Explainers

The five members of Evoken in black on the steps of a derelict building with peeling white paint, in sepia

Is Doom Metal Extreme Metal?

Ilse Brandt · Aug 13, 2026

Helloween in a band portrait from their early years

Speed Metal vs Thrash Metal: What Is the Difference?

Declan Rourke · Aug 12, 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

Will Ramos of Lorna Shore on a riser at the front of the stage, microphone raised, bassist to his left and the drum kit behind him in red light and haze, Dissonance Festival, Padua, 2022.

Blast, Build, Breakdown: How a Deathcore Song Is Put Together

Jonah Pike · 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

Slipknot on stage

Is Slipknot Thrash Metal? (And Other Bands That Aren't)

Declan Rourke · Aug 9, 2026

Grave on stage in 1991

Nordic Death Metal: What the Four Countries Shared

Andrzej Sawicki · Aug 9, 2026

Megadeth at Milton Keynes National Bowl, 1993. Photo: Ross Halfin

The Heavy Metal and Suicide Myth

Declan Rourke · Aug 9, 2026

Hatebreed singer Jamey Jasta mid-song on the With Full Force 2023 stage, fist clenched and microphone in hand, the band's flaming logo on the video wall behind him.

What Is a Breakdown? The Part Deathcore Is Built Around

Jonah Pike · Aug 8, 2026

Warbringer on stage in 2023

Thrash in 2026: The State of the Genre (annual)

Declan Rourke · Aug 7, 2026

Aborted performing live on stage

Death Metal vs Deathcore

Rafael Quintero · Aug 6, 2026

An All Shall Perish guitarist in a bandana playing a seven-string guitar with a geometric glow finish, in green stage light at DNA Lounge, San Francisco, 2025

How Deathcore Is Built: Breakdowns, Low Tunings and the Riff

Jonah Pike with Curtis Vance · Aug 6, 2026

Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden playing guitar at The O2 Arena, London, 2018. Photo: Steve Ritchie

Phrygian and the Dark Modes

Declan Rourke with Julien Vasseur · Aug 6, 2026

The three members of Primitive Man standing among bare trees and dry grass at dusk, lit red against a blue sky

Doom Metal Tuning

Ilse Brandt · Aug 6, 2026

A mastering room with a cutting lathe on the left and two screens carrying waveform and spectrum readouts

The Loudness War in Metal

Declan Rourke with Curtis Vance · Aug 5, 2026

A packed club floor with a stage diver

Hardcore vs Thrash: What Is the Difference?

Jonah Pike · Aug 4, 2026

Hatebreed at Bloodstock Festival, 2024. Photo: Keith Conlin/MetalTalk

Heavy Metal vs Hardcore

Declan Rourke · Aug 4, 2026

Behemoth on stage in December 2012, two years before The Satanist.

Is Behemoth Black Metal or Death Metal?

Andrzej Sawicki · Aug 3, 2026