Latest articles by Holly Wright
Sleep Token's new album Even In Arcadia is ambitious, intense and painfully honest
Sleep Token's fourth album takes a stark look at Vessel's fame while dabbling in the kind of genre-mashing that will delight some fans and shock others
Lacuna Coil go heavier than ever on Sleepless Empire with help from guests Ash Costello and Randy Blythe
Lacuna Coil go heavier than ever with help from Randy Blythe and Ash Costello
Metal Hammer's 50 best albums of 2024
From Judas Priest's Invincible Shield to Nightwish's Yesterwynde and Opeth's return to extremity, these are the metal albums that ruled 2024
Somehow, Brothers Of Metal have got even more ludicrous with Fimbulvinter
Brothers Of Metal harness everything from 80s glam to gothic rock on their fun as hell third album
"Maybe this was the catharsis he needed to propel his next chapter." Devin Townsend's PowerNerd isn't the all-out burst of Heavy Devy we expected, but it's still pretty damn good
Devin Townsend's PowerNerd isn't the all-out burst of Heavy Devy we expected, but it's still pretty damn good
The Obsession reunites Charlotte Wessels with former Delain bandmates
After two experimental Tales From Six Feet Under releases, Charlotte Wessels is back on familiar grounds
Daniel Gildenlöw confronted his neurodiversity via Pain Of Salvation’s 11th album Panther
The band’s 11th album, dedicated to “the outsiders,” came after he was diagnosed with ADHD and survived a battle with a flesh-eating infection
Why Between The Buried And Me went more theatrical than ever on 2015’s Coma Ecliptic
Unable to battle the stigma of following their own path, they just got on with it; and, taking influence from Danny Elfman and Pink Floyd, went even more theatrical with 2015’s Coma Ecliptic
Scene Queen's debut album is a naughty, fearless, genre-splicing knockout
Scene Queen has lived up to the hype in salacious style with Hot Singles In Your Area
"Exactly how you’d hope Korpiklaani to sound in 2024 if your expectations revolve around zippy, accordion-driven tavern metal.": Folk metal's biggest party band have found the sweet spot on new album Rankarumpu
Fiddle-loving Finns Korpiklaani offer a massive knees-up folk metal party with album #12, Rankarumpu
"It's not a comfortable ride, but it is an electric one": GosT's Prophecy brings the synthwave pioneer back to his roots
James Lollar has been on shaky ground with GosT's most recent material, but a return to the darkest edges of synthwave re-energises the project
"We’re slowly becoming a band with its own identity.” How Riverside made Love, Fear & The Time Machine
Trading in prog metal riffs for a sound inspired by 80s pop, Riverside’s sixth album marked a daring change in direction, which perfectly suits a record that’s all about change itself.
"The album’s biggest talking point is its ability to deliver in the face of a major line-up change." Amaranthe's The Catalyst sees one of metal's most unique bands smoothly sail into their next chapter
Despite a potentially destabilising lineup shift, Amaranthe are as strong as ever
"Does the music sound like Tool? Does it sound like Opeth? All these speculations are cool." How Soen introduced themsleves with Cognitive
Ex-Opeth drummer Martin Lopez is back with eagerly awaited new band Soen. Singer Joel Ekelöf explains about their “intricate rhythms” and the influence of a Latin singing Catholic monk…
“He really immersed himself in the story and spent weeks rewriting the narration… I had no idea what he was talking about, but it was so much better than what I wrote”: When Arjen Lucassen worked with his hero Rutger Hauer
Blade Runner star worried the Ayreon mastermind with the amount of swearing in his rewrites for concept album Lost In The New Real
Metal Hammer's 50 best albums of 2023 (and the stories behind them)
Sleep Token, Creeper, Within Temptation: 2023 has been a massive year for metal, and these 50 records represent the very best the year has had to offer
“A band can be one thing for so many years then change into something completely different”: Once a bit metal, Leprous now have more in common with Marillion than with ritualistic rebellion against ideology
Yes, they were Ihsan’s backing group… yes, they use to play extreme music and wear corpse paint… but lead singer Einar Solberg explains they’re really a grandiose prog unit.
The best metal albums of 2023 so far
From Metallica to Babymetal, Cattle Decapitation to Sleep Token, these are the best metal albums of the year to date
"We have some crazy interludes and instrumental passages.” How Haken made second album Visions
By the time London prog rockers Haken released their second album Visions they were already headed for glory
“The old Genesis stuff is probably some of my favourite music ever created." Mastodon on their prog inspiration and recording The Hunter
When it came to recording a follow up to 2009's progtastic Crack The Skye, the band wrote bigger choruses for 2011's The Hunter but their prog roots remained the same
TesseracT and the tale of Altered State
Album number two. Vocalist number eight. The story of TesseracT's Altered State is quite something...
Metal? Punk? Jazz? Avatar’s Dance Devil Dance hits a lot of musical buttons – maybe too many
Album review: Avatar are a little too eclectic for their own good on new album Dance Devil Dance is
The 10 best power metal albums of 2022
From Sabaton and Blind Guardian to Wind Rose and Bridear, these are the 10 best power metal albums of 2022
