The Cover Story

Ho99o9: “No-one sounds like us. No-one will ever be us”

Since forming 10 years ago, the diabolical duo of Yeti Bones and theOGM have only done things their way, marking Ho99o9 out as genuine alternatives to the mainstream. Feared and respected in equal measure, we sit down with the two rap-punks to find out what they’re really all about…

Venom Prison: “It’s important to show that we live in a world that is quite dark, even when we don’t see it as such”

Standing on the ashes of best-laid plans, Venom Prison are poised to take the next step in their ongoing conquest of British metal. With new album Erebos drawing on the darkness and chaos of the past two years, can they find a light in the black?

Vein.fm: “Our music is like a beaten up heart that we’re giving over to people”

One of hardcore’s brightest hopes are back with the most brutal and barbaric album of the year. What it’s all about… well, we’re not so sure, but there’s one thing we do know: Vein.fm are out for blood.

Higher Power: “We are freaks. We are weirdos. Let’s embrace it!”

With sensational second LP 27 Miles Underwater, Higher Power confirmed UK hardcore could hang with the best in the world. But the events of 2020 – in and out of the band – interrupted their genre-shifting arrival. Now they’re back: ready to go bigger and bolder than ever before…

Enter Shikari: “Performing is, simply, what we were born to be doing”

Left broken and void of their creative instincts, the events of the past two years sucked the life from Enter Shikari. But now that live music is once again in full swing, the touchpaper has been lit, and Rou Reynolds and co. are set to rise from the ashes with more determination, resolve and righteous indignation than ever before…

Scowl: “As much as hardcore is for everyone, not everyone is for hardcore”

Bogged-down, bored and unfulfilled, Scowl vocalist Kat Moss was wilting under the Californian sun until she found her place in hardcore punk. Lockdown might’ve hampered her band’s bottlerocket ascent, but pouring every ounce of frustration into rapid-fire first album How Flowers Grow, life is moving fast again for the Santa Cruz collective. And it’s exactly as they like it…

Static Dress: “This genre has so much to be explored, but no-one wants to do it because everyone’s too scared of not being cool for 10 minutes”

In a world where so many artists are afraid to stray from the norm, Static Dress stand as one of the most inventive and inspiring acts in the burgeoning new wave of post-hardcore, unafraid to push what it means to be a band. Dive into the Technicolor rabbit hole...

Bob Vylan: “The music industry is the wild west… it’s a dangerous place with dangerous people”

Kicking against racism, police brutality and an outdated music business, Bob Vylan are making a vital, visceral noise, and they're doing it their own way. Meet the most exciting and important punk band in the UK...

How Korn finally found inner peace

After the catharsis of The Nothing, Korn have – for the first time – found themselves in a positive space. In a world-exclusive, Jonathan, Munky and Head explore this renewed and refreshed appreciation for existence, plus how it formed the blueprint for their new album and the rest of their lives...

Rolo Tomassi: A kind of magic

Following the huge success of Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It, Rolo Tomassi are back with new album Where Myth Becomes Memory. In a world-exclusive interview, Eva and James explore the album's creation, its meaning and why making music is a truly wonderful thing...

IDLES: The rise and rise of Britain’s unlikely rock heroes

Turning anger into art has made IDLES one of the biggest bands in the country. For frontman Joe Talbot, it’s meant navigating the road to sobriety more than once. As they release their fourth album, the iconoclastic Crawler, he and guitarist Mark Bowen reflect on life at the top, and keeping your head when all around are losing theirs…

Andy Biersack: The rise of rock’s great antihero

For his entire adult life, Andy Biersack has been in the public eye, and it’s not always been a positive experience. Growing up as a Batman-obsessed lone wolf hardened the Black Veil Brides mastermind to any negativity, making his hunger for success stronger. And it still hasn’t abated…

Behind Blue Eyes: The Radical rebirth of Keith Buckley

Battling alcoholism, marriage difficulties and a worsening existential crisis, Every Time I Die frontman Keith Buckley hit rock bottom just as he crashed into last year’s lockdown. With the Buffalo bruisers’ long-overdue ninth album Radical finally seeing the light of day, he explains how it became a roadmap to get back on track…

“I don’t feel that we belong anywhere, but we belong together”: How Biffy Clyro found their happy place

Biffy Clyro have already released one amazing album in lockdown. But when the isolation continued to pinch, they got to it making another, in secret. This is the story of The Myth Of The Happily Ever After, the record that helped them find balance, and rediscover themselves...

The fun and the fury of Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes’ most aggressive album yet

After lockdown put a halt to music and severely impacted the mental health of millions, Frank Carter and Dean Richardson channelled their aggression and renewed passion for performing into the fun and furious new album, Sticky.

Wage War: How strength and unity shaped their greatest album yet

With the COVID pandemic derailing their momentum following third album Pressure, Wage War had no idea if they’d ever be a proper band again. Having channelled those frustrations into new record Manic, vocalists Briton Bond and Cody Quistad chart the rebirth of metalcore’s brightest hope…

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