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THE BIG PICTURE IT’S A BOMBER!

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AMASSIVE YEAR FOR METAL

HOW IS IT the end of the year

METAL HAMMER

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DOWNLOAD TURNS 21!

Avenged Sevenfold might be Download Festival 2024’s only metal headliner, but with Machine Head, Babymetal and so many more on the bill already, there’s still plenty to love!

HOW MANY BANDANAS DO YOU OWN?

Caleb Shomo takes your questions on rock’n’roll fashion, ice cream and meeting Disturbed’s David Draiman

SOPHIE LLOYD

The shredder extraordinaire talks learning Mötley Crüe, working with Steel Panther and her love-hate relationship with Eruption

MARK TREMONTI

The post-grunge guitar hero shares parables from his time with Creed and Alter Bridge through to his solo band and beyond

WARNING SKINDRED

THE STORY BEHIND

ARCH ENEMY

IHSAHN

IN THE STUDIO

NEW NOISE SiM

The Japanese reggae/nu metal fusion band finally taking the world by storm after almost 20 years – thanks to anime Attack On Titan

ASINHELL

NEW NOISE ROUND-UP

CREAK

Newcastle’s nu-metalcore bruisers offer a message of unity amid an ear-splitting racket

CELESTIAL SANCTUARY

The Cavalera-endorsed band leading the next gen of British death metal

BODY VOID

New England industrial doom trio focused on America’s capitalist atrocities

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

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Fightstar

METAL’S BIG HITTERS REIGNED SUPREME

We had Metallica’s comeback album and mega world tour, plus Iron Maiden’s Future Past run. But a wave of rising bands also delivered the goods, shoring up metal’s next generation

METALLICA MADE AN EPIC COMEBACK

72 Seasons, Spinal Tap stage sets and celebrity moshpits – Rob Trujillo looks back on Metallica’s blockbusting year

OZZY RETIRED (OR DID HE?)

The Double O stepped back from touring… but he’s started work on a new album

BARBIE TOOK OVER THE WORLD

A blockbusting movie meant Mattel’s iconic doll was everywhere in 2023 – and metal wasn’t immune to Barbiegeddon

IRON MAIDEN BRIDGED THE PAST AND THE FUTURE

THE YEAR THAT

SLIPKNOT WERE EVEN MORE CHAOTIC THAN USUAL

THE YEAR THAT

DOWNLOAD SHOOK THINGS UP MASSIVELY

THE YEAR THAT

METAL WENT TO THE BALLET

THE YEAR THAT

NU METAL 2.0 RULED EVERYTHING

THE YEAR THAT

LORD OF THE LOST BROUGHT BLOOD, GLITTER AND LATEX TO EUROVISION

THE YEAR THAT

A FARTING SLEEP TOKEN FAN WENT VIRAL

THE YEAR THAT

AVENGED SEVENFOLD TOOK A RISK

THE YEAR THAT

VOICE OF BACEPROT WENT STATESIDE

THE YEAR THAT

MERCH CUTS GOT OUT OF HAND

THE YEAR THAT

GHOST STEPPED UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL

THE YEAR THAT

THE 50 BEST ALBUMS OF 2023

From veterans to new bands, we listened to all the records released this year. Welcome to our definitive list of the greats.

50 BLOOD CEREMONY

The Old Ways Remain

49 CANNIBAL CORPSE

Chaos Horrific

48 BURNER

It All Returns To Nothing

47HORRENDOUS

Ontological Mysterium

46AHAB

The Coral Tombs

45 SPIRIT ADRIFT

Ghost At The Gallows

44 FOO FIGHTERS

But Here We Are

43 HELLRIPPER

Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags

42 KHANATE

To Be Cruel

ORBIT CULTURE

The Swedes polished their melodeath – with a little help from their fellow countrymen

41 KK’S PRIEST

The Sinner Rides Again

40 ORBIT CULTURE

Descent

39 MUTOID MAN

Mutants

38 ZULU

A New Tomorrow

ZULU

By calling for unity and expanding the reach of the scene, the LA newcomers revitalised hardcore

37 VOYAGER

Fearless In Love

36 MAGGOT HEART

Hunger

35 SYLOSIS

A Sign Of Things To Come

34 WITHIN TEMPTATION

BleedOut

MAGGOT HEART

When pain pushed Linnéa Olsson to the point of exhaustion, she wrote her most personal album yet

33 KEN MODE

Void

GAMES OF THE YEAR

Terror? Demons? Gore? Here ya go…

32 BLACK BRAID

BlackbraidII

31 OXBOW

Love’sHoliday

30 GRAVE PLEASURES

Plagueboys

29 PERIPHERY

V:DjentIsNotAGenre

28 PUPIL SLICER

Blossom

26 TOMB MOLD

The Enduring Spirit

25 DØDHEIMSGARD

BlackMediumCurrent

27 ENSLAVED

Heimdal

EPs OF THE YEAR

The shorter releases that lingered in our minds

24 BLOOD COMMAND

WorldDomination

23 OBITUARY

Dying Of Everything

22 TWIN TEMPLE

GodIs Dead

21 VEXED

Negative Energy

20 PRIMORDIAL

HowItEnds

19KATATONIA

Sky Void Of Stars

18 SKINDRED

Smile

WYTCH HAZEL

Driven by a love for 80s metal and Jesus Christ, the Lancashire foursome made a surprisingly universal record

17 WYTCH HAZEL

IV:Sacrament

MYRKUR

Amalie Bruun upended convention once again, on a poppier album that explored social bonds

16 GODFLESH

Purge

15 VV

NeonNoir

14 EMPIRE STATE BASTARD

Rivers Of Heresy

13 URNE

A Feast On Sorrow

12 CATTLE DECAPITATION

Terrasite

11 MYRKUR

Spine

10 ROYAL THUNDER

Rebuilding The Mountain

9 BARONESS

Stone

8 GREEN LUNG

This Heathen Land

7 TESSERACT

War Of Being

6 SVALBARD

The Weight Of The Mask

5 METALLICA

72 Seasons

4 SLEEP TOKEN

Take Me Back To Eden

GIGS OF THE YEAR

All the stuff that made us go hard in the pit

CODE ORANGE

Pittsburgh’s metallic hardcore crew took their second shot at a breakthrough record

3 CODE ORANGE

The Above

2 AVENGED SEVENFOLD

Life Is But A Dream...

1 CREEPER

Sanguivore

CREEPER

With its high-concept vampire story, Jim Steinman worship and overriding sense of fun, the quintet united the critics

HEALTH

Rat Wars

BJØRKØ

Heartrot

COBRA SPELL

666

DEATHCODE SOCIETY

Unlightenment

ATREYU

The Beautiful Dark Of Life

FULL OF HELL AND NOTHING

When No Birds Sang

FUTURE STATIC

Liminality

GNAW THEIR TONGUES

The Cessation Of Suffering

HARMAGEDON

DystopianDreams

INCULTER

Morbid Origin

LEONOV

Procession

LITHA

Litha

SMALL MERCIES

Where EP is short for ‘Epic Potential’

DIMMU BORGIR

Inspiratio Profanus

MAVIS

Grief Is No Ally

NYRST

Völd

ORPHANED LAND

A Heaven You May Create (LiveInTelAviv)

RAGE BEHIND

Eminence Or Disgrace

TORRENTIAL RAIN

Digital Dreams

UNPROCESSED

...And Everything In Between

VOID

Jadjow

HELGA

Wrapped In Mist

DAMNATION FESTIVAL 2023

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BEYOND THE REDSHIFT

THE FORUM / THE DOME, LONDON

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PUPIL SLICER / GOING OFF DEVIL’S DOG, BIRMINGHAM

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SYLOSIS / GUILT TRIP / JUSTICE FOR THE DAMNED THE FORUM, LONDON

CLOWN CORE

THE FORUM, LONDON

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NEX _FEST

MAKUHARI MESSE, TOKYO

SHARON DEN ADEL WITHIN TEMPTATION

The iconic frontwoman talks fungi fashion, sexy Within Temptation songs, and how the band are plotting world domination in 2024

FUTURE

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METAL HAMMER

SONY MUSIC

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