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

"With the discovery of Tupac, Death Row found the voice of a generation." A beginner's guide to Death Row Records in five essential albums

By Stephen Hill published 10 May 24

Hip hop's most notorious label, Death Row Records also served up some of the most influential albums of modern times

"The mainstream has no idea what’s about to hit it." Demi Lovato and Billie Eilish might love them, but Knocked Loose haven't cashed in on You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To - they've made their heaviest album ever

By Stephen Hill published 9 May 24

Blowing up on TikTok and getting namechecked by pop stars hasn't affected Knocked Loose's ability to produce top-tier hardcore brutality

“Men screaming – not singing, screaming!” Watch the chaotic time extreme metal antagonists Cradle Of Filth took a Christian mum on tour

By Stephen Hill published 8 May 24

In 1998, Cradle Of Filth let a fan’s concerned mum join them on the road for a TV show. Things got pretty haywire pretty quickly.

"Public Enemy gave the establishment something to fear, an intelligent, angry, politicised, uncompromising voice for disenfranchised black America." A beginner's guide to Def Jam Recordings in five essential albums

By Stephen Hill published 3 May 24

Def Jam is the most influential record label in hip-hip history. Here is your guide to its most significant releases

“To promote an album and play some football, it’s the ultimate for me”: The bizarre story of the time Iron Maiden became a football team

By Stephen Hill published 2 May 24

In 1998, Iron Maiden tried to promote Virtual XI by putting on football games with journalists and professional players. It was all a bit weird.

"Tommy Lee and Billy Idol liked our band; we were doing pretty well." Milquetoast could have made Helmet MTV superstars, but they weren't interested

By Stephen Hill published 2 May 24

When Milquetoast was picked up for 1994 cult hit The Crow, it looked like Helmet were about to hit the big time - but the New York band had other plans

“We wore silly hats, but in those days, you did silly things”: Listen to the doo-wop bands Ronnie James Dio sang in before becoming a metal star with Black Sabbath and Rainbow

By Stephen Hill published 20 April 24

Before Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio, one of heavy metal’s most powerful voices sang in skiffle and doo-wop groups. This is what they sounded like…

"Metallica is huge everywhere, but extra-huge in Mexico because Robert Trujillo’s like a saint." Suicidal Tendencies might be one of metal's most influential bands, but Mike Muir is thankful they never became celebrities

By Stephen Hill published 13 April 24

From playing with Guns N' Roses and Metallica to appearing on Miami Vice, Mike Muir shares the lessons that kept Suicidal Tendencies humble even as they became one of crossover's most important bands

"I think we’ve got a reputation locally as having done something pretty awesome." From taking over hospital wards to setting pianos on fire, While She Sleeps are still doing things their way

By Stephen Hill published 8 April 24

We spent a day up North with one of the UK's finest and most fearless metal bands

“People said, ‘Oh, you’re a metal band’. I thought that was kind of lame”: the story of Tool’s Undertow, the debut album that introduced the world to a new kind of noise

By Stephen Hill published 6 April 24

Tool’s debut album was released on April 6, 1993. This is the story behind it

a montage of images of Tim Harrington from Les Savy Fav on a brightly coloured background

"They were like, 'You're old. Are you singing about sex stuff now because it's your last chance?' And I was like - it was my last chance long before this": Your guide to every Les Savy Fav album in the band's own words

By Stephen Hill published 29 March 24

Les Savy Fav take us on an all-access tour through their back catalogue, from their Rhode Island incubation up to their recent reunion and excellent new album, Oui LSF

"They might just be Britain’s next generational band." Young Fathers put on a ferociously loud, soul-stirring show for the ages at the legendary Royal Albert Hall

By Stephen Hill published 24 March 24

Acclaimed Scottish alt-indie-soul trio Young Fathers upstage Noel Gallagher, The Who, The Chemical Brothers and more during a memorable night in London

"On this kind of form, and with this momentum, surely nothing is going to stop Knocked Loose." Hardcore's most exciting band just decimated London's 2,500-capacity Forum

By Stephen Hill published 11 March 24

Hardcore music has never been bigger, and Knocked Loose are making sure it stays true to its savagely heavy roots

"When I was a kid, my obsession was rifling through the forest for mushrooms. Then I gravitated toward witchcraft." We spent a day amongst neolithic tombs and monoliths with occult metal sensations, Green Lung

By Stephen Hill published 10 March 24

British stoner-doom crew Green Lung are taking the metal world by storm. We spent an eerie but educational day with them exploring Britain's occult past

Justin Chancellor and Danny Carey at the Grammys in 2020

"We threw everything away at one point": Justin Chancellor talks new Tool material, fashion and why MTVoid aren't a supergroup

By Stephen Hill published 4 March 24

Tool bassist Justin Chancellor explains how MTVoid differ from Tool, how long until we get another album and why he isn't worried about Swifties

Album art by Iron Maiden, Limp Bizkit and Slayer

10 classic metal albums that should be played live in full (but haven’t yet)

By Stephen Hill published 2 March 24

From Metallica’s …And Justice For All to Limp Bizkit’s Significant Other, these masterpieces are so good that live crowds need to hear them in their entirety

James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett in 2002

“It was a real awkward time”: The story of the abandoned Metallica album

By Stephen Hill published 1 March 24

In 2001, Metallica hired an old army barracks in California to try and record album eight. The songs were scrapped when James Hetfield entered rehab, but countless fans still want to hear them finished.

Brat/Blackgold/Alt Blk Era/The Sun's Journey Through The night/Militarie Gun

7 brilliant new metal bands to watch out for in 2024

By Dave Everley published 28 February 24

From Japanese Samurai metallers Ryujin to 'bimboviolence' pioneers BRAT, rising alt metal stars Alt Blk Era and mysterious black metallers The Sun's Journey Through The Night, these are the bands you need to hear in 2024

“They don’t know how to make a bad album!” Metal Hammer writers battle it out over which Ghost album is best

By Matt Mills published 26 February 24

Every Ghost album is a fan-favourite, but which one is the ultimate in their devilish discography? We got the five biggest fans in Team Hammer to fight it out.

"Darkest Hour prove again why those in the know believe they are one of metal’s greatest secrets." Perpetual | Terminal shows why Darkest Hour might just be metal's most underrated band

By Stephen Hill published 20 February 24

Darkest Hour have put together another pulsating collection of metalcore bangers

Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian of System Of A Down onstage in 2014

“We still haven’t come eye-to-eye on how things should be done”: The story of the new System Of A Down album that will (probably) never happen

By Stephen Hill published 17 February 24

Since reuniting in 2011, System Of A Down have headlined festivals, packed arenas and released just two songs. What’s the situation with their long-anticipated sixth album? Not promising…

"I want us to be the scariest ride at the amusement park": How Lorna Shore became deathcore's defining stars

By Stephen Hill published 17 February 24

Lorna Shore's first decade was blighted with line-up changes and uncertainty, but with Will Ramos and a viral hit on TikTok they broke through the deathcore ceiling to define a new movement of heaviness

"I got really tired of seeing my own face, or seeing a stranger’s opinion of me every day." Bad Omens are the hottest young band in metal - and Noah Sebastian is not exactly happy about it.

By Stephen Hill published 10 February 24

Noah Sebastian might just be modern metal's most reluctant rock star

“We’ll lead our own pack!” The checkered story of Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff, from festival chaos to a star-studded music video

By Stephen Hill published 7 February 24

Connected forever with the anarchy of Woodstock ’99 and a music video featuring Snoop Dogg and Korn, Limp Bizkit’s cathartic banger has the most complicated legacy of any nu metal song

Bob Geldof, and the cast of We Are The World

"Bob walked in and started berating everyone that was eating." How a furious Bob Geldof ruined a posh feast and inadvertently had Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Springsteen and the rest eating chicken and waffles during We Are The World

By Stephen Hill published 5 February 24

This is one anecdote that seems to have been left off of Netflix's The Greatest Night In Pop documentary

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