Spiritbox review – Canadian metal ranges from gothic and guttural to Auto-Tune pop
Singer Courtney LaPlante’s delivery typifies the tension between hard and soft in a confident show that could do with more grit
Evanescence review – devastating power and range from one of rock’s great vocal talents
The titanic choruses and stormy metal riffs of latest album Sanctuary are the perfect foundation for Amy Lee’s astonishing, skyscraping vocal range
Chelsea Wolfe: The Dark review – existential reflection goes from whisper to gothic scream
The genre-blending Californian artist casts off past toxic influences with a powerful set of tender, brooding and emotionally charged songs that wouldn’t feel out of place as festival anthems
Loathe: A Stranger to You review – metalcore masters offer stylistic swerves and surprising beauty
Granite-hard riffola collides with balm-like electronics and tinkling jazz piano in a thrilling fourth album of musical metamorphosis
System of a Down review – perverted pop and anti-war anger mixed into a metal melee
The veteran band may not have much new material to show for the past decade or so but this brutal, melodious mayhem still inspires catharsis
Metallica review – metal legends break out the pyrotechnics … and a Proclaimers cover
Armed with four drum kits, an arsenal of hits and a 50,000-strong snake pit, Lars Ulrich and co deliver a masterclasss on their marathon world tour
Download festival review – Guns N’ Roses flop and Letlive thrive as metal’s biggest fest enters the future
Often criticised for booking the same old legends, the festival hosts a broad span of music’s heaviest genre, plus hip-hop, Indian folk – and, finally, its first female headliner
Sunn O))): Sunn O))) review – a seismic return to drone metal’s elemental core
The doomy duo strip back their sound to tectonic guitars and feedback, conjuring an immersive, strangely euphoric listening experience recorded in the wilds of Washington
Deftones review – alt-metal veterans sound exceptionally fresh 38 years on
The US band’s brawny, pit-inciting riffs come laced with blurry waves of distortion, making for music that is oddly reflective and melancholy
Converge: Love Is Not Enough review – metalcore veterans’ rage remains fresh and furious
Even after 35 years, the intricacies and emotional pangs of these masters of technicality remain undimmed, drawing from a seemingly bottomless well of inspiration
Megadeth: Megadeth review – conspiracy theories and combustible fingers on thrash metallers’ curtain call
Tuneful yet overlong, Dave Mustaine and co’s final album is a recap of Megadeth’s strengths, flaws and familiar grudges
Bad Omens review – anthemic songs and pillars of fire dampened by arena nerves
Noah Sebastian’s vocals switch deftly from croon to scream to whisper, but the genre-hopping US metalcore band lack chemistry on the big stage
Agriculture: The Spiritual Sound review – unabashedly gorgeous noise from ‘ecstatic black metal’ band
The LA group deliver all the power and euphoria of heavy music with imaginative detailing on their second album, which will have you levitating with joy
Nova Twins: Parasites & Butterflies review – fearless rock duo balance anthems and introspection
Trailblazers Amy Love and Georgia South push the boundaries of their trademark hybrid rock sound while confronting mental health and naysayers
Bloodstock review – this is the UK’s best fest for true heavy metal madness
Trivium bring the bells and whistles, Gojira are supercharged and Machine Head get 1,011 crowdsurfers as they etch themselves on extreme metal’s Mount Rushmore