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Judas Priest review – thrash, hellfire, dazzling guitar … Ozzy would have loved it

Still making stellar new music in their sixth decade, the Brummie band pay tribute to the late Black Sabbath frontman as they cement their place among the heavy metal gods

Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne: Back to the Beginning review – all-star farewell to the gods of metal is epic and emotional

The biggest names in rock, from Metallica to Slayer, came to pay tribute to the men who created their entire genre – and even in old age, Sabbath’s sound has bludgeoning force

Slayer review – spectacle, gore, mayhem and some of metal’s greatest songs

The thrash legends’ first UK gig in six years is a lean and unforgivingly mean set – no breathers, no ballads, only teeth-rattling bangers

Outbreak festival review – hardcore and pop hooks collide in impeccable genre-fluid lineup

Turnstile headlined with soaring high-tempo energy while Speed went route-one punk, Jane Remover caused pandemonium and Have a Nice Life electrified their fanbase in this most free-thinking of festivals

The Callous Daoboys: I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven review – gonzo mathcore troupe grab on to pop hooks

The Atlanta sextet are as unruly as ever – but there’s a newfound poise on their third album, plus some maddeningly catchy choruses

Spiritbox: Tsunami Sea review – cataclysmic throat-shredding with a side serving of soul

The Canadian metal band’s second album is an adventure in songcraft, from boulders of invective to ruminative, poppy grooves

Motionless in White review – gothically glam US metalcore will put a grin on your face

Backed by skeletons, cheerleaders and chainsaw-wielders, Chris Cerulli and co dispense any heavy metal menace in favour of a charming sense of fun

Uriah Heep review – after 56 years, progressive heavy rockers bid a blistering live farewell

They may not have created any true rock touchstones, but they still have the powerhouse vocals and guitar skills to get the audience on their feet

Trivium and Bullet for My Valentine review – glorious exchange of skull-crushing riffs and deafening roars

The veteran rockers turn back the clock on the dual anniversary of their breakthrough albums, with the south Wales band playing a conquering heroes’ return

Wardruna: Birna review – numbing Norse nature-metal better suited to Netflix scores

Traditional instruments, drones and repetitive lyrics make for some epic listening, possibly more suitable for a medieval TV romp

Slipknot review – metal mammoths deliver exhilarating sonic brutality

Heads bang, moshpits burst into life and riffs eviscerate every corner of the room as the band tear through their debut album 1999 in a visceral sensory haze

Poppy: Negative Spaces review – screams and sweetness as metalcore meets loungecore

On her sixth album, the multi-genre star seems to be having an identity crisis – but amid the industrial guitars and synthpop, she clearly trusts her own instincts

Linkin Park: From Zero review – rock’s risk takers win big with punchy comeback

They sold millions as the most poppy and emotional band in nu-metal. Now, returning with Emily Armstrong as frontwoman, they remain just as dynamic

Linkin Park review – monster hits perfectly reshaped for a fresh chapter

Back on the road with vocalist Emily Armstrong making their back catalogue her own, the hybrid metallers have found a new audience and a reinvigorated sense of purpose

Supersonic festival review – an awesome windmill of noise and connection

This festival of heavier sounds from the fringes was a blast, from chilling Gazelle Twin to Daisy Rickman’s Krautrock-folk, noise icons Melt-Banana and locals Flesh Creep

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  • Beck: Ride Lonesome review – stunning end to the heartache trilogy of Sea Change and Morning Phase
  • Mahler Academy Orchestra/Steinaecker review – trailblazing performance that pushes work to the limits
  • Spiritbox review – Canadian metal ranges from gothic and guttural to Auto-Tune pop
  • Last Night of the Proms review – musical chaos ensues in near four-hour finale
  • Céline Dion review – singer’s first live show in years marks a triumphant, emotional return
  • Playing With Fire review – like Disney’s Fantasia on steroids as a virtual Yuja Wang plays amid luminous dreamworlds
  • Don Giovanni review – reality recedes in visually dizzying Mozart tour de force
  • Our Eyes Looking for God review – exploring the Black British experience in rap, reggae and arias
  • Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts: Second Song review – shaky album occasionally strikes gold
  • Gretchen Parlato: The Wise Ones review – snappy grooves and languid covers from always-arresting jazz singer
  • Haruomi Hosono: Yours Sincerely review – slight songs with huge hearts from the Japanese pop pioneer
  • Lucas Debargue: Gershwin Variations album review – freshness and flair
  • Angine de Poitrine review – mind-boggling math rock mastery from freaky Québécois duo
  • Lise Davidsen: Verdi album review – star soprano gives opera’s leading ladies radiant power and vulnerability
  • The Tubs: Hard Life review – indie’s Larry David spins self-loathing into glorious jangle-rock
  • Todd Rundgren review – try-anything veteran doesn’t let his freak flag fully fly
  • Evanescence review – devastating power and range from one of rock’s great vocal talents
  • Freiburg Baroque Orch/Rattle/Faust review – ‘problem’ Schumann works shine in exceptional evening
  • End of the Road festival review – Pulp and CMAT lead indie landmark’s joyous birthday party
  • BBCSO/Oramo/Gillam/Kanneh-Mason/Goldscheider review – Simcock’s triple concerto bursts with musical interest
  • RLPO/Manze review – all-British Prom features fiery theatrics and cheeky subversion
  • Munich Philharmonic/Lahav Shani/Martha Argerich review – the great pianist gleams
  • Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger review – mammoth tour movie brings the joy and poignancy of reunion
  • Jay-Z 30 tour review – the sheer profusion of nailed-on classics is dizzying
  • Katseye review – petulant hyperpop bops from a girl group in crisis
  • Berlin Philharmonic/ Petrenko/ Hadelich review – flawless musical beauty
  • Sairie: Beneath the Spreading Tree review – exquisite 70s-inflected folk heralds a move into autumn’s chill
  • Chat Pile: Who Loves the Sun review – sludge metallers resurface with a slightly limiting alt-rock rebrand
  • Vista, Saarikoski Songs, Three Preludes album review – Saariaho’s iridescent visions evocatively rendered
  • The Gesualdo Six/Colin Currie Group review – surely the year’s most atmospheric Prom

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