WHAT DRUG WOULD YOU LEGALISE?

YUP. TEN YEARS.

DON’T WORRY, THOUGH, you haven’t completely lost the

MEET THE BAND

STEPHEN HILL WRITER For his biggest cover feature

SILVER SCREAMS

(C) ANDY PHILLIPS TAKEN FROM THE Rock Photographers

CORONATION STREET EXPLORES SOPHIE LANCASTER-INSPIRED STORYLINE

The iconic British soap opera has introduced a storyline where goth characters are attacked in a hate crime, which was inspired by the tragic killing of Sophie Lancaster in 2007

10 THINGS WE LEARNED THIS MONTH

What’s been blowing our tiny brains

LUCAS WOODLAND

The Holding Absence frontman guides us through his top tunes, from metalcore anthems to nostalgic throwbacks

SATYR

The frontman of Norwegian black metal legends Satyricon talks stamina, dedication and getting close with nature

JINJER

With their highly anticipated fourth album, the Ukrainian metallers are out to “create a new genre of extreme music”. We’re intrigued

MAN ON THE EDGE BY IRON MAIDEN

When Bruce Dickinson left, the NWOBHM titans entered their darkest days. Then Blaze Bayley gave them their first light in the black

BALA

Spanish firebrands tear up the genre rulebooks

I DON’T GET GOJIRA

And other alarming opinions you opted to share with us this month

THE BIG DEBATE

In issue 346, Serena Cherry from Svalbard gave us some hardhitting truths on representation in the metal scene, and why it needs to change

HAMMER STEREO

What’s been blowing our office speakers

CRYPTOSIS

Forward-thinking futuristic brutalists explore a nightmare vision of tomorrow

ZETRA

Shadowy goth London duo deal in mystery, intrigue and cassette tapes

CHOVU

Kenyan extreme metallers uncover the ancient arts of witchcraft

GHOSTS OF MEN

No bullshit, no pretence, no fucking about – just massive rock’n’roll riffs

WE’RE WOLVES

What your favourite bands are listening to

HOARD ALMIGHTY

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

10 YEARS OF BABYMETAL

MICK HUTSON Last month, Babymetal played the last

I: IN THE BEGINNING

Four years before Babymetal stunned the world with Gimme Chocolate!!, the seeds of a legend were being sown

WHEN THRASH CONQUERED THE WORLD

Thirty years ago, thrash’s biggest names set their egos aside for Clash Of The Titans : an epic package tour that would put their scene on the world stage like never before

CALEB SHOMO

He was only a teenager when Attack Attack! hit the headlines for their crabcore, and then he became Beartooth’s mastermind. Caleb’s packed a hell of a lot into 28 years

“We’re from another fucking Pl|An|Et!”

Mudvayne are back! To celebrate, we dug out their first Metal Hammer interview, from the year 2000, when Hammer’s Daniel Lane jetted to Atlanta to work out how four facepainted fiends had become metal’s unlikeliest nu superstars

FEAR IS THE MIND KILLER

Scottish progressive metallers Dvne ditched their singer to pursue their dream of writing about...sci-fi?! What the fuck is Etemen Aenka all about, and why does it sound so incredible?

II: UK TAKEOVER

Following the success of Gimme Chocolate!!, Babymetal finally landed in the UK, and things were never the same again

HERMAN LI

Dragonforce’s shredder extraordinaire explains how he became one of Babymetal’s biggest champions and even wrote a song with them

KITSUNES UP!

Earlier this month we put out a message asking for Babymetal’s biggest fans to send us their photos and stories. You didn’t disappoint

III: GLOBAL CONQUEST

From hitting America to sharing stages with metal legends, the Babymetal hype train became a juggernaut

ROB HALFORD

The Metal God fell in love with Babymetal when he heard them early on.  Then they got to play together

DOKI DOKI MERCHANDISE

We tracked down some of the rarest Babymetal merch. Good luck finding it, and may the Fox God be with you

IV: METAL GALAXY

From Glastonbury to the Galaxy itself, with their third album, it seemed nowhere was immune from Babymetal

GRANT GELT

He’s the mastermind behind Babymetal’s NFT trading cards. So who better to explain what they’re all about?

THE BIG REVIEW

We sent Japanese correspondent Ryosuke Arakane to the final night of Babymetal’s epic 10-gig stint at the legendary Budokan in Tokyo. Here’s what went down

FEAR FACTORY

□□ Fear Factory: can they still chime with the

GO AHEAD AND DIE

Go Ahead And Die tap into a wellspring

NOCTULE

Serena Cherry over-thinks her next move in Skyrim

OUR HOLLOW, OUR HOME

Our Hollow, Our Home make a collective show

PERTURBATOR

James Kent uncovers the bleak in the sleek

WORLD SERVICE

Heavy metal uprisings from around the globe

RED FANG

Red Fang: Portland’s 12th best quiz team JAMES

SOMNURI

Somnuri’s riffs stand at the high end of

KORN

STRANGER THINGS: THE DRIVE INTO EXPERIENCE, LOS ANGELES,

ROADBURN REDUX

VARIOUS VENUES/O13, TILBURG The Netherlands’ revered

PUSCIFER

MAYAN THEATER, LOS ANGELES Maynard James Keenan’s

POPPY

UNKNOWN VENUE, LOS ANGELES Avant-pop/metal crossover queen

AARON BEAM RED FANG

The Red Fang vocalist/bassist talks mindfulness, stability and crystal meth