Features

Artio: “I absolutely detest the way that bands are made to dance for the algorithm”

UK rock force Artio want to make a real connection. Social media, they reckon on new album Soul Rot, is eating away at our brains. Fortunately, as singer Rae Brazill explains, fans are already forging a more natural bond with them…

The Sound Of 2026: The 26 essential new artists coming to shape your year

New year, new music. There’s a whole lot of killer noise coming your way over the next 12 months. From punk, to metal, to weird noise and pop-rock, here’s our pick of 26 for ’26.

From Fall Out Boy to Frank Carter: The 20 greatest moments in Slam Dunk Festival history

With Slam Dunk celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2026, K! takes a trip down memory lane – from the festival’s surprising, humble beginnings, to becoming a UK go-to every single year…

“If it’s not fun, then what are you doing?” Making a scene with Michael Clifford and Awsten Knight

2025 gave us a lot of things, including a long-awaited – and absolutely spot-on – collab between Michael Clifford and Awsten Knight. So we brought the 5SOS and Waterparks frontmen together to talk chemistry, creativity and cooking (sort of)…

“Heavy music is having another moment right now”: How Malevolence put on the best hardcore tour of 2025

Malevolence, Speed, Dying Wish and PSYCHO-FRAME: Bands from different ends of the world and heavy music, but all united by values forged in hardcore. Riding the wave of a global resurgence, the tourmates explain how mutual admiration, broken flutes and paying it forward fuelled one of the biggest tours of the year and made this moment possible…

“Fifty years is a long time, it’s an achievement. And long may it continue!” A note from Steve Harris on Iron Maiden’s 50th birthday

Half a century ago today, ’Arry formed Iron Maiden. “It’s pretty incredible,” he ponders. “Retirement’s coming, but I’m not thinking about it…”

10 reasons why you need False Reality in your life

London crew False Reality are one of the most exciting prospects in UK hardcore. As they unleash their debut album FADED INTENTIONS, they tell us about the importance of community, getting the nod from Speed, and ’80s metal tour bus sing-alongs…

Phoebe Lunny’s 2025: “People got sober after my last NYE party. This year I want a million beers, a million ciggies, Robbie Williams and a kebab”

Phoebe Lunny looks back on Lambrini Girls’ stuffed year – one that’s taken in endless touring, being a voice for the voiceless, and “selling out by not destroying any lighting rigs”. There’s only a few days’ festive rest, but that won’t stop them throwing a, frankly, ludicrous New Year’s bash…

The Darkness: “I don’t want to be ‘relevant’ in a world of banal, homogenised bullsh*t. I’d rather be irrelevant – and irreverent”

Dropping a killer Cliff Richard cover to celebrate the blockbuster success of eighth album Dreams On Toast, while preparing to romp back into UK arenas and play main support at Iron Maiden’s 50th anniversary celebrations in the new year, it’s set to be a bumper Christmas for The Darkness. Crackers in hand, we caught up with frontman Justin Hawkins for a rollercoaster 2025 rundown...

“It’s the album where I found my purpose”: Sam McTrusty celebrates 10 years of Twin Atlantic’s Great Divide

Saturating UK airwaves through much of 2014 and 2015, for a glorious moment in time, landmark third album Great Divide made Twin Atlantic one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Belated celebrations for that record’s 10th birthday are less about nostalgia, though, and more seeing how it’s soundtracked listeners’ lives, and why its megawatt glow is once again lighting the road ahead...

Meet The Molotovs: The London punks going off with a bang

Explosive, deadly, dangerous – London-based rock’n’roll siblings The Molotovs are already living up to their name. Selling 1,000 tickets with no album out? Easy. Not bad for a band who started out busking, and are about to head to the nation’s biggest arenas with YUNGBLUD…

Alex Taylor’s 2025: “It’s been our most successful year by far. Now we’re relaxing. I’ve had a Christmas dinner already”

2025 was the year Malevolence well and truly carved their name into British metal. As he takes a well-earned rest, Alex Taylor looks back at making one of the albums of the year, working with British cinema’s hardest man, and having people gawking at the band’s big faces on the side of their tour bus.

Will Ramos’ 2025: “We’ve been away so much, for Christmas I just want to get to spend some quality time with my family”

Lorna Shore frontman Will Ramos is going to spend Crimbo with his nearest and dearest, “partying like a bunch of crazy Puerto Ricans”. With the year he’s had, he’s earned it…

Nova Twins’ 2025: “We’ve done quite a few bucket-list things this year. We’re enjoying the process of it all”

For Nova Twins, 2025 started big and then got even bigger. As they approach an end-of-year break, they’ve earned a rest. Here the band take us inside their mammoth 12 months, and how they’re planning to “spend Christmas lounging around in our pyjamas”.

Bad Omens: “Every artist has such a different process and journey. There’s no template – there’s no roadmap to this sh*t”

Bad Omens’ Noah Sebastian is in a contemplative mood. Meeting the frontman for an exclusive dissection of their hard-fought ascension to the top of the alternative mountain, the often enigmatic band leader dives into his creative process, the importance of finding balance, and takes us tantalisingly closer to album number four (sort of)…

Lzzy Hale’s 2025: “Our little garage band being asked to play with Ozzy was the biggest honour. I called my mom straight away”

Halestorm have spent so long away this year, Lzzy Hale reckons she’ll have to reintroduce herself to her family this Christmas. She’ll have very good stories about Ozzy Osbourne, getting a trophy from The O2 and hanging out with Axl Rose to tell them, at least…

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