Metal Hammer is marking four decades at a time when rock bands including Sleep Token, President and Deftones are performing strongly across ticket sales and streams.
As the specialist title (owned by Music Week parent company Future Plc) celebrates 40 years of monthly publication with an industry party, editor Eleanor Goodman reflects on the resilience of the genre, the loyalty of the fans and the longevity of the magazine…
Congratulations on Hammer reaching your big 40th anniversary milestone – what do you think it says about the brand, and indeed heavy metal fans, that in an ever-changing musical and media landscape you've continued to endure when others have fallen by the wayside?
“Thank you, we’re so excited that Metal Hammer has reached its 40th anniversary! I think Metal Hammer has endured where others have fallen by the wayside because we’re a niche magazine in a niche brand serving a niche community. Metal fans are so passionate, loyal and supportive – you often hear people quote the saying about how if someone falls down in the pit, you pick them up!
“For all of us metal fans, metal goes beyond the music – it’s also about the aesthetic, the culture and the history of it all. Whether it’s acknowledging the importance of Black Sabbath and Ozzy, remembering the greats such as Cliff Burton and Dimebag, wearing clothes that nod to the leather and studs popularised by Rob Halford, or even something modern like laughing about Courtney from Spiritbox being mistaken for Poppy on a red carpet, there’s a certain shared language and experience underpinning the genre. Even if you’re new to the scene and don’t know about it, you can still feel it.
“And while metal does continue to be niche in the mainstream, at Metal Hammer we know how rich and varied it is – look at all the subgenres! We try to represent the whole spectrum, whether it’s celebrating the giants like Iron Maiden and Metallica, giving space to modern metal bands such as Sleep Token and Spiritbox, or going underground at Norwegian metal festivals. We want to help our readership get closer to the bands they love, as well as introducing them to new music, and we’re grateful they trust us to do that.
With so much focus on online/short form content these days, a lot of people forget that a lot of print music magazines are still thriving. In the age of AI, short videos and influencers, what job do you see your magazine doing for metal fans that they can't get anywhere else?
“Experience, curation and authority! The experience of sitting down to read a print magazine narrows your focus to what’s on the page in front of you, and taking time to intentionally read something can increase your enjoyment of it. Mindfulness is metal! It also contains beautiful design and photography, thanks to our incredible art editor, Louise Hilton, and our team of talented freelancers.
“The content is also carefully curated, both in terms of flow – having a fun section at the front, a meatier features section in the middle and an in-depth reviews section at the back – and in terms of the artists and stories we choose to cover. If something’s in the magazine, it’s because a member of our team thinks it deserves to be in there. That means you can get a feature on a band like Dymna Lotva, who fled Belarus due to persecution, in the same issue as a piece about rising nu metal rapper Native James and an interview with Javier Bardem hooked around the latest Maiden film.
“We curate around trends and popular bands, sure, but we also spend time finding the most interesting angles to explore, as well as working on stories that people might not otherwise come across. That makes for a lot of variation and surprises in one place.
“In terms of authority, we have a passionate editorial team – all with different specialist interests – as well as a pool of experienced freelance writers, some of whom have been working at Hammer for decades. They bring an enormous amount of personal experience that can’t be replicated. They know what they’re talking about!”
What do you have in store for the 40th anniversary celebrations? And what does it mean to you to see the brand reach that milestone?
“Our previous editor, Merlin Alderslade – now executive editor of Louder – had the ambitious idea for us to do 40 special things for our 40th birthday! The first one will be a party to thank the industry folk who’ve helped us along the way. Other initiatives will be geared towards our readers, and will be revealed over the coming months, but expect events, collaborations, gigs, tours and more!
“Seeing Metal Hammer reach 40 means a lot! Like most people who’ve come through Hammer’s doors, I was a reader before I worked here. I got into metal, like many, in the early noughties when nu metal reached its peak of popularity. It was a world I never knew existed, and Metal Hammer helped me make sense of it while bringing the excitement. I’m glad it’s still here and doing the same thing today.
“Metal Hammer’s success belongs to its readers. It also belongs to countless bands that have appeared in it, and people that have worked on it. I have to make a special mention of our current editorial stars: art editor Louise Hilton, production editor Vanessa Thorpe, associate editor Dave Everley, news editor Rich Hobson and reviews editor Jonathan. Plus, the excellent Matt Mills online, and Lizzie Capewell and Yasmine Summan on socials. Sadly, some of Hammer’s friends are no longer with us. We’ll definitely be raising a glass for the likes of legendary photographer Mick Hutson, brilliant writer Malcolm Dome and powerhouse PR Michelle Kerr.”
What does Hammer do differently now than it did, say, 10 years ago? How has the brand evolved post-Covid, especially in existing as both a print and digital property? What changes have you been most proud of? Think specifically the rise and rise of Louder and its combined might as an umbrella platform would be good to cover here…
“In the past decade, Metal Hammer has grown to become a true multi-platform brand. We have over three million followers across our social accounts and often millions more visiting the website every week. Our website sits under the umbrella platform of Louder, which is also the online home of our sister brands, Classic Rock and Prog.
“Post-Covid, we have grown all our channels and have ramped up our content on TikTok where we’ve recently reached 60,000 followers, and last year we reactivated our YouTube channel, surpassing 100,000 subscribers. It’s enabled us to reach more metalheads than ever; last year, our content based around Black Sabbath’s final show reached over five million people in one weekend. We’re also proud of the exclusive stories we post, often generated by the original content produced for the print magazine.”
We want to help our readership get closer to the bands they love, as well as introducing them to new music, and we’re grateful they trust us to do that
Eleanor Goodman
The music industry is obsessed with the concept of "superfans" right now, and that's something Hammer has done a great job of targeting for a while. One of the most interesting things you've done of late is really zeroing in on specific fan communities with bespoke editions of magazines with bonus material or gifts. Which of those editions have you been particularly proud of? What have they brought to the Hammer offering as a whole?
“This year we produced a Bring Me The Horizon bundle to celebrate their reworked debut album, Count Your Blessings – Repented. It featured a magazine, poster, t-shirt and vinyl in a silver foil package, and felt like a proper celebration of a once-maligned record.
“Our HIM bundle was also very special. Although the band are no longer active, we approached Ville Valo about doing an interview for their 30th anniversary, and the bundle came with an exclusive, beautifully gothic anniversary T-shirt designed by his friend, Radio One DJ Daniel P Carter.
“We’ve also done some fun novelty gifts – a plush rat toy for the fantasy metal band Castle Rat, a brain-shaped stress ball for the German zombie-metal band Dominum, and camo pyjamas for war-themed Swedish power metal band Sabaton.
“Our bundles are a natural extension of the Hammer offering, as they’re another fun way for readers to engage with the artists they love. If you’re a Sabaton fan who loves wearing camo, why not wear it in your sleep, too! We put the same care into planning our bundles as we put into every aspect of the magazine, making sure they come with gifts that we, as metal fans, want to wear, use, collect and listen to.
“We also produced two in-depth event programmes that we sold on our store, for Back To The Beginning [Ozzy and Sabbath’s final show] and Eddfest [Iron Maiden’s inaugural festival at Knebworth].”
Between Sleep Token, Turnstile, BMTH, President and legends like Deftones, Korn and more playing their biggest shows ever in the UK recently, it seems that metal/rock is the healthiest it's been commercially in a long time, what do you chalk that down to?
“TikTok! Sleep Token blew up when The Summoning went viral in 2023, jumping from 300,000 monthly Spotify listeners to more than a million by the end of the month. Deftones experienced a gradual popularity there at around the same time, while nostalgia for nu metal continued.
“Younger people who had never listened to heavy music heard these bands, and sought out – or were served on streaming – bands that sounded similar. Hence, Korn experiencing a resurgence alongside Deftones, and President quickly amassing a fanbase primed by Sleep Token.
“I think it’s different for Bring Me The Horizon, as they’ve always been great at predicting the zeitgeist. They’ve long been a ‘gateway’ band for people getting into the scene, and currently they’re a stepping stone to the likes of Architects and Bad Omens.
“Turnstile seem to have gained traction in a more traditional way, via US late-night TV shows, a NPR Tiny Desk concert, Coachella, some well-publicised Grammy nominations and that Taco Bell commercial. Much has been written about Gen Z being ‘genre agnostic’ and Turnstile’s music blends genres in an accessible way; they’ve supported My Chemical Romance and blink-182. Post-Covid, people were also keen to have in-person experiences, and bands came back to a whole new generation of ticket-buyers.”
What breaking metal acts should the industry be aware of in 2026? Which new bands, as a brand, are you expecting big things from this year and going into 2027?
“Native James: He’s an artist from Ipswich, mixing grime with nu metal. At Download, he brought out some UK hip-hop royalty: Boy Better Know’s Frisco and Professor Green. He’s got tons of charisma, and has supported buzzy live bands such as letlive., Skindred and Nova Twins. I’m hoping he’ll release his debut album next year.
“Unpeople: Skindred have described them as ‘Evil Weezer’, as they combine four-part harmonies with Djent-influenced riffs and screamy breakdowns. Formed from the ashes of Press To Meco, they’re a catchier band, with songs such as The Garden proving really ear-wormy. They’re about to release their debut album, We Are Unpeople. Both Unpeople and Native James are signed to SharpTone, who are smashing it when it comes to exciting new bands.
“Eihwar: They’re a French neo-folk duo inspired by Norse mythology, who take what Season Of Mist labelmates Heilung do and turn it into something less ritualistic and more dance-club. It’s a sound they describe as ‘Viking War Trance’. They released second album Hugrheim earlier this year, so hopefully they’ll be touring more in 2027.
“Guilt Trip: In Summer, this Manchester hardcore band released an album called Armour Of Angels on Roadrunner, which featured stylistic nods to former labelmates Machine Head – it’s a blend of old and new that makes you want to throw down. Earlier this year, they did their first US tour, supporting Malevolence, and have done an Adidas collab a la Korn.
“Amira Elfeky: A US singer-songwriter blending nu metal, gothic rock and alternative, and inspired by Deftones. She featured on the track Judgement Day on Architects’ 2025 album, The Sky, The Earth & All Between, has supported Bring Me The Horizon and has played Download. It feels like a full-length debut could be around the corner.”
Finally, as it's 40 years of Metal Hammer – from a personal perspective, which is your favourite cover in your rich archive? Which one do you think best cuts to the heart of your identity as a brand?
“Former editor Alexander Milas literally encased an issue in metal – it’s hard to beat that as an encapsulation of the brand!
“One of my favourites as editor is our cover of Papa from Ghost dressed as a classic Halloween ghost, wearing a sheet with eyeholes cut out (shoutout to Travis Shinn for getting the shot). Another is Rob Halford cuddling rescue kittens (shoutout again to Travis Shinn). I love that he was into the idea, it reflected his lovable social media presence and offstage personality, and the kittens were just really, really cute.”
