Stephen Hill

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

Trent Reznor in 1999

“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

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

Thrown Press 2023

"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

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

Crows

“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

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

Talk Talk

“One of the most singular, unique and influential catalogues in music history.” Every Talk Talk album ranked from worst to best

By Stephen Hill published

The complete studio output of Mark Hollis' groundbreaking, hugely influential band, re-reviewed and ranked

The Verve, Supergrass, Elastica, Lush, Super Furry Animals

10 great Britpop-era indie bands who could reform to ease the pain of fans who missed out on Oasis tickets

By Stephen Hill published

Bummed at missing out on Oasis tickets? Us too. The Verve, Supergrass, Elastica, Super Furries... we need you back now, please

Manic Street Preachers

"Bleak and hopeless, beautiful and poignant, desperately uncomfortable to listen to, yet impossible to ignore." Revisiting Manic Street Preachers' dark masterpiece The Holy Bible at 30

By Stephen Hill published

Released on August 30, 1994, the Manic Street Preachers' third album The Holy Bible remains one of the most unique, singular albums in history.

Lamb Of God by a bus in 2004

"There’s a sadness to that album." How addiction, thrash royalty and the long tail of 9/11 oversaw Lamb Of God's career-defining Ashes Of The Wake

By Stephen Hill published

Twenty years old this year, Ashes Of The Wake remains a classic of 21st century metal

Liam and Noel Gallagher publicity shot

Every Oasis album ranked from the worst to the best

By Stephen Hill published

Oasis are a British cultural phenomenon, and news of their reunion has sparked outpurings of joy across the planet. Here are the Manchester indie-rock superstars' albums ranked from worst to best

The Flaming Lips

Every Flaming Lips album ranked from worst to best

By Stephen Hill published

Ranking the audio wonders of Wayne Coyne's Oklahoma City weirdos, from the most out-there to the truly essential

Eminem with two MTV awards

Every Eminem album ranked from worst to best

By Stephen Hill published

We rank Eminem's catalogue, from overlooked debut Infinite to most recent opus, The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)

The Mars Volta: De-Loused In The Comatorium cover art

"Easier on the ears if you're a King Crimson fan than a Kiss fan": The Mars Volta confound the ears on frenetic debut De-Loused In The Comatorium

By Classic Rock Magazine published

From the ashes of post-hardcore punks At The Drive-In something stirred, and it was proggy

Clutch/Crypta/Mimi Barks/Eternal Champion/Hatebreed

The 10 bands that defined Bloodstock 2024

By Rich Hobson published

From Green Lung's massive midday set on Friday to Hatebreed's "Ball of Death", these are the sets that defined Bloodstock 2024.

The Exorcist/Saw 3D/Queen of The Damned/Mad Max: Fury Road/School Of Rock/Thor: Ragnarok/Trick Or Treat/Midsommar

The 50 most metal movie moments ever

By Metal Hammer published

From the sinister appearance of Count Orlok to Iron Man rocking out to AC/DC, these are the 50 most metal movie moments ever

Malevolence vocalist Alex Taylor onstage in 2024

“They’re unquestionably ready for the big time”: Malevolence break records (and a good few bodies) with weekend-stealing Bloodstock set

By Stephen Hill published

At Bloodstock Open Air, Sheffield nasties Malevolence rile up a passionate crowd – to the point that they break a festival record for crowd-surfing

Architects in 2024

“A good show as opposed to a legendary one”: Architects don’t quite rise to the occasion at first-ever UK festival headline show

By Stephen Hill published

At Bloodstock Open Air, Architects play a set stacked with modern anthems – but they don’t treat headlining a UK fest for the first time like it’s a big deal

Run DMC in 1985

Every Run-D.M.C. album ranked from worst to best

By Stephen Hill published

We rank the discography of one of hip hop's singularly most influential and important groups

The 1975

“The 1975 are one of the most unlikely success stories of the modern era.” Your essential guide to every The 1975 album

By Stephen Hill published

The 1975 are one of the UK's best-known and most celebrated rock bands: here's how Matty Healy's band fearlessly climbed into the spotlight, and stayed there

Springsteen at Wembley

“A bar for live rock music that is surely impossible to match.” Bruce Springsteen bosses it at England's national stadium

By Stephen Hill published

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: the world's greatest rock 'n' roll revue

Chris Ulsh Power Trip

"It's nice to see that people still care." How beloved thrash metallers Power Trip rose again following the tragic loss of Riley Gale to deliver 2024's most welcome surprise comeback

By Stephen Hill published

They've earned Grammy nominations and made a fan of Gerard Way, now Power Trip are looking at what comes next

Collage showing icons of metal

The 100 Songs That Changed Metal

By Metal Hammer published

From founding fathers like Black Sabbath, Rainbow and Judas Priest to metal's modern leaders such as Ghost, Sleep Token and Spiritbox, these are the songs that have defined a genre

MTVoid/Going Off/Tvinna/They Came From Visions

4 brilliant new metal bands you need to hear this month

By Rich Hobson published

From Justin Chancellor's alt-metal side project MTVoid to Ukrainian black metallers They Came From Visions, German folk metal heroes Tvinna and hardcore mob Going Off, these are the bands you need to hear in July 2024

Joey Valance & Brae

"I came out in that knight costume to God Save The Queen...The Queen died like a week later.” A conversation with Joey Valance & Brae, the duo finally bringing some fun back to hip hop

By Stephen Hill published

We talk to the hip hop tag team bringing some much needed silly energy back to rap

Various artists from this year's Glastonbury

11 acts that defined Glastonbury 2024

By Liz Scarlett published

From a modern hip hop great to a pop punk princess, these epic Glasto performances shone brightest

Justice on stage

"If it’s energy you’re after, there’s only one place to be." Justice close out Glastonbury's West Holts stage with a thunderously heavy, effortlessly cool set for the ages

By Stephen Hill published

Justice show why it's possible to go harder than many rock bands without so much as picking up as a guitar

Dexy's on stage

"Dexys feel like the greatest secret at Glasto 2024 and the perfect band for the festival." Kevin Rowland et al might have just stolen the show at Glastonbury

By Stephen Hill published

Dexys roll back the years with a classy and career-affirming set