Articles by Jon Wiederhorn

Jon Wiederhorn is a veteran author, music journalist and host of the Backstaged: The Devil in Metal podcast. He is the co-author of the books Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal, I’m the Man: The Story of That Guy From Anthrax, Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen, My Riot: Agnostic Front, Grit, Guts & Glory, and author of Raising Hell: Backstage Tales From the Lives of Metal Legends. He has worked on staff at Rolling Stone, MTV, VH1, Guitar Magazine, Guitar.com, Musician.com and Musicplayer.com, while his writing has appeared in TV Guide, Blender, SPIN, Classic Rock, Revolver, Metal Hammer, Stuff, Inked, Loudwire and Melody Maker.

Articles by: Jon Wiederhorn

Racer X posing for a photograph with their guitars in 1987

“Grunge? I don’t know too many things where people are praised for having less skill”: The blazing story of Shrapnel Records, the 80s label that gave shred to the world

By Jon Wiederhorn published 31 August 24

How guitar shredders Yngwie Malmsteen, Racer X, Cacophony and Richie Kotzen turned Shrapnel Records into the fastest label of the 80s

Metallica posing for a photograph in front of a lightning backdrop in 1984

“Lots of people hated it at first. Fans wanted them to do Kill ’Em All 20 per cent faster”: how Metallica defied the haters and changed the course of metal with Ride The Lightning

By Jon Wiederhorn published 27 July 24

Metallica’s second album Ride The Lightning turns 40 on July 27 – this is how they made one of metal’s greatest records

"I ordered Chinese food and beer for them, and we just sat there and talked": Metallica, Ride The Lightning, and the meal that got them signed

By Jon Wiederhorn published 3 April 24

Metallica changed the rules with their second album, Ride The Lightning. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the world would play along

"We went through everything, from homelessness to starvation.” Megadeth at 40: how Dave Mustaine's "revenge" on Metallica lay the foundations for a thrash metal dynasty

By Jon Wiederhorn published 12 October 23

Forty years on from their formation, Dave Mustaine looks back at the volatile early days of Megadeth

"Plenty of my guitars went down in flames. We smashed ’em and taped fireworks to ’em." How Damageplan gave Dimebag Darrell hope in a post-Pantera world

By Jon Wiederhorn published 17 August 23

With Pantera in pieces and their legacy tarnished, Dimebag found himself desperately needing a new outlet for his talents. With brother Vinnie Paul beside him, he found one

"He was Slayer. He affected a lot of people and he didn’t even realise it.” The life and tragic death of Slayer’s Jeff Hanneman

By Jon Wiederhorn published 13 July 23

Jeff Hanneman was the architect behind some of Slayer's biggest - and most infamous - songs but his 2011 passing was a tragedy that shook thrash metal

Meet the woman who let Metallica rehearse in her basement

By Jon Wiederhorn last updated 2 March 23

In 1983, Victoria Calandra was the only person brave enough to give Metallica a home: "I was their housemother, cook and hairdresser, and made sure they followed all the rules"

Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral: the story of Trent Reznor’s nihilistic masterpiece

By Jon Wiederhorn last updated 17 May 21

Darkness, perversity and the shadow of Charles Manson – how Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral turned Trent Reznor into America’s poster boy for nihilism

Woodstock ’94: inside the craziest festival of the 90s

By Jon Wiederhorn last updated 18 November 20

Nine Inch Nails, Metallica and a whole lot of mud – this is the story of the US festival that defined the 1990s

The Story Behind The Song: Tool’s Prison Sex

By Jon Wiederhorn published 10 July 20

Prison Sex was the song that made Tool famous – and even an MTV ban couldn’t stop them

Fire up the hot tub. Ice-T just invited us over to his house

By Jon Wiederhorn published 12 June 20

Ice T doesn’t do house parties. So when the Body Count frontman offered to show us around his New Jersey mega-pad, we weren’t going to say no

Ice-T’s track-by-track guide to new Body Count album Carnivore

By Jon Wiederhorn published 13 March 20

EXCLUSIVE Body Count frontman Ice-T reveals the stories behind the songs in this track-by-track guide to new album Carnivore

The Story Behind: Cowboys From Hell by Pantera

By Jon Wiederhorn last updated 3 December 19

In 2010, 20 years after its original release, Phil Anselmo, Vinnie Paul and Rex Brown tell Metal Hammer the story behind Pantera’s classic breakthrough album.

1994: The albums that changed the world

By Chris Chantler, Alex Chillingworth, Ali Cooper, Connie Gordon, Stephen Hill, Dom Lawson, Dannii Leivers, Matt Mills, Dayal Paterson, Jonathan Selzer, Jon Wiederhorn published 24 August 19

1994 was the year when metal came of age, bands twisting heavy music into new forms that would echo through the ages. We take a look back at the year's essential releases

The Gospel According To Al Jourgensen

By Jon Wiederhorn published 4 October 17

One of the most formidable characters in heavy music, Ministry's Al Jourgensen has done it all in every sense of the word. This is his story.

Everything you need to know about Party Smasher Inc

By Jon Wiederhorn published 25 April 16

Ben Weinman has spent the last 20 years kicking and screaming with The Dillinger Escape Plan, and now he’s channelling his energy into Party Smasher Inc – a new venture he hopes will transform