WHO’S THE MOST METAL HORROR CHARACTER?
Plus some other vitally important issues you felt it was time for us to settle this month
TOP IDOL
I’m so happy to see BABYMETAL back on your cover. Thank you so much for including this important band who are doing so much for Japan and metal and taking metal into a new sound! However, I must ask: please can you make sure it is always spelt BABYMETAL, with full capitals! This is official!
Rin Ito (email)
We’d love to, but we’re dastardly pedants bound by our own evil house rules. Plus, imagine what would happen if we started using all band names as the bands intended: KISS. Devildriver. Tesseract. flaming skullfire. Alright, we made that last one up.
PLOP IDOL
Enough with the ‘idol’ bands now please. It’s one thing having to put up with Babymetal making people pretend they’re a metal band but having Necroidollol or whatever they’re called in the same issue was a step too far. Bring proper metal back into the mag, please. Clay Strauss (email) Alright Clay, because you asked so nicely, we’ve included features with Iron Maiden, Metallica, Exhorder and Insomnium just for you this month. Just kidding: we had them in anyway, but we hope you like them. We actually think Necronomidol are pretty badass, though. Sorry pal.
BACK TO SCHOOL
When are we going to get another Heavy Metal Activity Book? That was the best gift ever. I have some suggestions for activities: draw Powerwolf’s corpsepaint, design a new Iron Maiden Eddie, sketch a Ghost show, death metal lyrics word searches! Do I get the job? Aaron James (email)
No. We’ll happily steal these ideas, though. We reckon it might be long overdue time to dust off the crayons and get creative in the name of heavy metal…
KORN AGAIN
I hate to tread out the ‘great struggle brings great art’ line but it’s really amazing that JD managed to produce a Korn album in the first place after the year he had – let alone produce the darkest and most soul-crushing Korn album in years. I hope he’s doing OK.
Alli Hooge (email)
One of the best things about music is its ability to help us channel all the horrible shit that life can throw at us. The world can be a dark place. Music helps make it just a little lighter again. And we back you when it comes to Jonathan!
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
I have an important question: as Halloween is finally coming, who is the most metal horror movie character ever? Also, can we have another special horror issue?
The last one was my favourite magazine ever! Come on Hammer! Jodi Ball (email)
We gotta give it to Pinhead: guy literally has metal nails smashed into his skull and basically pops out of a box that drags you to Hell. He’s like a really cunty genie. We haven’t done a full horror special this year, but we did run around a dungeon with Andrea from Lacuna Coil. That shit’ll give you the heebie jeebies.
PREDICTION FRICTION
In the last few years we’ve seen
GN’R reunite and Tool release a new album. Surely anything is possible now? Oasis will play Download! CM Punk will be at Wrestlemania
36! Manchester United will win the league in the next 20 years! What ridiculous predictions do you have? Paul Hensen (email)
We predict one of our readers will ruin the day of our Man U-supporting Editor. You bugger. Although he says 20 years will still be sooner than Liverpool win it, so there you go (he’s not bitter, honest…)
MATES FATES
With Howard popping up on the new Killswitch album, I really hope this means that more metal bands will embrace their past and build some bridges. I’d love so much to hear Dave Mustaine on a Metallica song, or Tarja and Anette have a couple of cameos on the next Nightwish record. What do you think, Hammer?
Am I being a bit optimistic?
Louis Mavend (email)
Yeah, you probably are. We can’t envision Megadave’s iconic, rusty rasp on a Metallica song if we’re being honest, but a cheeky riff or well-placed solo? We’d go for that.
BESTTONES
While I believe Deftones only release incredible albums, some are more incredible than others. As great as
White Pony is, I’ve plenty of time for Diamond Eyes and Gore. They’re just so consistent I’m happy whenever they release anything.
Trent Swindells (Facebook)
Deftones rarely put a foot wrong, do they? Our writer Stephen Hill gave Gore a gleaming, frothing 9/10 score in 2016, and we stand by it today. Odds on them smashing it out of the park in 2020?
YAAAAAAASAGRAUM
Really glad to see Asagraum getting some kudos from Metal Hammer. The stereotype that extreme metal, and black metal especially, is only filled with men is bullshit. Asagraum is true black metal – not for poseurs! Kelly Samson (email)
We agree! Asagraum rule and the tides are changing for the better. Horns up!