The 1980s: the glory days of metal. What can we say about a decade of heavy music that hasn't already been said? We've all spent time arguing about the best metal bands, songs, guitarists, and just ...

Thousands of years after the Bronze and Iron Ages, the true Metal Age dawned half a century ago. In 1970, Black Sabbath convincingly evoked the true essence of evil with the lumbering, three-chord ...

Metal is a genre that prides itself on its technicality – but sometimes a meaty guitar riff is all you need to serve a great song. Getting faces scrunched and heads banging is one of the best things a ...

You know the riffs, but you may not associate these guitarists with them. But there’s no doubt these iconic riffs inspired a whole new generation of guitarists who are tearing it up today. While at ...

It’s a slow month for noteworthy new metal, so we’re going to try something different this month. First up: a quick rundown of tracks from January’s handful of standout heavy releases. Then, we’ll ...

With a crash of thunder, the ringing of ominous church bells and one of the loudest guitar sounds in history, a heavy new music genre was born in earnest on a Friday the 13th early in 1970. Its roots ...

Musicians arrive at their signature sounds through all sorts of influences. For jazz pianist Tigran Hamaysan, that collection of sounds comes from far afield — he's a fan of progressive metal bands ...

When you think about metal’s riff masters, who do you have in your Mount Rushmore? Tony Iommi, Dave Mustaine, Jeff Hanneman, K.K. Downing… all masters in their own right. But for my money, one dude ...

It’s safe to say that the next generation of metal and rock is alive and well. 11-year-old Cole Parsons went viral thanks to his crazy shredding skills on the guitar. While it’s unknown if he won his ...

As with any other hobby or skill, every guitarist has to start somewhere. For most of us, it all started by playing air guitar along with some of our favorite songs and wishing we could play like our ...

A thrash metal band is set to release its first new album in 10 years. Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante revealed on Facebook that the group has completed mixing the record, which will be their first ...

The 1970s was an interesting time for heavy metal. Black Sabbath helped birth the genre at the very beginning of the decade, and a host of other legendary bands followed suit. Along with Black Sabbath ...