Genre Histories

Dimmu Borgir posing together

Black Metal in the 2000s

Eirik Solvang · Feb 22, 2026

Motorhead backstage at the Old Waldorf, San Francisco, during the 1982 Iron Fist tour

The Heavy Metal Family Tree

Declan Rourke · Feb 21, 2026

Alice in Chains guitarist mid-motion at the Central Tavern, Seattle, 1990, long exposure blurring the drum kit and crowd behind him

What Killed Hair Metal

Declan Rourke with Saint Sylveszter · Feb 17, 2026

The sleeve of Vampires of Black Imperial Blood, Mütiilation, 1995

Les Legions Noires: The French Cult

Eirik Solvang · Feb 16, 2026

Robb Weir and the bassist of Tygers of Pan Tang performing live on stage at The Patriot Home of Rock, Rotherham, 4 August 2023, guitar and bass in hand under blue and red stage lighting

NWOBHM '79 Revisited

Declan Rourke · Feb 16, 2026

Entrails on stage

The Old School Death Metal Revival

Rafael Quintero · Feb 14, 2026

Mgła, hooded and faceless, standing in smoke Chapter 7

After the Second Wave: 2000 to Now

Eirik Solvang · Feb 14, 2026

The Kingdom Come album sleeve by Sir Lord Baltimore, a ghostly sailing ship of bones on a dark green sea

Proto Doom: The Records Made Before the Word Existed

Ilse Brandt · Feb 13, 2026

Vio-Lence in a band portrait

1988: The Second Peak

Declan Rourke · Feb 10, 2026

Iron Maiden backstage in 1980, Paul Di'Anno holding up a hand-painted fan banner reading Iron Maiden Go Over the Top with an early Eddie drawing, band members laughing behind him.

Metal for Muthas, the First NWOBHM Compilation

Declan Rourke · Feb 9, 2026

A hooded Sunn O))) guitarist raising an arm in front of a wall of amplifiers, beams of light cutting through the haze Chapter 7

Drone Doom: Earth, Sunn O))) and the Riff Held Until It Breaks

Ilse Brandt · Feb 8, 2026

Zhema Rodero and Vulcano on stage

Sarcófago, Vulcano, Holocausto: Brazil Before Sepultura

Declan Rourke · Feb 7, 2026

A Bloodbath guitarist on stage in corpse paint Chapter 7

The Revival: Old School, Caverns and the Modern Underground

Rafael Quintero · Feb 7, 2026

Rob Halford of Judas Priest screaming into the microphone in full leather and studs on stage

British Steel: The Record That Set the Rules

Declan Rourke · Feb 3, 2026

Krallice on stage in red light

USBM: American Black Metal

Eirik Solvang · Jan 31, 2026

The sleeves of Exodus's Pleasures of the Flesh and S.O.D.'s Speak English or Die

Thrash Album Covers That Got Banned or Changed

Declan Rourke · Jan 30, 2026

The five members of Down standing together outdoors in a black and white band photograph

New Orleans: The Sludge Capital

Ilse Brandt · Jan 28, 2026

Cro-Mags in a band portrait

1986: The Year Thrash Peaked

Declan Rourke · Jan 27, 2026