FEATURES
Deep dives, editorials, and long-form storytelling.
Up & Coming: Parabellum — Sacramento Thrash That Earned Its Place
Sacramento's Parabellum: two albums, Folsom Prison, and Gary Holt producing LP3. NorCal thrash's next act isn't waiting.
Every Pantera Album Ranked — All 9 Studio Records, From Metal Magic to Reinventing the Steel
Pantera made nine studio albums. Four of them were glam metal. Five of them changed heavy music forever. Here's every record ranked, no exceptions.
Death Metal vs Black Metal: What's the Difference?
Death metal and black metal are both extreme — but they're built from different DNA. Here's what separates them, band by band and riff by riff.
Up & Coming: Turn Cold Are the Crossover Thrash Act the Scene Has Been Missing
Atlanta's Turn Cold play crossover thrash with the commitment most bands lose by album two. Violent Breed is the real thing — and they're just getting started.
Best Thrash Metal Albums of All Time — The Definitive 25
The 25 best thrash metal albums of all time — ranked, argued, and defended. From Bay Area origins to global dominance, this is the definitive list.
Every Slayer Album Ranked — From Show No Mercy to Repentless
Every Slayer studio album ranked worst to best — from the raw chaos of Show No Mercy to the 29 minutes that changed heavy metal forever.
Why Every Metalhead Needs Earplugs — And the Only Pair Worth Buying
Tinnitus is forever. Eargasm High Fidelity Earplugs protect your hearing without killing the sound. Metal Mantra readers get 10% off.
Geoff Tate 'Power' Review: Operation Mindcrime III's First Single and the Setlist Problem
Geoff Tate just dropped 'Power,' the first single from Operation: Mindcrime III. This week he and Scott Ian separately said the same uncomfortable thing about c
Scott Ian Says Anthrax New Album Is Done and He 'Can't Wait' — May Release Confirmed
Scott Ian: new Anthrax album is done, May release confirmed via Megaforce/Nuclear Blast, 10 years in the making.
Linkin Park Now Has Seven Songs With Over 1 Billion Plays on Spotify
'Somewhere I Belong' just hit 1B Spotify plays — making Linkin Park one of the most-streamed rock bands in history with 7 billion-play tracks.
Paul Mazurkiewicz on 38 Years of Cannibal Corpse: 'Who Would Have Ever Thought?'
Cannibal Corpse's Paul Mazurkiewicz reflects on nearly four decades of death metal and why the band is still doing better than ever.
Iron Maiden's 'Burning Ambition' Documentary Hits Cinemas in May — Adrian Smith Says It Reveals Secrets
Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition opens in limited theaters May 7, 2026. Adrian Smith says it goes deep and reveals things that have never come to light before.
Tom Morello's Directorial Debut Is a Judas Priest Documentary — And It Premiered at Berlin
Tom Morello co-directed 'The Ballad of Judas Priest' — his directorial debut — and the film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February.
Chuck Billy on Testament's Future: 'My Mind, Body and Soul Will Tell Me When It's Time'
Chuck Billy says he's not thinking about retirement — Testament has a two-album deal with Nuclear Blast and a singer who says he's at the top of his game.
Kolbenfaust Drop New Video 'Pusara Di Awan Biru' Ahead of Debut EP
The Kuching-based death metal outfit draws from Bornean identity and 15 years of underground survival for their most personal video yet.
Phil Campbell, Motörhead Guitarist, Dead at 64
Phil Campbell, the Welsh guitarist who spent 31 years driving Motörhead's machine, has died at 64 following a complex major operation.
Richie Faulkner Has Been Playing Through a Stroke: The Full Story Behind Five Years of Silence
Richie Faulkner has been carrying a secret for five years: a stroke, brain damage, and ongoing paralysis of his right side — all while playing every Judas Pries
Gary Holt on 45 Years with Exodus: 'I'm Not Rich, But I Make a Living Playing Guitar'
Gary Holt turned down comfortable to stay hungry. Four and a half decades into Exodus, he still wouldn't trade the sketchy German showers for anything.
'Robbing Them Blind Baby': Live Nation Employees Caught Mocking Fans in Leaked Slack Messages
Unsealed Slack messages from Live Nation's own directors confirm what fans have suspected for years: the company knew exactly what it was doing, and found it fu
Tom Hunting Is Almost Five Years Cancer-Free — And He's Not Done Fighting
Nearly five years after a total gastrectomy and a battle with two simultaneous cancers, Exodus drummer Tom Hunting is closing in on one of the most significant
Slayer's Hell Awaits Gets a 40th Anniversary Reissue — Unreleased Live Bochum 1985 Included
Metal Blade is reissuing Slayer's Hell Awaits on May 15, 2026 — with 18 previously unreleased live tracks from Bochum 1985 and a limited 'blood' vinyl pressing
Live Nation Settles DOJ Antitrust Lawsuit: What It Means for Concert Tickets
Live Nation settled with the DOJ mid-trial — $280M to states, Ticketmaster forced to open its platform to competitors, and 15% service fee caps on the table. He
Randy Blythe Is Done Watching His Generation Stay Silent
Randy Blythe isn't asking nicely. The Lamb of God frontman is calling out an entire generation of musicians for going soft when the world needs volume most.
Megadeth Hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — 40 Years in the Making
After 40 years, 17 albums, cancer, multiple surgeries, and one of the most turbulent histories in thrash metal — Megadeth finally hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200
Black Label Society's 'Engines of Demolition' Is Zakk Wylde's Most Personal Album — And His Most Necessary
Zakk Wylde spent four years building Engines of Demolition. Then Ozzy Osbourne died, and the album became something else — a record made in grief, anchored by a
Lzzy Hale on 22 Years With Joe Hottinger: 'There Is Nothing Like Doing What You Love With the Person You Love'
At the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, Lzzy Hale opened up about her 22-year relationship with bandmate Joe Hottinger — and why they looked to Pat Benatar and Nei
Nonpoint's Elias Soriano Says New Album Will Make You 'Have Fun Again'
Nonpoint frontman Elias Soriano is promising something different from the noise: a record built to empower, not decorate sadness. And 16 or 17 songs are already
The Chart That Forgot Women: How Poppy, Amy Lee, and Courtney LaPlante Made Rock Radio History
Poppy, Amy Lee, and Courtney LaPlante became the first three women to co-lead a #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart — a milestone 45 years in the ma
Jack Osbourne on Ozzy's Final Days: 'He Was Done. He Was Okay With His Journey.'
Jack Osbourne opens up about his father Ozzy's final days, revealing the rock legend had made peace with his journey after Black Sabbath's Back to the Beginning
The Scene Ran Caleb Shomo Off Instagram. Then Fronzak Opened His Mouth.
Caleb Shomo deleted his Instagram this week. No statement, no explanation. The context surrounding it is ugly — and Chris Fronzak's response made it uglier.
Nicko McBrain: The End of an Era
Two things can be true at once. Nicko McBrain is being recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — nominated for the class of 2026 as a member of...
Beartooth, Atreyu, and the Great Metalcore Escape: When Bands Outgrow Their Roots
There is a conversation happening in metalcore right now, and most people are dancing around it. Two of the genre’s most significant acts — Beartooth...
Every Major Metal & Hard Rock Album Coming in 2026 (Updated)
Last updated: February 2026. Bookmark this page — we update it as dates are confirmed.
Tomahawk Are Back: 13 Years Later, Mike Patton’s Best Band Returns on Their Own Terms
Thirteen years is a long time to wait. But Tomahawk has never operated on anyone else’s timeline.
Mike Patton Hints at Quiet Closure for Faith No More’s Final Run
Mike Patton’s recent comments suggest Faith No More’s last run carried a quiet sense of closure. With decades of influence behind them and a Bay Area legacy tha
Bob Weir, Grateful Dead Co-Founder, Dead at 78 — Not Metal, Still Mandatory Respect
It’s not metal. Let’s get that out of the way. But if you give a damn about musicianship, risk-taking, and […]
Top 10 Upcoming Metal Albums of 2026
The Top 10 Upcoming Metal, Metalcore, Deathcore & Hardcore Albums of 2026 Let’s be honest — 2026 is already looking […]
Top 10 Metal Tracks That Defined 2025 — Editorial Rundown
The top 10 metal tracks of 2025 tell the story of a year where heavy music hit harder emotionally as […]
Evanescence Performed 'Afterlife' at The Game Awards and It Was a Statement
Amy Lee walked onto one of gaming's biggest stages and reminded everyone what a real vocalist sounds like. Evanescence performed 'Afterlife' at The Game Awards
Iron Maiden Discography & Legacy: Ranking the Albums
Iron Maiden’s discography is a towering legacy in heavy metal, spanning 17 studio albums from their self-titled debut in 1980 […]
Farewell to the Prince of Darkness: Ozzy Osbourne (1948–2025)
This one hurts in a way that doesn’t fade after the first reread. Ozzy Osbourne is dead, and the world […]