Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is the heavy music desk at Louder, covering the full spectrum of metal from global headliners to new underground acts, with a particular focus on how records, scenes and artists fit into the wider history and culture of the genre. Its coverage is driven by an unapologetically fan-first perspective, treating metal as a living community rather than a niche, and combining deep knowledge of the canon with an active hunt for what is changing now.
Issue-led coverage of contemporary metal
Metal Hammer anchors Louder’s metal output around the magazine’s flagship issues, treating each print edition as a story in its own right.
It regularly runs cover pieces that frame where key bands are in their career, such as recent issues fronted by Evanescence, Judas Priest, Sleep Token and Poppy, and packages those issues with physical extras like posters, vinyl and exclusive artwork to underline their event status. Articles announcing new issues tend to highlight the central narrative of the cover feature – for example, Evanescence’s sense that “things are spiralling out of control” – while also spelling out the bonus content and collector angles that matter to committed readers. The Bring Me The Horizon “mega-bundle” offer, pairing a new issue with a T-shirt, poster and vinyl, is typical of how Metal Hammer turns each edition into a multi-part experience for fans rather than just a magazine on the shelf.
Curated guides to new metal
A recurring strand of Metal Hammer’s online work is its best-new-music roundups, especially the “best new metal songs you need to hear right now” format.
These pieces function as curated entry points into the current release cycle, gathering tracks from both established names such as Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne, Soulfly and Kreator and emerging bands pushing into the conversation. Bands highlighted in and around these lists range from European underground acts to crossover hopefuls, and artists routinely cite inclusion in these playlists as a milestone, using the coverage to promote singles and videos to their own audiences. The tone is authoritative but accessible, positioning Metal Hammer as a trusted filter for listeners who cannot keep up with every new release but want to know which tracks matter this week.
Canon building and reader-driven polls
Metal Hammer also invests heavily in ranking and canon-building pieces that try to define what counts in modern metal. Readers’ polls on the best metal albums of a given year or decade, such as the rundown of the best metal albums of 2025, turn the site into a forum for arguing about the evolving canon from Ghost and Sleep Token to Babymetal and Spiritbox. The brand complements these polls with retrospective features on landmark albums such as Fear Factory’s Demanufacture and historical deep dives on legendary figures, reinforcing its role as a long-memory authority on the genre.
This mix of audience voting and editorial curation keeps the coverage grounded in fan priorities while still asserting a clear point of view on what is important.
Community-focused news and culture coverage
Beyond features and playlists, Metal Hammer maintains a steady news stream charting what matters in the metal world, from lineup changes and anniversaries to festival developments and scene stories. It often spotlights artists at key turning points – for example, issues celebrating rising bands like Sleep Theory, President, Castle Rat and Paleface Swiss as the “new heavy” – and follows how those artists connect with festivals, tours and fan communities. Social and video content, including TikTok clips with figures like Trivium’s Paolo Gregoletto recalling their first metal albums, extend this coverage into lighter, personality-driven territory while still anchored in music history.
Across formats, the emphasis is on treating heavy music as a culture with its own lore, rituals and inside jokes, not just a set of releases to review.
4 more music journalists.
Abigail Kellett
Abigail Kellett is a news reporter at the Halifax Courier who stands out for visually led coverage that shows how culture, nightlife and local life play out on the ground. She documents gigs, festivals and major live shows at venues such as The Piece Hall through curated photo sets that capture atmosphere, crowd and setting as much as performers, and she uses extensive image galleries to tap reader nostalgia for nights out in Halifax town centre. Her beat spans arts, entertainment, going out, heritage, books and literary events, along with community life, people stories, local challenges, milestones, transport, regeneration, lifestyle and food. She reports through photographs, checklist-style features, reader-driven lists and roundups of most-read stories, turning announcements, programmes, author events, festivals, shop lists and everyday characters into stories about place, shared memory and how people spend their time.
Adam Lyon
Adam Lyon is a digital audience and content editor whose news beat sits at the intersection of Ayrshire’s cultural life, business environment and public affairs. He works for the Ayr Advertiser and as Digital Audience & Content Editor for Newsquest in the west of Scotland across multiple weekly titles. He covers Ayrshire news with a strong thread of music and local culture alongside business, courts and public affairs. He reports on music when it has a clear community or national hook, treating songs as news events rather than reviews. His business work explains how local firms and retail policy shape town centres. His court coverage uses round-ups of sheriff court cases to show patterns and outcomes. He also fronts video previews and is active in a football supporters trust community.
Adam Maidment
Adam Maidment is a senior What’s On and LGBTQ+ reporter whose work links big-name gigs, new venues and cultural flashpoints to everyday fan culture and inclusion. He covers music, nightlife and the wider cultural scene for the Manchester Evening News, focusing on how concerts, openings and immersive events land with real people and communities. His beat spans live music, arenas and stadiums, new restaurant and bar openings, food reviews, exhibitions, street art and nightlife infrastructure, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ audiences and neighbourhoods. He reports on venue ambitions and problems, cultural institutions and equality issues, and franchise-led experiences, using straightforward, on-the-ground reporting and clear description. Drawing on a background in community reporting, he looks for underrepresented perspectives and uses social media, analytics and local sourcing to find stories where culture, identity and place meet.
Alex Rigotti
Alex Rigotti is a freelance music and culture editor and journalist who joins fast-turnaround music news with detailed reporting on artists, fandom and politics. They report breaking stories and live music updates for NME and Paste Magazine, covering pop, rock, club music, underground scenes and cultural debates around art and identity. Their live-music beat includes setlists, tours, festival appearances, cancellations, ticketing, venues and onstage collaborations. They previously served as a contributing editor for NME’s Radar section, supporting coverage of emerging artists and new scenes. Rigotti also writes features on rap lyrics and criminalisation, Eurovision and politics, queer feminist bodybuilding, astrotherapy and contemporary art. Their reporting is direct and specific, using clear quotes, concrete details and artists’ own words to explain what happened and how music fits into wider cultural and industry trends.