Babymetal: Metal Galaxy review – kawaii metal originators deliver clashy opus
The band’s third, and possibly best, album combines their familiar sugary pop melodies mashed with thrashing metal
Tool: Fear Inoculum review – primordial riffage to pull you under
Every track is an epic on this almighty fifth album from a band intent on securing their status as masters of metal
Slipknot: We Are Not Your Kind review – Iowan behemoths’ most brutal, gentle album
Mixing their trademark raging riffola and tribal drumming with everything from krautrock to acoustic elements, Slipknot push their own limits
Volbeat: Rewind, Replay, Rebound review – chugging metal-meets-rockabilly
It may be their seventh album but on this evidence the eclectic Danish metal four-piece are not prepared to go quietly
Supersonic review – giant monsters and ghoul-sponge at UK’s best small festival
By embracing the heaviness in Birmingham’s heritage, and adding a strong dose of eccentricity, Supersonic is world-class
Sabaton: The Great War review – rage against the war machine
With pounding drums and demonic choirs, the Swedish power metal band deliver a dark, fascinating history lesson on the first world war
Rammstein review – pure panto from German shock rockers
The taboo-busting band are on fine form in a pyrotechnic extravaganza that sees bandmates blasting each other with fire
Metallica review – masterclass in heaviness brings down the heavens
The thrash titans seem to control the weather during this dramatic, cathartic show of absolute power
Download festival review – fire, fury and hymns to the dark side
Headliners Slipknot and Def Leppard lead the way on a long weekend of big riffs and shouting
Baroness: Gold & Grey review – ambitious rockers go beyond metal
The Philadephia-based quartet have found a new sense of purpose on this more psychedelic fifth album
Download festival review – Slayer cast dark spells with ferocious swan song set
British hard rock festival brings angst, anger and a lot of black lipstick to western Sydney’s peaceful parklands
Behemoth review – jolts of brutality from modern metal’s kings of darkness
Through fire and smoke, Adam ‘Nergal’ Darski and his roaring feral hell-bangers churn up elation and menace to prove the devil still has the best tunes
Parkway Drive review – uplifting rock rises from the fires of grief
Pouring the pain of grief into heavy rock, the Australian group earn chanting adoration from their audience
Bring Me the Horizon: Amo review – ‘It ain’t heavy metal, but that’s alright’
Some of the songs will alienate BMtH’s fanbase but there’s a sense of experimentation alongside the lush orchestration
Def Leppard review – metal legends revisit a riff-laden classic
The British hard-rock favourites play their 1987 album Hysteria in full in a show that demonstrates their scintillating craft