Explainers

Rob Halford of Judas Priest singing into a hand-held microphone on stage, studded leather jacket and raised gauntlet, guitarist beside him

Is Judas Priest NWOBHM?

Declan Rourke · Jan 20, 2026

The sleeves of Restless and Wild, Kill 'Em All, Show No Mercy and Ride the Lightning

What Was the First Thrash Metal Album?

Declan Rourke · Jan 18, 2026

Gorgoroth performing live on stage

What Does True Norwegian Black Metal Actually Mean?

Eirik Solvang · Jan 17, 2026

Judas Priest members in leather cutting a cake at a 1979 record store event welcoming the band, tour posters on the wall behind them

Where the Name "Heavy Metal" Comes From

Declan Rourke · Jan 17, 2026

Dave Mustaine performing live in 1988

The Best Thrash Metal Band: The Argument

Declan Rourke · Jan 16, 2026

The sleeve of The Return......, Bathory, 1985

What Was the First Black Metal Album?

Eirik Solvang · Jan 14, 2026

Led Zeppelin receive gold and platinum records at the Savoy Hotel, London, December 1969

Where Did Heavy Metal Originate?

Declan Rourke · Jan 14, 2026

The sleeves of Metallica, Countdown to Extinction, Chaos A.D. and Burn My Eyes

What Killed Thrash Metal?

Declan Rourke · Jan 13, 2026

Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath facing the crowd at the Waldbuhne, Berlin, on the band's farewell tour

When Did Heavy Metal Start?

Declan Rourke · Jan 13, 2026

Judas Priest silhouetted before the crowd at the Monsters of Rock festival, Donington Park, 16 August 1980

The Types of Heavy Metal Music, Mapped

Declan Rourke · Jan 12, 2026

D.R.I. posing together backstage

What Is Crossover Thrash?

Declan Rourke · Jan 11, 2026

Blue Oyster Cult performing on stage at Day on the Green, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, California, facing a packed stadium crowd

What the Heavy Metal Genre Actually Covers

Declan Rourke · Jan 11, 2026

A member of Black Sabbath backstage during the Mob Rules tour, 1981, in a fur-lined jacket beside a car

Is Black Sabbath Heavy Metal?

Declan Rourke · Jan 10, 2026

The sleeves of ...And Justice for All and Seasons in the Abyss

The Big Four of Thrash Explained: Who, Why and Who Got Left Out

Declan Rourke · Jan 6, 2026

Dying Fetus on stage on the From Womb to Waste tour in 2012

Brutal Death Metal Explained

Rafael Quintero · Jan 6, 2026

Diamond Head in a band portrait

Who Invented Thrash Metal?

Declan Rourke · Jan 3, 2026

The Black Sabbath debut album sleeve, a cloaked figure standing before an old mill house among red autumn trees

What Was the First Doom Metal Song?

Ilse Brandt · Jan 3, 2026

A crowd with raised fists in front of a lit stage

What Thrash Metal Sang About

Declan Rourke · Dec 28, 2025