival around noon on Friday before a weekend of boozing and heavy metal. If you want to get involved and donate, head over here now. It’s for a great cause. Do it!

Luke Morton joined Metal Hammer as Online Editor in 2014, having previously worked as News Editor at popular (but now sadly defunct) alternative lifestyle magazine, Front. As well as helming the Metal Hammer website for the four years that followed, Luke also helped relaunch the Metal Hammer podcast in early 2018, producing, scripting and presenting the relaunched show during its early days. He also wrote regular features for the magazine, including a 2018 cover feature for his very favourite band in the world, Slipknot, discussing their turbulent 2008 album, All Hope Is Gone.