KK’S PRIEST

Metal Hammer

Future PLC, 121 - 141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington,

WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR?

PIONEERS OF SYMPHONIC metal, Dutch band Within Temptation

BULLS OF STEEL

PRESS/NETWORK RAIL A GIANT METAL bull named Ozzy

GOING TO BRAZIL

From gang rivalry to Sepultura’s rise, new book United Forces explores Brazil’s extreme metal scene in the 80s

HOW DOES IT FEEL TO START AGAIN?

K.K. Downing is back with KK’s Priest – but how will he fare against your questions on guitars, Judas Priest and superior biscuits?

CHRIS HARMS

Aerosmith, Iron Maiden and Soilwork have all left their mark on Lord Of The Lost’s larger-than-life frontman

SVALBARD

Britain’s premier blackened post-metallers are going extra dark with album number four

TOBIAS FORGE

LIFE LESSONS

SOLITUDE CANDLEMASS

THE STORY BEHIND

WE DEMAND BEEF!

YOUR SHOUT

SHEPHERDS REIGN

NEW NOISE

CRYPTA

NEW NOISE

OTTTO

Crossover thrash, melodic hardcore and alt rock collide in electrifying LA band’s debut

WALLOWING

Extreme metal weirdos explore strange new worlds

ALLFATHER

The Kent quartet using sludgy thrash metal to rightfully bludgeon the far right

IN THE KNOW

What your favourite bands are listening to

HOARD ALMIGHTY

Box sets, underground oddities and all the essential merch you need this month

STAND UP AND SHOUT

It would be easy for Within Temptation to coast on their reputation as symphonic metal veterans. Instead, new album Bleed Out is a daring rallying cry for freedom

A Gothic Romance

Inspiring Heartagram tattoos and celebrity adoration, Love Metal was the masterpiece that took Him from Finnish unknowns to the buzz band on everyone’s lips

I rowed a boot in the Hrctic Sea at Gom!"

Ville Valo talks us through every track on Love Metal

COREY TAYLOR

Broken necks, melting masks, and booze-fuelled near-death experiences – welcome to the chaotic life of an icon

THE Prince OF WALES

Skindred’s Benji Webbe loves Newport and Newport loves Benji Webbe right back. And the city’s favourite son is about to give Metal Hammer his personal guided tour

CAN YOU FEEL MY HEART?

When Vexed frontwoman Megan Targett lost her grandpa, the band wrote an EP about thinking positive. Insincere and hollow, they scrapped it to make one of 2023’s most authentic albums

LIFE AFTER METAL

Watchmaking, surgery, working on Love Island and standing in for Daniel Craig – these musicians prove that walking away from bands can lead down some interesting career paths

NOISE bastard NOISE

Biffy Clyro, Dave Lombardo and a whole lot of rage – this is how Simon Neil and Mike Vennart conjured up Empire State Bastard, 2023’s most unlikely extreme metal supergroup

THE REVIEWS

PICTURE: JOHN McMURTRIE 96 IRON MAIDEN London’s ageless

EMPIRE STATE BASTARD

Rivers Of Heresy

ALT BLK ERA

Freak Show

ASKING ALEXANDRIA

Where Do We Go From Here?

CRYPTOPSY

As Gomorrah Burns

SMALL MERCIES

Where EP is short for ‘Epic Potential’

DETHKLOK

Deathalbum IV / Metalocalypse: Army Of The Doomstar

DYING FETUS

Make Them Beg For Death

KVELERTAK

Endling

ORBIT CULTURE

Descent

SHEPHERDS REIGN

Ala Mai

SYLOSIS

A Sign Of Things To Come

IRON MAIDEN

LORD OF THE LOST

UK TECH-FEST 2023

NEWARK SHOWGROUND, NEWARK

SPIRITBOX

LOATHE / BRAND OF SACRIFICE

KISS

SKINDRED

GUNS N’ ROSES

HYDE PARK, LONDON

DANNY WORSNOP ASKING ALEXANDRIA

The frontman talks new music, fans having sex at shows, and pissing off conservative Christians in the Bible Belt

ATOMIC FIRE

www.atomicfire-records.com

LIVE NATION

LIVENATION.CO.UK

EMPIRE STATE BASTARD

empirestatebastard.com roadrunnerrecords.co.uk

SLIPKNOT

SLIPKNOT1.COM ROADRUNNERRECORDS.CO.UK

SONY MUSIC

www.CENTURYMEDIA.com

Metal Hammer

WWW.MAGAZINESDIRECT.COM/MHBUNDLE

NUCLEARBLAST

www.nuclearblast.de

NAPALMRECORDS

NAPALMRECORDS.COM

DEBEMUR-MORTI

WWW.DEBEMUR-MORTI.COM

HAMMER

magazines direct

magazinesdirect.com

Hammer

SUMER SAVING

www.magazinesdirect.com/summer23

ROCK HAMMER PROG BLUES

LOUDERSOUND.COM

UNDERWORLD

NAPALM RECORDS

NAPALMRECORDS.COM