People adore them, people despise them and some people don’t want to know about them because they’re still as confusing as ever. Whatever your opinion though, the bottom line is that Babymetal have been the most talked about band for the past 18 months and have surpassed everything we thought …

“The Fleece is a better venue but I felt this gig would be more fun.” Jeffery Johns, affectionately known as Big Jeff, is in attendance tonight at the Marble Factory, having turned down the chance to see Russian Circles down the road at one of Bristol’s more established venues. Something of a …

He made a name for himself with Gallows and followed it up with Pure Love, and now Frank Carter is heading back to his roots. The enigmatic frontman has returned with his new band the Rattlesnakes and, ahead of a UK tour, has recorded the Rotten EP, due out on …

Last week saw the re-release of the self-titled debut album by Swedish folk power metal band Falconer. First released in March 2001, the new edition is a double-disc affair; the first is the full, remastered debut that came out all those years ago, whilst the second sees three brand new acoustic …

Ah, Belgium. The home of chocolate, great beer and, er, Michael Preud’homme. Not so much known for its metal, though. That’s where Steak Number Eight come in. The quartet who play a mix of post- and sludge metal have had a steady rise in the UK; their second album All Is …

Music is subjective to an individual’s taste – nobody is going to like every single genre or artist that’s ever existed. What’s most frustrating, however, is those who associate a band or artist with a particular style, image or fan demographic and immediately discredit them as substandard and not ‘worthy’ of …

Ever wanted to get married at Download? Well now you can! (well, unofficially at least…) It’s one of the new entertainment features at the Donington festival this year to be placed in the Village  – an inflatable Church for all of your matrimonial needs. But that’s not all – you …

It’s been four years since Imaginaerum gave the world the most bonkers record of 2011 and now Finnish giants Nightwish have gone all Darwin on us. Taking inspiration from the naturalist’s seminal work ‘On the Origin of Species’, Endless Forms Most Beautiful is the band’s eighth studio effort, based around the ‘very loose’ concept …

The world of rock and metal from Japan is one that, by and large, has passed the majority of us by until very recently. With the rise to prominence of Crossfaith, Dir en Grey and Sabbat and the quite extraordinary explosion of Babymetal, the genre developed in the Orient is …

It’s a HUGE announcement in terms of bands for Download Festival this morning with another THIRTY-EIGHT names added to the festival lineup. So, without further ado, the latest confirmations are *takes deep breath*: A, Aaron Keylock, Allusondrugs, American Fangs, Apocalyptica, Beartooth, Blackberry Smoke, Butcher Babies, Cavalera Conspiracy, Code Orange, Counterparts, Crobot, …

Enter Shikari (9) have always loved doing stuff their way. Tonight sees them play a venue that, whilst not being the smallest place they ever done, is tiny when you compare it to the venues they could be filling out instead, like the 3,000 capacity Roundhouse they’ve sold out twice over later …

As if it wasn’t tasty enough already, Download Festival have now announced the day splits for the current crop of bands taking to the stage this year in June – have a look below and start planning your weekend of mayhem and carnage! Tickets for the event are still on sale …

As is well documented throughout music history, the biggest change a band can make in terms of lineup is their singer. Guitarists and drummers are skilled enough to be chameleons and play note-for-note renditions of songs written by former members, but bring in a new vocalist and there is more onus …

The first Download announcement of 2015 is upon us – and what a stellar bill it’s turning out to be! Andrew WK, In Flames, Testament, We Are Harlot and L7 lead the latest addition to the bill which also includes Black Star Riders, Thunder,  former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley and the recently reformed The Ghost …

‘Abusing music’s worthless genre boundaries since 2003’ is their tagline, and it’s something that Enter Shikari have held true ever since their formation that year. Every album they’ve released has been different; from the grit and punk nature of 2007’s brilliant debut Take to the Skies right through to the electronic, politically …

Ask any person in their twenties to name a Papa Roach song and nine times out of ten it’ll be something from 2000 opus Infest – and nine times out of ten it’ll be the same song (we all know which one I’m referring to here). Contrary to opinion though, the …

Unless you’re a resident of Bristol, the novelty of a gig in the underbelly of a boat is something to behold – particularly when the Thekla is a wonderful little venue that has a fantastic sound system: the three bands on tonight benefit from it fantastically. On arrival, with twenty …

Pub quiz time – what happens when you take band members from Sikth, Gallows and Cry for Silence, throw in a Radio 1 DJ who was also a member of A and shut them all in a room before giving them the name of an illegal drug with flesh-eating side …

Solo projects are something of a lottery – whilst allowing an artist the freedom to express their own musical direction in a way they can’t with their main band, the natural comparison to the works of their main project will be inevitable. Spare a thought, therefore, for Richard Z. Kruspe. …

I had a chat with Blues Pills at Hard Rock Hell this year. We discuss their UK tour, going off on tangents during songs and their continuing rise to prominence.