Features

“I need to create all the time”: Bambie Thug on new music, fighting for what’s right and the goth tour of the year

With millions now aware of the pitch-black enigma that is Bambie Thug, the Irish-born, London-based artist has eyes on global domination, starting with a very goth tour and ending with… an orchestra at Christmas?!

Delilah Bon: “People’s responses to my music has given me fuel. I’ve not even started yet!”

Born from Lauren Tate’s frustration about the sexism she experienced in her last band, Delilah Bon has become a vital outlet for female rage. And she’s gathering a mightily empowered fanbase while she’s at it…

From colourful Vans to custom-made merch: The best in alternative style this month

You wouldn’t necessarily know it from looking outside, but summer is almost here! Get your festival fits sorted now with these new collabs, awesome brands and upcycled band merch.

“It’s unprecedented madness, and that’s what a show should be”: Kid Bookie on purging the spirit and changing the world

Ahead of his hotly-tipped third album, we join Kid Bookie in Paris with I Prevail to discover the drive and the desires of the double MOBO Award nominee, and how he’s planning to change the world – one bit at a time…

Tony Iommi on Black Sabbath’s “lost” era: “It’s a shame, because we made some great music”

As they’re resurrected and finally brought onto streaming services, Tony Iommi looks back on the albums of Black Sabbath’s “lost” era, and how an unknown new frontman gave them a new lease of life...

Bring Me The Horizon: “The way we’re doing stuff now, it feels like I’m making art again, for art’s sake”

We’ve waited long enough: NeX GEn has finally arrived, and with it, a whole new chapter for Bring Me The Horizon. It’s taken a lot to get here, but it’s only made Britain’s biggest band even stronger. And, as Oli Sykes takes us inside BMTH 2024, it’s leading them into a golden age…

10 reasons why you need Speed in your life

Speed might just be the most important Australian hardcore band in a generation. Off the six songs of smashing first EP Gang Called Speed, the Sydney collective have spring-boarded from their local scene to the world stage. And, despite having already achieved more than any of them ever imagined, frontman Jem Siow explains that they won’t be pumping the brakes anytime soon…

Jon Bon Jovi: “I didn’t want to perform half-assed. If it was the end, I was good with that”

Two years ago, after enduring years of throat problems, Jon Bon Jovi was ready to retire. One throat surgery, a documentary and a new Bon Jovi album later, rock’s biggest voice explains how he had to learn to talk again, and rediscovered the joy of music…

“It feels like a homecoming”: You Me At Six, Waterparks, The Interrupters and I Prevail get pumped for Slam Dunk Festival

There’s no better way to kick off the summer than Slam Dunk Festival. This weekend, the great and the good of punk, metal, ska and beyond hit Hatfield and Leeds to ring in a bumper festival season. We catch up with four stage headliners to find out what they’ve got in store for us…

Boston Manor: “Sundiver is a journey into the blissful, glowy world we’re creating”

Boston Manor are back with the second piece of the Datura puzzle, in the form of Sundiver. Here, frontman Henry Cox dives into how the album came together, making perhaps the best song of their career, working with Heriot’s Debbie Gough, and much more…

Maynard James Keenan: “If you’re not putting yourself in the space where the breakthrough can happen, you’re not going to have one”

After a 60th birthday celebration for the ages and ahead of a Fear Inoculum victory lap around the UK, Maynard James Keenan reflects on a life on the cutting edge of heavy music, how his priorities have changed with age, why he’ll never actually retire, and who would win in a fight between him and Mark Zuckerberg…

Tool’s Justin Chancellor: “It feels like a second chance after so many years of searching”

It’s a busy time to be in Tool. Not only are they back on tour and heading to the UK very soon, they’ve also started work on ideas for the follow-up to their 2019 opus Fear Inoculum. Here, their enigmatic bassist – and all-round gent – Justin Chancellor talks new music, robots and the creative benefits of gardening…

“I had to start again and build a foundation out of nothing”: The trauma and triumph behind Defects’ debut album

On the eve of their debut album and upcoming inaugural appearance at Download Festival, metalcore upstarts Defects lift the lid on the childhood experiences that fed into Modern Error and why they want to be a beacon of hope for fans in similar situations…

You Me At Six’s Josh Franceschi: “I’ve always hated it when my favourite bands have ended badly. This isn’t like that”

So, who saw that coming? After almost 20 years, You Me At Six are calling it a day, bringing things to a close over the next 18 months, including a final headliner at Slam Dunk. Here, Josh Franceschi tells us the reasons, emotions, and feelings of rightness involved in the decision. “It was almost meant to happen this way...”

Pallbearer: “The pain is quieter now. It’s no longer a literal throbbing in my chest”

For 16 years, Brett Campbell has purged his depressions and neuroses into the melancholic music of Pallbearer. Growing older and gaining stability has changed the shape of the emotions swirling within, but even as the Arkansas doomsters unveil quieter fifth LP Mind Burns Alive, there’s still an ocean of bittersweetness at play…

Body Count’s Ice-T: “I’m always going to be hardcore, I’m always going to push the line. It’s what I enjoy doing”

Four years since COVID cut their Carnivore cycle cruelly short, Body Count are making up for lost time with Psychopath: the furious first single from their long-awaited eighth LP Merciless. We grabbed legendary frontman Ice-T for an exclusive interview to talk playing the villain, winning GRAMMYs, and how he wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t hitting harder than ever…

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