Declan Rourke
Midlands, England

Declan Rourke

Heavy and thrash editor from the region that invented the genre. Ran a photocopied fanzine at sixteen and never really stopped.

Heavy Metal Thrash Metal Speed Metal NWOBHM Classic Metal

Declan started a fanzine in the Midlands at sixteen with a borrowed photocopier and a list of addresses from the back of a music weekly. It ran for eleven issues and got him into more backstage corridors than it should have. He has written about the people who made heavy metal what it is for fifteen years and still sends handwritten thank-you notes.

On KaosMetal he covers heavy metal, thrash and speed metal, the NWOBHM legacy and the veterans who are still touring: the genre histories, the classic biographies, the essentials and the portraits. There is a story attached to most things he writes, and he is generous with bands and hard on nostalgia acts that stopped trying.

Articles by Declan Rourke

A decade in which everything foundational happened inside eighteen months Genre Histories

Thrash Metal in the 1980s, Year by Year

Sep 6, 2026

Iggor Cavalera behind the kit, 2006 Explainers

Thrash Drumming: Double Bass and the Skank Beat

Sep 4, 2026

Hands flipping through a crate of second hand records Essential Albums

Underground Thrash Albums You Missed

Sep 3, 2026

Nervosa on stage Essential Albums

Female Thrash Bands: Nervosa, Crisix's Peers and Sabina Classen's Legacy

Sep 1, 2026

Kerry King of Slayer with a guitar Explainers

Thrash Guitar: Downpicking, the Gallop and the Dive Bomb

Aug 31, 2026

Vader live at Hatefest Genre Histories

The Polish Thrash Explosion

Aug 30, 2026

Gene Hoglan, once the drummer of Los Angeles thrash band Dark Angel, playing with Testament in 2017 Genre Histories

Los Angeles Thrash Beyond Slayer: Dark Angel, Hirax, Abattoir

Aug 29, 2026

Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden live Explainers

Is Iron Maiden Thrash Metal?

Aug 26, 2026

Alex Skolnick of Testament playing live Essential Albums

The Best Instrumental Thrash Tracks

Aug 25, 2026

Onslaught, from Bristol: the closest thing Britain had to a founding thrash band Genre Histories

The UK Thrash Scene: Onslaught, Xentrix and Sabbat

Aug 24, 2026

Thrash metal albums from four countries Essential Albums

Thrash Metal Bands by Country: The World Map

Aug 23, 2026

Tom Araya of Slayer singing live, 2014 Explainers

Thrash Vocals: From Baloff's Bark to Chuck Billy's Roar

Aug 20, 2026

Nuclear Assault playing live Band Biographies

Nuclear Assault: The Band Between the Camps

Aug 19, 2026

Megadeth live in Haapsalu, 2010 Genre Histories

The Rivalries That Drove Thrash Metal

Aug 17, 2026

A metal show in a Latin American community hall Genre Histories

Latin America Beyond Brazil: Kraken, Transmetal, V8, Hermética

Aug 17, 2026

Celtic Frost on stage at Tuska in 2006 Genre Histories

Celtic Frost and Switzerland: The Neighbour That Went Somewhere Else

Aug 16, 2026

Armored Saint on stage at the Rock Hard Festival in 2018 Genre Histories

Metal Blade, Megaforce, Combat: The Labels That Signed the Big Four

Aug 14, 2026

Nuclear Assault on stage at Party.San in 2016 Label Histories

Combat Records: The Label That Built East Coast Thrash

Aug 11, 2026

Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen of Helloween on stage in Paris in 2025 Explainers

Speed Metal vs Thrash Metal: What Is the Difference?

Aug 11, 2026

A record shop bargain bin Essential Albums

Thrash Albums That Flopped: The Great Disappointments

Aug 10, 2026

Slipknot on stage Explainers

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

Aug 9, 2026

Warbringer on stage in 2023 Explainers

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

Aug 7, 2026

Dave Mustaine on stage with Vic Rattlehead, the Megadeth mascot Ed Repka painted Genre Histories

Thrash Album Art: Ed Repka and the Mascot Era

Aug 6, 2026

Anthrax on stage in 2024 Genre Histories

The East Coast Thrash Scene

Aug 4, 2026