Genre Histories

Dawn Ray'd on stage

British Black Metal

Eirik Solvang · Jun 25, 2026

Angra on stage at Bangers Open Air in Sao Paulo in 2026, the singer and a guitarist at the front

Latin American Heavy Metal

Declan Rourke · Jun 25, 2026

A festival crowd in front of the main stage at dusk

Thrash Festivals: Wacken, Hellfest and the Reunion Circuit

Declan Rourke · Jun 24, 2026

Alice Cooper on stage at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow in October 2024, cane raised above his head

Madness and Asylums in Metal Lyrics

Declan Rourke · Jun 24, 2026

Brujeria performing live on stage

Mexican Death Metal Bands

Rafael Quintero · Jun 23, 2026

Bulldozer in a 1985 band portrait

Italy and Spain: Bulldozer, Necrodeath, Legion

Declan Rourke · Jun 21, 2026

Helloween on stage in Budapest beneath a hanging carved pumpkin and a backdrop whose forty is closed by a jack o lantern face

The Heavy Metal Mascots

Declan Rourke · Jun 20, 2026

King Diamond, band portrait, circa 2000. Photo: courtesy Metal Blade Records

From Shock Rock to Heavy Metal

Declan Rourke · Jun 19, 2026

Tom Angelripper of Sodom with his bandmates

How German Thrash Fed Black Metal

Declan Rourke · Jun 19, 2026

Watain frontman breathing fire during a live performance

Black Metal Album Art and the Artists Behind It

Eirik Solvang · Jun 19, 2026

The sleeves of Death Magnetic, Endgame, World Painted Blood and Worship Music

The Big Four Concerts: Sofia 2010 to Yankee Stadium

Declan Rourke · Jun 17, 2026

Ozzy Osbourne and Randy Rhoads performing at Day on the Green, Oakland Stadium, 4 July 1981

Ozzy and the Suicide Solution Lawsuit

Declan Rourke · Jun 14, 2026

Aria, Moskoncert promotional card, 1986. Photo: courtesy of the band

Heavy Metal Behind the Iron Curtain

Declan Rourke · Jun 13, 2026

Amorphis performing live

Finnish Death Metal

Andrzej Sawicki · Jun 13, 2026

Testament on an open-air festival stage

What Happened to the Bay Area Scene

Declan Rourke · Jun 12, 2026

The bassist of Voivod on stage at the Thekla in Bristol in June 2026, the band logo lit behind him

Sci-Fi and Dystopia in Heavy Metal

Declan Rourke · Jun 12, 2026

Flotsam and Jetsam on stage at the Whisky a Go Go in 2019

How Thrash Bands Got Their Names

Declan Rourke · Jun 11, 2026

Mercyful Fate on stage in 2022, the Baphomet sigil behind them and the bone microphone stand in the singer hands

Mercyful Fate, King Diamond and the Theatrical Line

Eirik Solvang · Jun 11, 2026