THE MOST METAL BAND THERE IS

NO IFS. NO BUTS. No arguments. No band has so

THE CROBAR CALLS LAST ORDERS

LAST MONTH, LONDON’S most legendary rock bar announced that it

THE FIGHT FOR BEIRUT

IT WAS THE explosion seen around the world. On August

10 THINGS WE LEARNED THIS MONTH

We may have to wait a while, but how good

DID YOU FEEL SILLY IN THAT MAKE-UP?

WHILE THE REST of the music industry waits out a

BACKXWASH

“THE FIRST THING I wanna shout out is DANNY BROWN’s

SHAVO ODADJIAN

SHAVO ODADJIAN HAS come prepared. “I wrote down a long

EVILE

IT’S BEEN A long slog for Evile. When they released

CHOKE SEPULTURA

UNLUCKY THIRTEEN. OVER 13 years Sepultura had grown from a

STEEL PANTHER ARE COPYING EMPEROR

LONG LIVE THE PRINCE Ozzy just needs to sit back

TALLAH

NU METAL’S HEYDAY seems like a fragmented memory. After its

UADA

IN THE FOUR years since their Devoid Of Light debut,

FROZEN CROWN

HAILING FROM MILAN and packing a full-on mix of power

KILL THE LIGHTS

GOING FROM DRUMMING in one of the UK’s biggest metal

FIT FOR A KING

Metalcore anthems so triumphant you’ll feel able to tear down

IN THE KNOW

I am very excited to see where this power duo

HOARD ALMIGHTY

MOTÖRHEAD’S ICONIC AND catalytic fifth album is celebrating its 40th

Judas Priest ARE 50

The afternoon has hardly begun and the US National Weather

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Judas Priest

“Massive congratulations on 50 years of heavy metal! An incredible

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

Twenty years ago, a wild Mastodon appeared. In honour of

Spiritual pealing

The crowd at 2019’s Lollapalooza festival are primed with a

PERRY FARRELL IS AN ENIGMA

There is a small chance that by the time you’re

THE GREAT ESCAPE

It’s 11pm local time when we call Greg Puciato at

CARRY THE FLAME

Elize Ryd grew up in the Swedish Bible Belt in

THE 20 RAMMSITE GREATEST IN SONGS ...AS VOTED BY YOY!

With the second round of Rammstein’s truly blockbuster Deutschland European

MR. BUNGLE

WORSHIPPED AND ADORED in a way that most bands are

AMIENSUS

This progressive black metal collective have carved out a reputation

ARMORED SAINT

As the missing link between thrash and hard rock during

BRIQUEVILLE

At the heart of Briqueville lies a contradiction: how can

ANAAL NATHRAKH

AFTER 20 YEARS, Brummie noise-mongers Anaal Nathrakh’s 11th record embraces

BENEDICTION

Nearly 30 years on from the release of their seminal

BISMUT

There are innumerable memes about bassists being redundant in metal

BLOODBATHER

Floridian duo Bloodbather make a metallic hardcore racket with a

CHAMBER

Chamber’s nihilistic full-length debut sits somewhere between Iowa-era Slipknot and

ALFONSO CORACE

Alfonso Corace is a Rome-based multi-instrumentalist most notable for playing

CROSS BRINGER

Featuring members from Russia and Belgium, Cross Bringer’s mission is

DAUFØDT

Explosive Nordic metal punks give the new decade a dressing

AUÐN

HAMMER’S RELATIONSHIP WITH the six-man black metal force that is

DEVILDRIVER

OVER THE PAST two decades, Devildriver have cemented their status

DRACONIAN

Exactly five years on from the release of the critically

DROPDEAD

It’s been 22 years since Dropdead’s last full-length, but given

DYSTOPIA

Dystopia’s follow-up to the expansive black metal of 2017’s Chaos

THE ERKONAUTS

Progressive Swiss rockers keep a load of grit in their

EYES

The debut album from Danish self-confessed “hardcore fusionists” Eyes is

FOUR STROKE BARON

When an album opens with a cover of an obscure

GARGOYL

Dave Davidson continues to puncture the parameters of death metal

SMALL MERCIES

The four tracks offered here of material that “didn’t make

EMMA RUTH RUNDLE & THOU

THOU DIVING HEADFIRST into collaborations isn’t a new thing. They’ve

GHOSTEMANE

Ghostemane has been at the forefront of trap metal since

HAMMERFALL

While Hammerfall deliver good studio albums, it’s onstage they come

INFERA BRUO

Rites Of The Nameless is Infera Bruo’s fourth full-length and

IRONED OUT

Formed in 2014 in an effort to shake up the

KHORS

Khors are one of Ukraine’s longest-running black metal bands, but

KING MOTHERSHIP

Periphery’s Spencer Sotelo is breaching uncharted territory with his latest

KINGDOM OF GIANTS

Two Suns is a smart opener for this North Californian

MOLASSESS

AFTER THEIR EMOTIONAL tribute to the sadly departed The Devil’s

PALLBEARER

DEATH AND MISERY have long stalked Pallbearer’s output. Yet the

LA FIN

Over the past decade or so the term ‘post-metal’ has

LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES

Five albums into their career, Like Moths To Flames sound

MÖRK GRYNING

It’s hard to say what was most puzzling about Mörk

WORLD SERVICE

This Cypriot psych act peddle mellow, Eastern-inspired riffing, but undo

MORTA SKULD

Continuing the ferocious renaissance that started with Wounds Deeper Than

MR. BISON

The eye-catching sleeve may look like it should have been

ODOACER

Black metal fans can be notoriously insular, so when musicians

PARADISE IN FLAMES

Paradise In Flames are underdogs who have been bubbling away

PALM READER

IT’S CRAZY TO think that 2020 marks Palm Reader’s 10th

GREG PUCIATO

AFTER SPENDING 16 years as the voice and face of

POSSESSOR

To decode the racket purveyed by these London sideburn farmers,

RÏCÏNN

Not content with boiling metalheads’ piss alongside avant-garde bands Igorrr

RUFF MAJIK

South African fuzz rockers have a rifle through their record

SCORDATURA

Since its creation, death metal has proven to be quite

SEVENDUST

In recent times, Sevendust have released decent albums, but with

SHIBALBA

Shibalba’s new rite is adorned with the baroque painting, At

SIX FEET UNDER

Arguably death metal’s most prolific band, Six Feet Under haven’t

SÓLSTAFIR

SÓLSTAFIR’S MUSIC DOESN’T feel like it’s been written so much

DEVIN TOWNSEND

THOUGH ON A substantially smaller conceptual scale than previous live

SPIRIT ADRIFT

Spirit Adrift are doing to classic metal what Pallbearer did

TALLAH

Tallah’s debut album is not for the fainthearted. The face

TOADEATER

These German anarchist post-black metallers are back for a second

THE UNGUIDED

Sweden’s The Unguided have spent the better part of a

VOUS AUTRES

This French post-black metal duo’s second record emerges only a

WAYFARER

On 2018’s World’s Blood, Wayfarer unveiled an immersive melding of

WYTCH HAZEL

Precision songcraft isn’t necessarily the highest priority in heavy metal

RESURRECTIONS

ON EARLY RITUALS (Listenable) [8], Geordie hellraisers SATAN remaster three

LIVE EVIL

BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2021 DEVIN TOWNSEND, JUDAS PRIEST, MERCYFUL FATE,

LOATHE

Has it been difficult putting out a new album in

A.A. WILLIAMS

“It’s been alright, aside from the pandemic of course. I’ve

LAMB OF GOD WHITECHAPEL/BLEED FROM WITHIN

WHETHER WE LIKE it or not, livestreams are here to

LACUNA COIL

WITNESSING A BAND joyfully getting back to the ‘office’ after

VENOM PRISON

GIVEN HOW FAR they’ve come since opening four-band bills in

ÅRABROT

London promoters Chaos Theory always keep things interesting, and this

HEART OF A COWARD

As the coronavirus continues to cast its dark shadow across

DEVIN TOWNSEND

DEVIN TOWNSEND IS in space. Again. Determined to salvage the

FIVE MINUTES WITH SIMONE SIMONS EPICA

“Missing my family and friends. The silver lining of our