The Cover Story

Holding Absence: “As a kid, music is what helped me, and I’d love to be that person for more people”

Holding Absence have been on an upward trajectory to rival Santa’s sleigh, and it shows no sign of stopping – even with a pesky pandemic getting in the way. As they prepare to (finally) take their latest album The Greatest Mistake Of My Life into the nooks and crannies of the UK, Lucas Woodland reflects on their incredible journey so far…

I Prevail: “Thirty years from now when we’re all 60, we want to still be doing this for a living”

As I Prevail approach their 10th anniversary as a band in 2023, the Michigan metalcore gang have spectacularly risen into a genuine force in heavy music. With the physical release of latest album True Power on the way, and shows at the likes of London’s O2 Academy Brixton lined up, this is their brilliant story (so far).

Mimi Barks: “When you don’t limit yourself, there’s the risk of pissing people off. I don’t give a f*ck”

On her new mixtape DEADGIRL, Mimi Barks explores everything from “hating, self-growth, re-awakening, revenge”. Soundtracked by her signature doom-trap, the London-via-Berlin trailblazer is ready to share her journey with the world…

††† (Crosses): “There were two options: either we don’t do this band at all, or we try it with just us two. We chose the latter”

This month, ††† (Crosses) – the musical brainchild of Deftones icon Chino Moreno and Far prodigy Shaun Lopez – return with PERMANENT.RADIANT, a six-track collection that’s going to blow people away. But, as Kerrang! finds out, it’s taken a lifetime of friendship and challenges to get to this point…

Waterparks: “This is the best version of us – with new and exciting steps forward”

On Waterparks’ fifth album INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Awsten Knight – as he always does – threw himself headfirst into the creative process. Now, previewing it for the first time in this exclusive interview, the frontman reveals how the hard work is paying off…

A.A. Williams: “It never felt like classical was enough… I needed to make more noise!”

When A.A. Williams’ excellent debut Forever Blue arrived in 2020, its glassy melancholy chimed with a world trapped on the inside looking out. About to embark on a tour in support of superb second offering As The Moon Rests, however, the London songstress is finding strength in releasing her shadowy sounds into the great wide open.

L.S. Dunes: “We didn’t realise how much we needed this band until we started writing for it”

After two decades of interlinking friendship, L.S. Dunes saw five of emo and post-hardcore’s most respected figureheads finally get together. Rather than trading on old glories, however, debut LP Past Lives is about parrying their shared experience – from firebrand beginnings to fatherhood – into some of the coolest ‘dad rock’ the world has ever seen…

Palaye Royale: “This is the world we’ve created and the world that we get to live in – and it’s beautiful”

It took retreating to a haunted mansion in Hollywood make their new album Fever Dream for Palaye Royale to realise how big their would could become. Now, with perspective re-aligned, they’re determined to build it out even further…

Backxwash: “This is therapy for me… I’ve created a universe for all these pieces of work to live in”

As Ashanti Mutinta prepares to bring Backxwash’s current album trilogy to an end with HIS HAPPINESS SHALL COME FIRST…, the Zambian-Canadian rapper reflects on religion’s role in her life, the importance of having a creative outlet, and how others have “healed” through her art…

Architects: “You want your music to be an escape for people. You want to be a place where people can come together…”

An outsider at heart, by casting off the shackles of expectation, Sam Carter has finally learned to embrace who he wants to be. And as Architects gear up to release their 10th album, the Brighton metallers are also finding their own path away from fan pressures and on into pure creative freedom...

Lorna Shore: “Things are unbelievable right now… we’re excited to see how far we can take this”

They’re one of the hottest heavy bands on the planet, but since forming in 2010, Lorna Shore have been on quite the journey to get here. Guitarist Adam De Micco and new (ish) vocalist Will Ramos meet Kerrang! to look back at where they came from – and why, now, the future has never been brighter…

Poppy: “People are always trying to get ahead as opposed to living, it takes a lot of work to fight to be in the present”

In recent years, enigmatic alt. superstar Poppy has been peeling back the layers to show more sides of herself. Now, on raging new EP Stagger, she lays bare her experiences for all listeners to learn from…

Stray From The Path: “The pandemic made people aware of their position in the machine... Everyone is weaponised now”

Bad times call for good music. After a pandemic spent watching the planet descend into the abyss, Stray From The Path are back with Euthanasia, raging against corporations, corruption and cops… and that’s just for starters.

WILLOW: “I feel like the biggest pressure is the pressure to just be authentic”

From her hair-whipping debut to excellent fifth album <COPINGMECHANISM>, 21-year-old Willow Smith has become quite the rock star. And in embracing her love of metal, finding new ways to work in the studio, and training “really hard” on her vocals, it’s clear that she’s still only just getting started…

Ville Valo: “It’s a continuation of what I’ve done in the past and what might happen next”

Half a decade on from the end of gothic rock heroes HIM, frontman Ville Valo is gearing up to release his debut solo album. And in Neon Noir, not only did the Finnish icon find a reason to keep going during the pandemic, it also sees Ville still very much enjoying his dreamy journey into the dark side…

Ozzy Osbourne: “If I drop dead now, at least I can’t say that I’ve had a dull career”

Having made an unexpected return to the stage and with a new album around the corner, all eyes are on the godfather of heavy metal. Casting his eyes over life, death and music, we sit down with a contemplative Ozzy Osbourne, who simply cannot be stopped…

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