Explainers

Venom band portrait, three members in black making devil-horn and fist gestures at the camera

Backmasking

Declan Rourke · Apr 24, 2026

Impetuous Ritual performing live on stage

Cavernous Death Metal

Rafael Quintero · Apr 23, 2026

The five members of Symphony X standing shoulder to shoulder in a black and white studio portrait, all in dark clothing

The Power Metal Subgenres and Its Family Tree

Julien Vasseur · Apr 23, 2026

The sleeve of Obsessed by Cruelty, Sodom, 1986

Why Was German Thrash More Extreme Than American Thrash?

Declan Rourke · Apr 20, 2026

Varathron on stage

Second Wave Black Metal Explained

Eirik Solvang · Apr 20, 2026

James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich and Jason Newsted of Metallica backstage at a US stadium during the Monsters of Rock tour, 24 July 1988.

The Heavy Metal Guitar Tone

Declan Rourke with Curtis Vance · Apr 20, 2026

Winter, the New York death-doom trio, in a 1990 portrait

What Is Death Doom?

Rafael Quintero · Apr 19, 2026

Helloween performing live at the Eventim Apollo in London, 20 October 2025, with the band on stage in front of their pumpkin-mascot video backdrop.

Heavy Metal vs Power Metal

Declan Rourke · Apr 19, 2026

Two guitarists of In Flames playing a line together on stage in London in October 2024

Melodic Heavy Metal

Declan Rourke · Apr 17, 2026

The members of Internal Bleeding

Brutal Slam: Where the Two Words Stopped Meaning the Same Thing

Rafael Quintero · Apr 14, 2026

Ved Buens Ende on stage at Steelfest in 2024

Post Black Metal

Eirik Solvang · Apr 14, 2026

Scorpions performing on stage in front of a packed arena crowd, Seattle, 2017

The Voice and the Ritual: Heavy Metal Singing and the Live Show

Declan Rourke with Julien Vasseur · Apr 9, 2026

Archspire on stage

Technical vs Progressive Death Metal

Rafael Quintero · Apr 8, 2026

The sleeve of Pulver, Lifelover, 2006

What Is DSBM?

Eirik Solvang · Apr 8, 2026

Kerry King of Slayer playing guitar live at Blackweir Fields, Cardiff, Wales, July 2025, fretting hand gripping the neck

The Tritone, the Devil's Interval

Declan Rourke with Julien Vasseur · Apr 7, 2026

Andy Sneap standing at the mixing console in the control room of his Backstage Studios

Modern Metal Production

Declan Rourke with Curtis Vance · Apr 6, 2026

Cirith Ungol playing a concert stage under blue light with the band name on the backdrop and raised hands in the crowd

Traditional Doom Metal, and What Makes It Traditional

Ilse Brandt · Apr 6, 2026

Mercyful Fate posing together in a backstage corridor, King Diamond in his spiked crown and painted face

Heavy Metal vs Black Metal

Declan Rourke · Apr 5, 2026