Features

Taking Back Sunday: “With each record we’ve been able to see that we’re not alone”

After a seven-year wait, emo torchbearers Taking Back Sunday are back with eighth album 152. In a world-exclusive first interview about their new era, we find the longtime friends not only taking time to reflect on their past, but using it as fuel to move forward and become the greatest version of the band they know they can be…

In pictures: Turnstile bring the party to Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse

Relive Turnstile’s momentous Manchester headline show in picture form!

In pictures: Hanabie’s UK debut at the Underworld in London

Check out our exclusive gallery of Hanabie’s first-ever show in the UK!

The rise of Neck Deep, as told through their most important gigs

In their decade-plus-long career, Wrexham pop-punk heroes Neck Deep have always done shows their own way – from early U.S. gigs on a total whim, to accidentally smoking out entire venues. Ben Barlow looks back at it all…

Inside the chaotic mosh-pits of Bloodstock

Jump into the mosh-pit and marvel at the carnage and camaraderie at this year’s Bloodstock Festival.

The XCERTS: “We wanted to write songs like we were 14 again – nothing was off the table”

After five years away The XCERTS are back with new album Learning How To Live And Let Go: a record that originally saw the trio tackle their sense of identity and worth head-on, but has ultimately led the Britrock underdogs to find inner peace.

Urne: “Somebody said this is the most ‘human sounding’ metal record they’ve heard in years. That meant a lot”

Reckoning on death, degenerative illness, and the darkening of the mind, Urne’s incredible second album A Feast On Sorrow is one of the most wholly heavy records in recent memory. Frontman Joe Nally explains how the London trio teamed up with Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier to work through one of the darkest periods in his life…

20 bands you need to watch this weekend at ArcTanGent

A decade since it first arrived on the festival calendar, Bristol’s ArcTanGent has become an essential destination for fans of alternative music from far leftfield. Beyond headliners Converge, Heilung and Devin Townsend, and there are a whole galaxy of sounds to discover...

Caskets: “If this band didn’t work out, I wasn’t going to bother again. It’s really cool to have a buzz around us now”

With the UK continuing to produce some of the very best modern metalcore on the planet, Leeds quintet Caskets have quietly – but forcefully – also thrown their hat into the ring in recent years. Frontman Matt Flood once considered giving up on music entirely, but now he’s coming to terms with a firmly upwards trajectory…

The Armed: “This was always supposed to be magical and bizarre, but never just f*cking pretend”

After years as the slipperiest enigma in alternative music, The Armed are finally setting the story straight. Well, kinda. Strapping ourselves to the anarchic collective as they kick off celebrations for fifth LP Perfect Saviors, K! finds there’s still no easy way out once you’ve fallen into their intoxicating tangle of politics and philosophy, muscle and mayhem…

Killswitch Engage: “A few things might blow up during our Bloodstock set”

Ahead of their first-ever UK festival headline performance, Killswitch Engage’s Adam D shares some secrets on what their Bloodstock set might contain, as well as looking ahead to new music…

Hot Milk: “I want to put a bit of reality back in, a bit of bite, a bit of f*cking attitude…”

If you haven’t caught Hot Milk yet, it’s because the Manchester outfit are already zooming upward faster than most can keep up with. Ahead of the release of their debut album, they tell us the story so far: touring with Foo Fighters, writing with blink-182, appearing on America’s biggest talk show, and how they’re preparing to clean up the music industry…

Teenage Wrist’s track-by-track guide to new album Still Love

Teenage Wrist are awesome. Their new album, Still Love, is also awesome. So here’s Marshall Gallagher to tell you everything about it…

Voice Of Baceprot: “Metal raises our adrenaline and makes us more confident”

Indonesia’s Voice Of Baceprot came up against naysayers – including their very own parents – when they first started playing metal. But in fearlessly forging ahead and releasing their debut album Retas this year, the trio have realised that they’ve got what it takes to change the world through music…

NAUT: “You need to savour each moment intensely for what it is, then move on and do the same for the next”

With long-awaited debut album Hunt, Bristol post-punk quartet NAUT confirmed themselves as moody masters in a new wave of goth-inflected heavy music. As vocalist Gavin Laubscher and guitarist Jack Welch explain, however, it’s only through darkness that we can find the light…

In the studio with Svalbard: “It’s us walking down a dark path together and confronting our demons head-on”

Svalbard have spent the past year working on their highly-anticipated fourth album, The Weight Of The Mask. You’ll have to wait a bit longer to hear it, but vocalist/guitarist Serena Cherry gives a peek at what to expect. Spoiler: violins…

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