METAL HAMMER

Future PLC, 121 - 141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London,

RITE CLUB

BIRGIT FOSTERVOLD A WOMAN DANCES at the opening

AND THEN THERE WERE THREE!

WHEN BABYMETAL BURST onto the scene with the

MERCH MADNESS

Wear your band merch on October 20and raise money for Rob Halford-endorsed charity Metal For Good

10 THINGS WE LEARNED THIS MONTH

What’s been blowing our tiny brains ARCHITECTS ARE

DID SOMEONE REALLY KIDNAP YOUR CAT?

Immortal mastermind Demonaz answers your questions on stolen moggies, global warming and black metal’s early days

JAKE ONI

From titans of metal to new talent shaping the genre’s future, these songs have given the ONI mastermind food for thought

GREEN LUNG

British occult metallers look to make the leap from cult favourites to heavy metal heroes on album #3

GINA GLEASON

From fronting an all-female Metallica tribute act to sharing stages with The Smashing Pumpkins and Cirque Du Soleil, these are the learnings of Baroness’s chief shredder

IN DUE TIME KILLSWITCH ENGAGE

The song that brought original vocalist Jesse Leach back into the fold and gave Killswitch Engage a second wind

WE ARE NOT WORTHY

…and other anguished howls, cheers, salutations and condemnations you had to offer on last issue’s Within Temptation, Ghost and Hanabie features!

THE BIG DEBATE

With Architects announced for Bloodstock, Louder online overlord

HAMMER STEREO

What’s been blowing our office speakers

NOTHING, NOWHERE.

Former SoundCloud alt-rapper embraces 00s nostalgia on his star-studded new album

BEYOND EXTINCTION

Essex deathcore youngsters fire off barrages of brutality

DIRGE

The Indian band finding catharsis through emotional post-metal

PEST CONTROL

Spiky 80s style crossover thrash from the north of England

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

THE POWER OF THREE

In April, Babymetal welcomed third member Momometal to the band and began their next chapter as a trio once more. But what’s next, and what’s all this about spin-off band Metalverse?

MOTORBIKE-STRADDLING, DEFECATION-INDUCING, FRED DURST-APPROVED DIGITAL PUNK-METAL NOISE? WARGASM HAVE GOT IT COVERED.

At a party somewhere in London, the clock

WARGASM MATHS!

THE REVENGE OF DAVE MUSTAINE

Forty years ago, Megadeth emerged from a maelstrom of drugs, carnage and raw fury. Now, the man at the centre of it looks back at the birth of one of metal’s most iconic bands

A ROCK STAR IS BORN?

He’s headlined Wembley. He worships the rock gods. He wears a goddamn bandana. But is Beartooth’s Caleb Shomo ready to embrace being a rock star, once and for all?

BRAVE NEW WORLD

A dizzying concept, an imagined world, virtual reality and AI – with War Of Being, Tesseract have made the most ambitious prog metal album of the year

BLAZE BAYLEY

His motorcycle was set on fire mid-gig, he’s clashed with super-producer Rick Rubin, replaced Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden and fought back after a major heart attack - we speak to metal’s great survivor

''ARE YOU A QUITTER A GR NOT?"

That’s the question Code Orange asked themselves when the hype around fourth album Underneath was squashed by the pandemic. Now they’re taking another shot at breakthrough success

CODE ORANGE

Code Orange: the curse of Reddit scene purists

COREY TAYLOR

Corey Taylor and crew: first among sequels PRESS/PAMELA

ASINHELL

Asinhell put their HM-2 pedals back to the

BARONESS

Baroness are still in a class of their

SMALL MERCIES

Where EP is short for ‘Epic Potential’

BLOOD COMMAND

Blood Command limber up for another assault on

CANNIBAL CORPSE

Cannibal Corpse: still going out on a limb

KK’S PRIEST

KK’s Priest stake their claim as the metal

NERVOSA

Nervosa: back to ensure all Hell breaks loose

STARBENDERS

Starbenders have their own reasons for destroying TV

SVALBARD

Svalbard expose themselves to the darkest regions of

TESSERACT

Tesseract’s new album has entered a higher dimension

PRIMORDIAL

Primordial put all their energy into civilisation’s elegy

ARCTANGENT 2023

FERNHILL FARM, COMPTON MARTIN

BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR

CATTON HALL, DERBYSHIRE

CHAT PILE

THE ST. PIERRE SNAKE INVASION / SUGAR HORSE 

HANABIE

KNIFE BRIDE

LIMP BIZKIT

Nu metal’s former riot starters restore the faith in north London

RADAR FESTIVAL

O2 VICTORIA WAREHOUSE, MANCHESTER

FIVE MINUTES WITH SCENE QUEEN

The Bimbocore innovator shares her thoughts on British culture, sugar daddies and Barbie