SMALL MERCIES

I WAS THERE

SAT ABOUT 50 feet away from James Hetfield, as he

PARKWAY KISS THEIR NERVES GOODBYE

SEPTEMBER MARKS FIVE years since Parkway Drive released the album

DOWNLOAD’S BACK!

AS METAL HAMMER went to press this month, we were

10 THINGS WE LEARNED THIS MONTH

Their epic livestream was the best thing metal has produced

WHO’D WIN A BATTLE ROYALE?

THIS YEAR HAS been one for the books for Code

THE SLAYLIST JESSE LEACH

“MINOR THREAT WERE the first band that made me want

BARNEY GREENWAY

AS THE FRONTMAN of Brummie grindcore pioneers Napalm Death, Mark

PALLBEARER

A DECADE AGO, it seemed unfeasible that the funereal sounds

ONLY FOR THE WEAK BY IN FLAMES

“I HAVE SO many memories of this song,” In Flames

I CAN’T TAKE DRIVE-IN GIGS SERIOUSLY

Sorry, I just can’t take this ‘drive-in gig’ stuff seriously

BACKXWASH

“I THINK GENRE lines are blurring all the time,” says

DEADTHRONE

SOUND LIKE: If Amity Affliction got in a fist-fight with

DEITY’S MUSE

SOUNDS LIKE: Where 90s hard rock meets melody-led modern prog

WILDERUN

A dense, wild ride that continually pulls the rug from

HYBORIAN

THOUGHTFUL, HOARY AND above all heavy, Kansas City metallers Hyborian

IN THE KNOW

“THEY USED TO be in a rock band, they’re not

HOARD ALMIGHTY

NEVER ONES TO let a good idea go to waste,

“WE DIDN’T SEE IT COMING”

“That tour was just incredible for us. Soldout stadiums, we

“HE HAD A HEART OF GOLD”

The acclaimed singer, guitarist and actor Lynda Kay was born

THE CIRCUS LEAVES TOWN

Agilded throne rises up from Download’s main stage, bearing Avatar

THE 20 BEST DOWNLOAD SETS EVER

Since launching in 2003, Download Festival has become a firm

FROM THE DEPTHS

Between 2018 and 2019, all the original members of Oceans

Blue is the new Black

When asked where the melancholy in her beautiful, downbeat songs

The Roots of All Evil

The awe has its own force of gravity. The three

EMPIRE STATES

The awe has its own force of gravity. The three

METALLICA

AN INSATIABLE APPETITE for risk and a commitment to innovation

ACROSS THE SWARM

Italian death metallers get back to business after a six-year

BLACK ELEPHANT

Just when you’re getting used to a gig-free world, Black

BLUES PILLS

Things have changed in the Blues Pills camp since 2016’s

OCEANS OF SLUMBER

IT SEEMS PRETTY likely that we will all remember 2020

BRIMSTONE COVEN

This Ohio trio have spent nearly a decade honing their

CONCRETE

Concrete seem intent on stuffing as many extreme metal ideas

CURSES

This Virginia progressive tech-metal quintet cultivate a Jekyll and Hyde-like

DEAD LORD

It wasn’t just the overabundant Thin Lizzy references but the

BACKXWASH

God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out

CULT OF LILITH

ICELAND’S MAGNIFICENT VISTAS and bleak isolation lend its musical artists

DEATHCAVE

Formed in 2018, Deathcave may be new kids on the

DUMA

Fusing cybergrind, breakcore, trap and noise, Nairobi duo Duma are

DUNWICH

This debut from Russian three-piece Dunwich opens with Glow -

FACELESS BURIAL

The more you dig into Aussie death metallers Faceless Burial,

FIGURES

The debut album from this Melbourne alt-metal quintet expands on

HUMAVOID

In an area where bands are brewing innovation on every

INCANTATION

Incantation have always been standard bearers for death metal at

IHSAHN

IF THE PURSUIT of beauty doesn’t seem to be a

INSIGHT

Though short-lived, Insight left an indelible mark on hardcore, being

JUPITERIAN

The mantric clang ushering in Jupiterian’s second LP holds a

KATAVASIA

Five years on from their early debut, Sacrilegious Testament, this

LUNA’S CALL

They may have evolved in relative obscurity, but Luna’s Call

MERCURY CIRCLE

Swallow The Sun keyboard player ekes out a new strain

NARROW HEAD

The influence of early 90s shoegaze on the metal world

NEXT LIFE

Blip. Bloop. Next Life pretty much invented the video game/metal

KILL THE LIGHTS

BULLET FROM MY Valentine drummer/founder Michael ‘Moose’ Thomas’s departure from

ORBIT CULTURE

AFTER BEING AROUND for the majority of the last decade,

NONEXIST

Despite being 20 years in, Nonexist haven’t truly come into

NUG

Nug sounds like it should be the name of a

PAIN OF SALVATION

InsideOut’s boast of Panther being “the epitome of a modern

WORLD SERVICE

On hiatus from Saudi death-doomsters Grieving Age, Ghassan Al Fudail

PUTRID OFFAL

Given their 2015 debut, Mature Necropsy, was 24 years in

PRIMITIVE MAN

The latest slab of longform misery from these sludge hellions

RAVENED

Experience generally bests youth in heavy metal, but these aspiring

SEETHER

Over the last two decades, Seether have barely deviated from

SKELETAL REMAINS

LA’s death metal harriers bring the power of the old

TOMORROW’S RAIN

THE STORY OF Israeli death/doom sextet Tomorrow’s Rain makes for

SELF HYPNOSIS

This collaboration between Kris Clayton (Esoteric, Camel Of Doom) and

SERPENT OMEGA

Serpent Omega’s creatively titled second full-length is a curious mix

SHARPTOOTH

Need another young hardcore band to get excited about? Baltimore

SLOMOSA

According to legend, Slomosa were signed straight after their first

SPOOK THE HORSES

Spook The Horses do away with the usual band format

TITAN TO TACHYONS

You might need a protractor handy to get the exact

UNIFORM

Have you ever wondered what the protagonists of the pulp

RESURRECTIONS

TYNESIDE TERRORS VENOM occupy a special place in our hearts,

ULVER

DARKTHRONE DIDN’T GO disco. Mayhem never went funk. Of all

UNLEASH THE ARCHERS

Unleash The Archers have always excelled live, but thanks to

VENOMOUS CONCEPT

The first thing you’ll notice about Politics Versus The Erection

ZAKK SABBATH

Ozzy Osbourne axeman goes full fanboy for the Godfathers Of

LIVE EVIL

DEVIN TOWNSEND, JUDAS PRIEST, SAXON, BURY TOMORROW, SKINDRED, DARK TRANQUILLITY,

TRIVIUM

What were your feelings when you realised you wouldn’t be

DESTRUCTION

Schmier (bass/vocals): “We decided to release a spontaneous live record!

TRIVIUM

Florida’s heavy metal hitters lead the livestream into a new

WACKEN WORLD WIDE

A slightly glitchy service doesn’t detract from a well-curated online

BETTER NOISE MUSIC FESTIVAL

Mötley Crüe, Five Finger Death Punch and Papa Roach make

ENSIFERUM

Billed as a “practice session with fans”, ENSIFERUM mark their

VOICES

South London’s VOICES have bravely voyaged across the Thames to

HARLEY FLANAGAN CRO-MAGS

“Being in a band! It’s like being married to a