Our first full year demonstrating the Iron Fist, it’s had its highs and… actually it’s all been highs. Thank you so much for your unwavering support. We finish the year as we mean to go on, with a new issue of Balls To The Wall heavy metal, both old and new.

We caught up with reanimated gods of grind, Carcass, on their European tour to talk about their first album in 17 years. The mighty Ester Segarra shot them in Japan, while Olivier ‘Zoltar’ Badin got a grilling from frontman Jeff Walker (not the other way round) in Paris – it’s been a long and grinding road but they’re a band that deserve their place on our last cover of the year.

This month also sees the 30th anniversary of ACCEPT’s fifth album, ‘Balls To The Wall’ and Adrien Begrand gets to relive its making with Wolf and Stefan, while Damien also looks back to the time of changes with Brian Ross of BLITZKRIEG and I catch up with HELL and find out that they’re looking firmly to the future, while keeping one foot in their past.

There’s also features from Demilich, Bulldozer, IRON MAN, Chastain and Demonic Christ while new steel from … Read More

Magic Circle possess the kind of unpolished charm and fathomless sincerity that most traditional doom bands would chop the sleeves off their favourite Solitude Aeturnus hoodie for. Their love for Pagan Altar and NWOBHM’s heavier moments runs deep, and the Massachusetts four-piece have released a self-titled debut album that worships Trouble, gives Pallbearer a run for their weed money, and is essentially everything that Hour Of 13 could have been if they’d managed to get their shit together. Not bad for a bunch of Boston hardcore dudes. Er, wait – what?

“We all got into playing music through hardcore and punk bands because it’s accessible and there’s historically been a big scene for it in Massachusetts,” guitarist Chris Corry explains. His other bands Mind Eraser and Death Evocation (amongst numerous others) seem like the polar opposite of Magic Circle’s masterfully melodic songwriting, and yet, it’s crystal clear that the riffs he writes comes straight from the heart. “Having known everyone in the band at least 10 years, this is a group of people who’ve always listened to a lot of old heavy metal and album oriented rock. We’ve listened to bands like Sabbath and Rainbow and Trouble for a long time, and … Read More