The Magazine

The long reads. Genre histories told chapter by chapter, band biographies, the essential albums, the label stories and the portraits, written by the KaosMetal editors.

Narrowed to Heavy Metal. The whole magazine →

A TEAC 144 Portastudio, the four track cassette recorder of 1979, photographed against white

The Four-Track Demo

Declan Rourke with Curtis Vance · Sep 2, 2026

Slade at Reading Festival, 1980. Photo: Barry Plummer

Gang Vocals and Crowd Chants

Declan Rourke with Julien Vasseur · Sep 1, 2026

Judas Priest at Aichi Prefectural Theater, Nagoya, 2024. Photo: Yusuke Takagi

Why People Hate Heavy Metal

Declan Rourke · Aug 31, 2026

Skinflint, 2023. Photo: First Avenue

Heavy Metal in Africa

Declan Rourke · Aug 30, 2026

Manowar on stage in 2019, arms raised in front of a packed field

Metal Songs About Metal

Declan Rourke · Aug 29, 2026

Ginger Baker behind his drum kit with Ginger Baker's Energy, Zemun, Yugoslavia, 1980. Photo: Zoran Veselinovic

Where Double Bass Drumming Came From

Declan Rourke with Julien Vasseur · Aug 28, 2026

An engineer watching a lacquer disc being cut on a Neumann lathe at a mastering room in Nashville

Vinyl, Cassette, CD: How Formats Changed Heavy Metal

Declan Rourke with Curtis Vance · Aug 27, 2026

Justin Hawkins of The Darkness at OVO Arena Wembley, London, 29 March 2025. Photo: Robert Sutton

Falsetto vs Full Voice

Declan Rourke with Julien Vasseur · Aug 26, 2026

Drowning Pool at Tramshed, Cardiff, 2026. Photo: Paul Hutchings

The Banned Heavy Metal Songs

Declan Rourke · Aug 25, 2026

Nervecell in Dubai, 2018. Photo: courtesy of the band, via Gulf News

Heavy Metal in the Middle East

Declan Rourke · Aug 24, 2026

Blind Guardian posing together on stage at the end of their set, facing a packed crowd, Keep It True Festival, 20 November 2021.

Greek Myth and Arthurian Legend in Metal

Declan Rourke · Aug 23, 2026

Matt Cameron of Soundgarden drumming live, early 1990s. Photo: Ross Halfin

Odd Time Signatures in Metal

Declan Rourke with Julien Vasseur · Aug 22, 2026

The meter bridge of a Studer two inch tape machine with a loaded reel below it, the channel meters lit

The NWOBHM on a Shoestring Budget

Declan Rourke with Curtis Vance · Aug 21, 2026

Judas Priest live, 1986. Photo: Ross Halfin

Airbrush Fantasy Art on Heavy Metal Covers

Declan Rourke · Aug 20, 2026

Epica at Hellfest, Clisson, 2025. Photo: Ryan Hildrew

Operatic Singing in Heavy Metal

Declan Rourke with Julien Vasseur · Aug 19, 2026

Motörhead at Port Talbot, 1982. Photo: Andrew King

Heavy Metal Moral Panic in Britain

Declan Rourke · Aug 18, 2026

Riot at the Brooklyn Bridge, New York, 1980. Photo: Ross Halfin

The New York Heavy Metal Scene

Declan Rourke · Aug 17, 2026

James Hetfield of Metallica pointing out into the crowd at Download in June 2023

Lovecraft and Heavy Metal

Declan Rourke · Aug 16, 2026

Wolf Hoffmann of Accept playing guitar at Hellfest, 2024. Photo: Ryan Hildrew

Why Metal Loves the Minor Key

Declan Rourke with Julien Vasseur · Aug 15, 2026

The empty control room at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, the desk and monitors facing the glass

The Studios That Shaped Heavy Metal

Declan Rourke with Curtis Vance · Aug 14, 2026

Metallica with the San Francisco Symphony at Chase Center, San Francisco, 2019. Photo: David Iskra

Heavy Metal and Classical Music

Declan Rourke · Aug 13, 2026

Jules Radino of Blue Oyster Cult behind the kit in Glasgow in 2022, the hook and cross painted on the bass drum head

The Heavy Metal Symbols

Declan Rourke · Aug 12, 2026

Gene Simmons of Kiss in full Demon greasepaint playing bass on stage in 1980

The Heavy Metal Bands That Wear Masks

Declan Rourke · Aug 11, 2026

Bruce Dickinson at History, Toronto, 16 September 2025. Photo: Taylor Cameron

The Air Raid Siren Style

Declan Rourke with Julien Vasseur · Aug 10, 2026