Overkill’s Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth is the thrash survivor that cancer and a stroke couldn’t kill
Overkill’s Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth has spent a life on thrash’s frontlines
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How Nita Strauss became a modern guitar hero
She's shared a stage with Jim Carrey and outrun a tornado, but Nita Strauss's proudest achievement is inspiring the next generation of guitarists
How Iron Maiden’s epic Somewhere Back In Time tour took them where other metal bands dare not go
In 2008, Metal Hammer climbed aboard Ed Force One to join Iron Maiden on the tour of a lifetime
How Ozzy Osbourne rediscovered himself with the Scream album
In 2010, Ozzy Osbourne released his eleventh solo album Scream – and he had reality TV, reunions and “Jesus Freaks” on his mind
Ante-Inferno: the band bringing black metal to the seaside
They might draw on depressing subjects, but Scarborough's Ante-Inferno find empowerment in black metal after a turbulent battle with self-identity
The unbelievable story of Def Leppard’s 80s hard rock masterpiece Hysteria
Four years, one near-fatal car crash and an ocean of booze in the making, Def Leppard’s Hysteria is the 80s hard rock album against which all others should be measured
Metal Hammer's Tracks Of The Week: February 7 2026
Spiritbox, Arch Enemy and Rivers Of Nihil are among the best new metal songs this week. Plus, vote for your favourite!
The Story Behind Scars On Broadway's They Say
Starting out as a post-punk inspired side project, Scars On Broadway became a new lifeline for Daron Malakian with first single They Say giving him a second life
Black Sabbath albums ranked, from worst to best
Some Black Sabbath albums are epoch-defining classics, some are average, some downright embarrassing, and we've ranked them – from woeful worst to brilliant best
I front a metal band and this is what it's like having hundreds of phones pointed at you every night on stage (spoiler: it's really weird)
Serena Cherry, frontwoman of British extreme metallers Svalbard, opens up on the experience of having your every move documented on stage
How Trivium and Bullet For My Valentine revitalised metal
Trivium's Ascendancy and Bullet For My Valentine's The Poison were released eight months apart. They would become instant metal classics - and usher in the next generation of metal bands
Jerry Cantrell on riffs, Alice In Chains and extreme metal
Ever wondered what extreme metal bands Alice In Chains jammed to? Jerry Cantrell has the answer
The story of the greatest Metallica live album you’ve never listened to
In 2008, eager to mend fences with fans after the Napster debacle, the biggest band in metal played one of the tiniest shows of their lives
Why you should adore Katatonia – and where you should start
From death/doom majesty to streamlined, melodic metal, this is your whistlestop tour through the best of Katatonia’s 12 albums
The best new metal bands you need to hear in February 2025
From pop-laced metalcore mob Conquer Divide to LA doomgazers Faetooth, Seattle fist-swingers Avoid and UK alt metallers Defences, these are the bands you need to hear in February 2025
Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix on overnight success, the path to sobriety and the nu metal resurgence
Papa Roach are about to bring their biggest-ever show to the UK and Jacoby Shaddix still has something to prove
The Scorpions: the turbulent story of Germany's greatest band
Whether it’s almost changing their name to Stalingrad or filling their biggest hit with whistling, there’s always a sting in the Scorpions' tale
"It was crazed, almost Charles Manson–like." Before he started Def Jam, and produced everyone from Slayer to Johnny Cash, Rick Rubin played guitar in a noise-rock band called Hose, and recorded one of the worst Led Zeppelin covers ever committed to vinyl
Now one of the most powerful and influential men in the music industry, once upon a time super-producer Rick Rubin was just another punk rock guitarist in a terrible band
