Latest articles by Stephen Hill
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
"Beavis and Butt-Head liked it, that was always a big thing!” How Prong got massive for a minute in the 90s with Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck
Prong became one of the 90s' most unlikely metal success stories...even if the mainstream success didn't last long
"It’s more than sales – it inspired an entire generation of young girls to know they had a place in heavy music." Inside Fallen: the album that turned Evanescence into instant 21st century metal superstars
No rock band had an explosive a rise in the 2000s as Evanescence. This is the story of their classic debut album
Metal Hammer writers name their best gigs of 2023
From the monolithic Metallica to rising stars like Green Lung, these are the greatest shows that Team Hammer saw this year
The 10 best hip-hop albums of 2023
2023 was another golden year for hip-hop, and here are the 10 essential albums you need to hear
The 10 best indie albums of 2023
Returning superstars, bright young things and cult heroes ensured that 2023 was a banner year for indie
"Collaborate with Amy Lee? That would be incredible!" Guitar hero Sophie Lloyd on why Evanescence mean so much to her - and to rock music in general
Sophie Lloyd explains how Evanescence's classic debut album Fallen impacted her as a young music fan
Here are the best new metal bands you need to hear this month
From Skyrim-inspired nu-industrial noise to happy-go-lucky black metal (wait, what?!), here are some of the best new metal bands we've found for you this month
The 50 best metal albums of 2023 - as voted by the readers of Metal Hammer
From Metallica to Sleep Token, Avenged Sevenfold to Babymetal, these are the best metal albums of 2023 - as voted by you!
10 massive metal bands we want new albums from in 2024
From Ozzy Osbourne to Tool, a host of metal legends look ready to make 2024 a star-studded year
"Rat Wars is the most personal, cathartic and brutal record of their career." With a little help from Lamb Of God and Godflesh, Health have made an album fit for goth clubs and mosh pits alike
Health's evolution from underground art noise favourites to modern metal scene mainstays has reached a new peak
Every Napalm Death album ranked from worst to best
From Scum to Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism, these are the grindcore gods’ 16 albums in reverse-order of brilliance
"There has rarely been a band that has thrived when their backs are so far up against the wall as The Prodigy": Liam Howlett's electronic punks smash out their greatest hits at The People's Palace
Storming London's Alexandra Palace, The Prodigy prove that they remain one of the world's most incendiary live acts, even without much-missed Firestarter-in-chief Keith Flint
"Between burn-out and a looming crisis, Sabbath somehow hit their greatest high." Which is Black Sabbath's best album? Metal Hammer's writers argue it out
Paranoid? Sabbath Bloody Sabbath? Heaven And Hell? Hammer's top writers duel it out to declare Sabbath's best album ever
"For a long time there was a sense of imposter syndrome, but now we know we’re a force to be reckoned with": While She Sleeps aim to take their rightful place as metalcore icons with new album Self Hell
After a massive Alexandra Palace headline show in 2023, While She Sleeps set their sights on boundary-pushing sixth album Self Hell
4 brilliant new metal bands you need to hear this month
Rising metalcore stars As Everything Unfolds, Scottish alt-trio Healthyliving, ambitious Ukrainian prog metallers Ignea and electro-infused metalcore troupe World Gone Cold: these are the bands you need to hear in November 2023
“Though Dave Mustaine might claim he wrote Leper Messiah, he didn’t”: The track-by-track guide to Metallica’s Master Of Puppets
From Battery to Damage Inc., here’s the story behind every song on Metallica’s game-changing masterpiece
"Lambasting it as 'selling out' directly contradicts its musical integrity and emotional vulnerability. It's all killer, no filler." Metal Hammer's writers battle it out over which is Metallica's best album
They are the band that have defined and redefined heavy metal. But which album is their greatest? Our writers get in the ring
"They were the only band that kicked our ass." Better Loves are the Every Time I Die/Dillinger Escape Plan supergroup you didn't know you needed, but will be so happy to have in your life
Greg Puciato teaming up with former members of Every Time I Die and Will Putney: Better Lovers are the band hardcore has been waiting for
I've been going to metal gigs for over 25 years. So why are all the craziest crowds now at pop, hip hop and dance shows?
Metalheads still know how to mosh, but the wildest, hardest-hitting crowds seem to be flocking to other genres. How did this happen?!
Forget Rage Against The Machine and Faith No More: Helmet are nu metal's unsung architects and Left is the best record they've done in nearly 20 years
After some patchy albums in recent years, Helmet's Left is the best the band have done since their 2004 comeback
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
