Explainers

Satyricon performing live on stage

Corpse Paint, Logos, Forests and the Rest of the Iconography

Eirik Solvang · May 9, 2026

Deafheaven playing live in 2023

The Deafheaven Argument

Eirik Solvang · May 8, 2026

Killswitch Engage on stage

Metalcore vs Crossover Thrash

Jonah Pike · May 8, 2026

Rhapsody of Fire guitarist Roby De Micheli playing live, lunging forward with a green guitar, the band's backdrop banner behind him and the drummer and keyboard player in the background

How Power Metal Is Recorded: The Studios, the Producers and the Sound

Julien Vasseur with Curtis Vance · May 7, 2026

The debut album sleeves of Pentagram, Trouble and Candlemass laid side by side

Who Invented Doom Metal?

Ilse Brandt · May 7, 2026

Steve Harris of Iron Maiden playing bass live at Nova Rock Festival, Nickelsdorf, Austria, 14 June 2014

How to Write Metal Lyrics

Declan Rourke · May 5, 2026

Summoning's Dol Guldur beside Lifelover's Sjukdom

DSBM vs Atmospheric: Where the Line Falls

Eirik Solvang · May 4, 2026

The sleeves of Reign in Blood, Chaos A.D., Burn My Eyes and South of Heaven

Is Pantera Thrash Metal?

Declan Rourke · May 4, 2026

Van Halen live at the Rainbow Theatre, London, 22 October 1978: Eddie Van Halen playing his striped Frankenstrat, with David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen

Heavy Metal Guitar Tunings

Declan Rourke with Julien Vasseur · May 4, 2026

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats on stage bathed in red light, long-haired guitarists and the drummer

The Culture: Sleeves, Logos, Tunings and the Slowest Aesthetic in Metal

Ilse Brandt · May 3, 2026

Scott Travis behind the Judas Priest drum kit at Hellfest in June 2022, both bass drums carrying the band logo

Why 80s Metal Drums Sound That Way

Declan Rourke with Curtis Vance · May 3, 2026

Autopsy performing live on stage

The Culture: Tapes, Zines, Artwork and the Line You Could Not Cross

Rafael Quintero · May 2, 2026

Venom around a table in their early years

Is Venom Thrash Metal, Black Metal or Neither?

Declan Rourke · May 2, 2026

Akercocke in a band portrait in a brick tunnel

Blackened Death Metal Explained

Andrzej Sawicki · Apr 30, 2026

Enforcer at KK's Steel Mill, 2023. Photo: Paul Hutchings

How Many Metal Subgenres Are There?

Declan Rourke · Apr 30, 2026

The five members of Angra standing together in leather jackets for a studio group portrait, the singer crouched at the front with one hand held out

How Power Metal Is Built: Harmony, Speed, Instruments and the Voice

Julien Vasseur · Apr 30, 2026

The six members of Saturnus standing in a dark green forest

Melodic Doom Metal

Ilse Brandt · Apr 30, 2026

Fans in denim on the Sunset Strip at night

Why the Bay Area and Not Los Angeles

Declan Rourke · Apr 27, 2026