Features

Bloom: Meet the youthful quintet blossoming into Australia’s next metalcore heroes

Bloom have spent two years carefully crafting their debut album. As it drops, they tell us about the road here, ambition, and the vital importance of Nerf toys…

Unprocessed: “We don’t want it to be a nerdy proggy show where you just sit and watch. It’s rock’n’roll!”

Unprocessed have been touted as the next Polyphia. They’ve even had them on their album. As they hit the UK with TesseracT, we meet the band giving tech-metal a kick up the backside...

Crawlers: “You give less of a f*ck as you get older… You start realising life’s too short”

Throughout various stages of life, we’ve all been guilty of changing who we are just to fit in. Crawlers, however, are having none of it. On spectacular debut album The Mess We Seem To Make, they offer a space for the outsiders, celebrate our differences, and – as they explain in their first-ever K! cover – show why you should always be your true, unapologetic self…

IDLES’ track-by-track guide to new album TANGK

Dancing, cycling, getting nicked: IDLES frontman Joe Talbot talks us through their new album TANGK, one song at a time.

Laura Jane Grace: “Sometimes punk is shtty, because there are shtty punks. But at its best, punk is rad people doing radical things”

To make her new solo album Hole In My Head, Laura Jane Grace upped sticks and found herself in St Louis, asking some very big questions. She reflects on shedding skin, moving forward, rediscovering the power of punk, and when Against Me! could possibly power up again…

10 reasons why you need Militarie Gun in your life

Militarie Gun’s name has fast become one of the most talked-about in hardcore. Having started over lockdown, the U.S. quintet are unexpectedly giving things a shot of energy and creativity. Frontman Ian Shelton steers us round his band to get you up to speed. Shoot…

Mimi Barks: “I’m in love with the pain. I’m in love with my broken heart”

Having just announced debut album THIS IS DOOM TRAP and dropped lead single FSU while gearing up for a huge UK tour, we catch up with alt. ghoul Mimi Barks to learn how she’s harnessing every ounce of passion and pain to fuel her bold new era, and how “there’s a lot of crazy shit coming up” for 2024…

SNAYX’s track-by-track guide to new EP, Better Days

From questioning the nine-to-five rat-race to dealing with the pressure of social expectations, SNAYX unpack all that goes on within Better Days…

Higher Power: “We were seeking validation in what other people thought… we had to learn to find that in ourselves”

Surging into 2024, Leeds melodic-hardcore faves Higher Power have signed to Nuclear Blast and released beautiful new single Absolute Bloom. We caught up with frontman Jimmy Wizard to talk going back to basics, breaking free from expectation, and finding self-belief deep within…

Frozen Soul: “Life is cold… so let’s stay together, let’s be warm to the people close to us, let’s lift each other up”

As rising Texan death-metallers Frozen Soul gear up for a first-ever UK headline tour, we caught up with frontman Chad Green to find out how their frostbitten fury is built on a foundation of fun, friendship and finding common-ground to navigate the bitter realities of modern existence…

Chelsea Wolfe: “This feels very much like what I was put here to do”

When Chelsea Wolfe began work on her seventh album, it didn’t take long for the California cult hero to notice things weren’t feeling quite right. After “cutting cords” with past versions of herself and making a big lifestyle change, though, she rediscovered her gift for songwriting – and is determined to keep sharing it with the world…

In the studio with Bob Vylan: “What shouldn’t be ignored is our power to change things”

With their third album Humble As The Sun, Bob Vylan are entering their hopeful era. Frontman Bobby Vylan takes us inside the studio to find out what’s made them look on the sunny side…

Hannah Grae is ready to share her stories with the world

Having laid the foundations of her breakthrough with last year’s debut mini-album Hell Is A Teenage Girl, in 2024 Hannah Grae will continue to climb with March follow-up Nothing Lasts Forever. And while her lyrics dig deep into “every pocket” of her brain, be warned: you might also find yourself in her music one day…

“It was more run by idealism rather than good business sense”: The story of notorious Norwegian record store Helvete

In this exclusive excerpt from black metal historian Dayal Patterson’s new expanded book, Black Metal: Evolution Of The Cult, members of Norway’s black metal community remember the inception and impact Helvete, and how “it was not just a record store but a society”…

Bambie Thug: “Eurovision is ‘Gay Christmas’... but it’s also an incredible platform for artists who want to push the boundaries”

Rising ‘Ouija-pop’ sensation Bambie Thug will be representing Ireland at Eurovision 2024 with Doomsday Blue. It’s a win that’s delighted fans, outraged conservative critics and bemused plenty of people in-between, but the Cork-born trailblazer promises they’re more than ready to represent their homeland on the grandest, gayest stage in music…

“The government must act now to protect grassroots music venues”: An open letter from Jeremy Corbyn

For Independent Venue Week, former Labour leader and founder of Peace & Justice Project, Jeremy Corbyn, exclusively explains why it’s so vital to support our grassroots venues...

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