Articles by Stephen Hill

Since blagging his way onto the Hammer team a decade ago, Stephen has written countless features and reviews for the magazine, usually specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal, and still holds out the faint hope of one day getting his beloved U2 into the pages of the mag. He also regularly spouts his opinions on the Metal Hammer Podcast.

Articles by: Stephen Hill

"The vocals make David Vincent sound like Sabrina Carpenter." This Consequence is the heaviest Killswitch Engage album in over a decade. And it absolutely slaps

By Stephen Hill published 19 February 25

Killswitch Engage go rawer and heavier than they have in some time, led by an impassioned Jesse Leach

"People characterised both of our bands as being arrogant and cocky." How Bullet For My Valentine and Trivium helped revitalise metal in 2005

By Stephen Hill published 5 February 25

How Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine ushered in metal's next generation

“Some of the people I thought were good were actually bad. I felt a lot of betrayal and uncertainty”: Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach explains the trauma and anger behind new album This Consequence

By Stephen Hill published 25 January 25

Jesse Leach tried to write “words of wisdom” for Killswitch Engage’s next album, but it ended up containing the angriest songs of their career

"When I heard her sing that for the first time, I had tears streaming down my face." Jinjer on their emotional new album - and why it's taken so long to get here

By Stephen Hill published 20 January 25

We catch up with Ukrainian metallers Jinjer ahead of new album Duél

4 brilliant new metal bands you need to hear this month

By Rich Hobson published 15 January 25

From the post-hardcore squall of Hidden Mothers to Lutharo's invigorating mix of power metal and melodeath, to one-woman black metaller Hulder and Saudi Arabian tech-prog-metallers Ana.n7n, these are the bands you need to hear in January 2025

“Something we did do was throw out the rulebook”: Arch Enemy discuss “chaotic” new album Blood Dynasty

By Stephen Hill published 15 January 25

Band founder Michael Amott spills the secrets of Arch Enemy’s highly anticipated new album

Albums by Trivium, Avenged Sevenfold, Gojira and Opeth

Feel old yet? These classic metal albums turn 20 in 2025

By Stephen Hill published 13 January 25

Trivium’s Ascendancy, Bullet For My Valentine’s The Poison and Avenged Sevenfold’s City Of Evil are 20 years old now, and your knees aren’t what they used to be

Talking Heads: Remain In Light cover art

"After a lifetime listening to hard rock and heavy metal I discovered Talking Heads and realised how good music could really be": Talking Heads open up new worlds on Remain In Light

By Classic Rock Magazine published 13 January 25

In which Talking Heads seamlessly merged funk, afrobeat and early hip-hop rhythms with their more abrasive art-rock ideas

Linkin Park/Slipknot/Evanescence/Korn/Kittie

"It’s actually Sid Wilson’s favourite Slipknot song." Inside nu metal's greatest deep cuts

By Metal Hammer published 1 January 25

From a Slipknot buried treasure to the long-overlooked Korn rarity, these are the overlooked classics in the nu metal canon

Metal Hammer's 50 best albums of 2024

By Metal Hammer published 31 December 24

From Judas Priest's Invincible Shield to Nightwish's Yesterwynde and Opeth's return to extremity, these are the metal albums that ruled 2024

"People said, 'You're going to be a one hit wonder.'" How Higher cemented Creed as rock's new superstars

By Stephen Hill published 26 December 24

Inspired in part by recurring nightmares and visions of heaven, Higher cemented Creed as one of the most successul rock bands of the new millennium

The 10 best hip-hop albums of 2024

By Stephen Hill published 12 December 24

From Los Angeles to London, Belfast to Tampa, the hip-hop world has thrown up some of 2024's most thrilling, imaginative and essential releases

"Sometimes a gig is more than just a gig." Friends of the late, great Mark Lanegan - including Josh Homme, Dave Gahan, Chrissie Hynde and Bobby Gillespie - assemble in London for an emotional, once-in-a-lifetime celebration of a truly singular talent

By Stephen Hill published 6 December 24

On what would have been Mark Lanegan's 60th birthday, friends and peers salute a much-missed musical maverick

"Trevor would've loved the new album." How The Black Dahlia Murder triumphed over tragedy with Servitude

By Stephen Hill published 20 November 24

The 2022 passing of Trevor Strnad could easily have spelled the end for The Black Dahlia Murder. Instead, they rallied to create an album worthy of his legacy

Derrick Green onstage with Sepultura in 2024

“They may be calling it a day, but these masters will always have a devout tribe”: Armed with 40 years of anthems and some stellar support acts, Sepultura’s final UK show is an unmitigated triumph

By Stephen Hill published 15 November 24

Celebrating their seminal classics and modern material alike, Sepultura bow out in impeccable form at London’s Hammersmith Apollo

"Our decision-making process has completely failed." The Battle Of Los Angeles at 25: how Rage Against The Machine just about kept it together to create one final masterpiece before imploding

By Stephen Hill published 1 November 24

The wheels were already beginning to come off Rage Against The Machine by 1998. Luckily, they managed to get into the studio together and prove they had one last statement to give the world

"I’m so glad I still live in a world where Ozzy walks the Earth." The greatest Ozzy Osbourne songs as picked by members of Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Halestorm and more

By Rich Hobson published 17 October 24

To celebrate Ozzy Osbourne's solo induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, we asked some of metal's biggest stars for the ultimate Ozzy playlist

"I was freaking out and bawling in the studio." Korn's classic debut album at 30: the weirdness, the trauma and the birth of nu metal

By Stephen Hill published 11 October 24

On October 11 1994, five misfits from Bakersfield, California would release an album that would change metal forever

"Unquestionably the most extreme entity that Shavo has put his name to". System Of A Down bassist ditches quirky nu metal for brutal, blistering deathcore with Seven Hours After Violet

By Stephen Hill published 10 October 24

Almost 20 years since his last ful-length album, Shavo Odadjian is roaring back with his heaviest band to date

"A pathway to achieve their potential, but they're not there yet." With a new lineup and a new direction, Fever 333 aren't the finished article on Darker White, but it's a good (re)start

By Stephen Hill published 4 October 24

Jason Aalon Butler reignites the sparks of inspiration with an all-new lineup for Fever 333

A beginner's guide to Wu-Tang Clan, one of hip hop's most unique, innovative, wildly creative and untameable powerhouses

By Stephen Hill published 27 September 24

Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nothing to f’ wit, and here's why

"So chaotic you feel like you’re having your noggin walloped about by an entire gang of Mike Tysons." Servitude is the best tribute to Trevor Strnad Black Dahlia Murder fans could have asked for

By Stephen Hill published 27 September 24

Even tragedy can't stop The Black Dahlia Murder being one of extreme metal's most reliably brilliant bands

“It attempts to create order from chaos, but never reaches the goal.” Celebrating Trent Reznor's long, hard road out of a personal hell, as heard on Nine Inch Nails' bleak, challenging masterpiece The Fragile

By Stephen Hill published 24 September 24

Released on September 21, 1999, Nine Inch Nails third studio album, The Fragile, remains a fascinating piece of outsider art

"Our influences are really hard, dark rap tracks." How Sweden's Thrown became breakout stars of metalcore's most aggro subgenre: pissedcore

By Stephen Hill published 18 September 24

Mixing metalcore, groove metal and hip hop, Sweden's Thrown have become unlikely poster boys for a new subgenre

“The most melodic, hook-filled and engaging record of their career.” Crows dazzle in the darkness on excellent third album Reason Enough

By Stephen Hill published 17 September 24

London post-punks Crows evoke the spirit of Joy Division, PiL and ghosts of the past on album three

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