Features

Private jokes, posh dressing rooms and absolutely no sweatpants: Life on the road with Skin

Skin has done it all. So it’s no surprise that, when Skunk Anansie’s singer is on tour these days, she’s a self-described “goody two-shoes” who doesn’t even want to step foot in a manky service station…

The Nightmares are dreaming big

Bridging the gap between indie and emo comes naturally to ultra-cool Welsh ghouls The Nightmares. So too, it turns out, does crafting worlds that hold a mirror up to ourselves and ask important questions of love and life…

How Deijuvhs is breaking the nu-metal mould

Since opening Limp Bizkit’s Gunnersbury Park colossus in 2023, Deijuvhs has cemented himself as a breath of fresh air amongst the nu-metal revival. With the imminent arrival of new mixtape Cemetery Scum, the east Londoner dissects his never-ending megamix of genres, finding inspiration in classic ’90s movies, and why the punk ethos feels “reignited in his chest”...

“I want to operate where there are no rules”: How SpiritWorld woke the ghosts of the Wild West

Horror-western outlaws SpiritWorld aren’t interested in beating down the path of least resistance. So as much as 2022’s Deathwestern opened their dark gospel to more devotees than ever, Stu Folsom needed their new album Helldorado to be a bold expansion, drawing on an unholy host of new sounds…

A Day To Remember: “We’re always chasing that moment that connects with people on a deep level”

As A Day To Remember springboard from their sensational new record Big Ole Album Vol. 1 to finally headline Slam Dunk Festival in May, Jeremy McKinnon takes us inside their latest chapter, and explains why he’ll forever do things from the heart…

“I heard it and thought, ‘This emo thing’s for me’”: The Used’s Bert McCracken on the album that changed his life

The Used frontman Bert McCracken looks back on his life-changing discovery of Sunny Day Real Estate, and how they reshaped his approach to music…

Harpy: “I want people to feel intense things – whether they’re grossed out or turned on”

Harpy is as striking and dangerous as the Greek beast that bears her name. As she prepares to descend on Download, the London alt. queen explains how she’s all about blood, chaos and “not taking any sh*t…”

Deafheaven: “If power is influence, we have a responsibility to be as understanding, empathetic and knowledgeable as possible”

Deafheaven frontman George Clarke has grappled with the self-examination through music for years now. Where his Californian pioneers’ icy blackgaze has often felt like an exercise in abstract deflection, however, awesome sixth album Lonely People With Power finds healing fire in its complex interrogation of human relationships and the art of influence over one another...

“They saved me”: Why Sleep Token have one of the most dedicated fanbases in the world

Sleep Token would be nothing without their legion of fans that spreads across the globe. But what exactly is it that’s burrowed into their souls and engendered such stunning devotion?

“We want to really show that UK metal is on the rise”: Malevolence introduce their furious and ambitious new album

It’s been a whirlwind few years for Malevolence. Having toiled for over a decade as heroes of the underground, 2022’s excellent Malicious Intent thrust them onto the world stage. But as Alex Taylor explains, follow-up Where Only The Truth Is Spoken serves as a reminder never to forget their roots…

Who are Limp Bizkit’s fans?

We meet the fans at Limp Bizkit’s sold-out Manchester arena show to find out why the band and the nu-metal scene is going through a resurgence right now...

The rise of You Me At Six, as told through their most important gigs

From scrappy early shows to taking over Warped Tour, Wembley and more, You Me At Six’s Josh Franceschi talks us through 10 of the band’s most stand-out gigs.

In the studio with Hot Milk: “There’s a lot more screams, a lot more energy”

Fresh from announcing Corporation P.O.P, Hot Milk invite us into the studio to talk timeless albums, channelling Rage Against The Machine, and, um, “fiddling with knobs…”

Under Cover: How Sleep Token took masks in music to a whole new level

From KISS to Ghost, there’s been a long history of ambiguous imagery in music. No band has used masks quite like Sleep Token, though. Looking further back to the relationship between face decoration and themes of anonymity and identity, comedy and tragedy, theatre and ritual, one can uncover a whole world going on beneath their surface, going all the way to the beginning of humanity itself…

How Pest Control’s Leah Massey found her voice in hardcore

Leah Massey didn’t imagine herself as a hardcore singer when she was a kid in Leeds, growing up on pop-punk. Today, she and Pest Control are one of the British underground’s brightest lights. As their infestation grows, she tells us about ambition, grief, imposter syndrome and emo fandom…

Nova Twins: “It’s important to not stay too comfortable… Stepping out of our box was scary and fun”

Three years after going Supernova, London rock icons Nova Twins are about to leave it all on the line with their new album Parasites & Butterflies. Gearing up for an incredible next chapter of the band, are Amy Love and Georgia South ready to do it all over again? “F*ck yeah…”

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