EDEN. LA. WEMBLEY.

IN 2017, I heard a track called Calcutta

MEET THE BAND

ANDY FORD PHOTOGRAPHER We threw an ambitious brief

SUITE LEAF

PRESS/JOHAN PERSSON METAL AND BALLET aren’t usual bedfellows,

THE OSBOURNES ARE BACK!

The famous family have reunited for new episodes of their podcast, with conversations about Ozzy’s health and, erm, pets eating their own poo…

10 THINGS WE LEARNED THIS MONTH

What’s been blowing our tiny brains THE SMASHING

WHAT’S THE MOST INTERESTING ANIMAL YOU’VE EVER KEPT?

Comedian, actor and multi-instrumentalist Bill Bailey takes your questions on concept albums, classic metal and critters

LZZY HALE

Taking singing cues from the likes of Heart and Soundgarden, these are the songs that changed the Halestorm icon’s life

AMARANTHE

Style-shifting Swedish metallers promise their most futuristic and ambitious album to date

MARIA BRINK

The In This Moment vocalist shares her thoughts on chasing your dreams, owning your past and why bigger is always better

SNAP YOUR FINGERS, SNAP YOUR NECK PRONG

The club metal anthem that gave them a taste of the success their New York peers were enjoying in the early 90s

UNITYTX

They’re the Texan band mixing hardcore and hip hop in exciting new ways – and making space for minority artists in the process

MILITARIE GUN

The LA mob pushing the boundaries of melodic hardcore

NEGATIVE VORTEX

Former Brazilian goregrind pioneers give death-doom a makeover

DAEDRIC

The Texan artist taking The Elder Scrolls on a nu-industrial trip

AGRICULTURE

Happy-go-lucky black metallers trade misanthropy and nihilism for spiritual optimism

HOARD ALMIGHTY

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

"IF I DON'T FEEL ANYTHING THEN WHY WOULD I EVEN DO THIS?"

A hit album, viral videos, secret listening sessions, an upcoming arena show – 2023 has been the year of Sleep Token. Hammer joins them in Los Angeles to hear Vessel finally speak

OBJECTS OF DESIRE

Members of Sleep Token’s fan community are showing their devotion to Vessel and co by creating amazing sculptures, tarot decks, battle jackets and more

BRING ME TO LIFE

Amy Lee was an unknown singer-songwriter until Fallen catapulted Evanescence to stardom. This is the inside story of a 21st-century masterpiece

FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK

80,000 people have gathered in the desert to watch AC/DC, Metallica, Iron Maiden, GN’R, Tool and Judas Priest play the ultimate festival. Welcome to Power Trip

ERIK DANIELSSON

THE HAMMER INTERVIEW

WELCOME TO THE bimbocore ERA

She’s invented her own sorority, warms up by

CHANTING FOR VENGEANCE

They perform rituals, invoke evil spirits, and even have a nun in their line-up – meet Dharma, Taiwan’s rising Buddhist metal band

HAPPINESS IS A WARM FUZZBOX

They saved their label Sub Pop from going bust and inspired the Seattle sound, and Mudhoney’s filthy tones are still as sweet as ever

SPIRITBOX

The Fear Of Fear RISE/PALE CHORD

AUTARKH

Emergent SEASON OF MIST

AUTOPSY

Ashes, Organs, Blood And Crypts PEACEVILLE

BRIQUEVILLE

IIII PELAGIC

HAWXX

Earth, Spit, Blood And Bones SELF-RELEASED

CARNATION

Cursed Mortality SEASON OF MIST

CRUCIAMENTUM

Obsidian Refractions PROFOUND LORE

DOGMA

Dogma MNRK HEAVY

DYING WISH

Symptoms Of Survival SHARPTONE

EFRAAH ENHSIKAAH

One Thousand Vultures Waiting To Be Fed OSMOSE PRODUCTIONS

EX EVERYTHING

Slow Change Will Pull Us Apart NEUROT RECORDINGS

HELMET

Left EARMUSIC

LAANG

Riluo TALHEIM

FALSE FED

Let Them Eat Fake NEUROT RECORDINGS

FUMING MOUTH

Last Day Of Sun NUCLEAR BLAST

GAMA BOMB

Bats PROSTHETIC

HINAYANA

Shatter And Fall NAPALM

HOLLOW FRONT

The Fear Of Letting Go UNFD

HORSEWHIP

Consume And Burn IODINE RECORDINGS

HOURHOUSE

Gold Tooth Guru UNFD

SMALL MERCIES

Where EP is short for ‘Epic Potential’

JO QUAIL

Invocation / Supplication

JORD

Tundra HAMMERHEART

MASTER’S CALL

A Journey For The Damned FIREFLASH

MESSIER 16

Death Poems SELF-RELEASED

MORNE

Engraved With Pain METAL BLADE

MORTUARY DRAPE

Black Mirror PEACEVILLE

NIGHT CROWNED

Tales NOBLE DEMON

PLAGUEMACE

Reptilian Warlords NAPALM

TETRAGRAMMACIDE

Typho-Tantric Aphorisms From The Arachneophidian Qur’an IRON BONEHEAD PRODUCTIONS

TRIUMPH OF DEATH

Resurrection Of The Flesh NOISE/BMG

ALBUM REVIEWS

RILE Pessimist CHURCH ROAD Salt Lake City trio

WORLD SERVICE

Heavy metal uprisings from around the globe

UNDERDARK

MANAGED DECLINE CHURCH ROAD

WATAIN

Die In Fire – Live In Hell NUCLEAR BLAST

RESURRECTIONS

Unearthing the latest metal reissues

WHILE SHE SLEEPS

BURY TOMORROW / POLARIS ALEXANDRA PALACE, LONDON

BETTER LOVERS

BLANKET THE DOME, LONDON

PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS

LAMBRINI GIRLS / BONNACONS OF DOOM O2 RITZ, MANCHESTER

SHINING (NOR)

FIVE THE HIEROPHANT THE UNDERWORLD, LONDON

LORD OF THE LOST

ESOTERICA KK’S STEEL MILL, WOLVERHAMPTON

LINGUA IGNOTA

JO QUAIL / HIDE ISLINGTON ASSEMBLY HALL, LONDON

MUNICIPAL WASTE

GEL / UNDEATH

VEXED PULSE

DEVIL’S DOG, BIRMINGHAM Tech metallers PULSE do their

WIND ROSE

ALL FOR METAL / SEVEN KINGDOMS 229, LONDON

NUMETAL MAYHEM

THE BENDIGO HOTEL, MELBOURNE

DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 3, MANCHESTER

VADER VOMITORY

THE UNDERWORLD, LONDON

PAIN

ENSIFERUM / ELEINE / RYUJIN ISLINGTON ACADEMY, LONDON

FIVE MINUTES WITH DAVE HUNT ANAAL NATHRAKH

The extreme metal maverick talks the band’s future, grotesque artwork and penetrating pop culture