Genre Histories

Mortal Sin on stage at Jalometalli in 2008

Australian Thrash: Mortal Sin and Hobbs' Angel of Death

Declan Rourke · Jun 5, 2026

Mordred, the reunited line-up, in a 2020 press photo

Why the East Bay and Not San Francisco

Declan Rourke · Jun 5, 2026

Pentagram, the Chilean death metal band, in a band portrait

Chilean Death Metal

Rafael Quintero · Jun 4, 2026

Masacre of Medellin on stage at a European festival in 2024

Mexican and Latin American Black Metal

Eirik Solvang · Jun 2, 2026

Steeler, the Los Angeles Sunset Strip metal band featuring Ron Keel and Yngwie Malmsteen, in a 1983 promotional portrait

The Sunset Strip Scene

Declan Rourke · Jun 1, 2026

The four members of Lord Vicar posing on stage after their set, the singer in a clerical collar raising his fist, the crowd behind them

How Doom Metal Bands Got Their Names

Ilse Brandt · Jun 1, 2026

Autopsy on stage

The Banned and Censored Death Metal Covers

Rafael Quintero · May 28, 2026

Fans in band T-shirts cheering at the barrier, Bloodstock Open Air, Catton Park, 2026

Heavy Metal Band Shirts

Declan Rourke · May 27, 2026

Power Trip on stage at Rock am Ring in 2019

Power Trip: "Nightmare Logic" and the Last Great Thrash Record

Declan Rourke · May 26, 2026

Norman Skinner of Forbidden on stage at Bloodstock in 2024

"Forbidden Evil" and "Eternal Nightmare": The Second Bay Wave on Record

Declan Rourke · May 24, 2026

Punks and metalheads outside a venue at night

Punks vs Metalheads: The War That Crossover Ended

Declan Rourke · May 23, 2026

Vio-Lence's bassist under the lights in Santiago, 2024

Prairie Sun and the Studios That Recorded the Bay Area

Declan Rourke · May 23, 2026

A record shop full of import vinyl

Japanese Thrash: Outrage, United, Casbah

Declan Rourke · May 21, 2026

Nokturnal Mortum on stage

Russian and Ukrainian Black Metal

Andrzej Sawicki · May 19, 2026

Bob Catley of Magnum performing live at the Liverpool Arts Club, 6 February 2015, black and white photograph

Birmingham, Where Heavy Metal Began

Declan Rourke · May 19, 2026

Battlelore, the Finnish Tolkien-themed metal band, in a 2022 promotional group portrait

Tolkien and Heavy Metal

Declan Rourke · May 18, 2026

The sleeve of Forbidden Evil, Forbidden, 1988

The Bay Area Demo Tapes That Changed Everything

Declan Rourke · May 16, 2026

Gorgoroth performing live on stage

Corpse Paint: The Complete History

Eirik Solvang · May 16, 2026