We're feeling nostalgic on this week's show, so we thought we'd take a trip back twenty whole years to 2002! Merl and Steve discuss what was a unique and rather transitional year for heavy music - nu metal had peaked, the metalcore and emo explosions hadn't properly begun yet, and few metal heavyweights released brand new studio albums. And yet, there was still some cracking music, so the lads both picked their five favourite albums that came out that year - featuring appearances by System Of A Down, Killswitch Engage, Glassjaw, Korn, In Flames and more!

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And the big releases keep coming! Merl and Steve sift through some absolute bangers this week as we discuss whether the new Zeal & Ardor album has brought Manuel Gagneux's vision to new heights, whether Cult Of Luna's The Long Road North is up to their usual impeccable standards, how Amorphis have proved they're folk metal's most reliable band with Halo and why Bloodywood may have just dropped the funnest album of 2022.

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It's the first of what we can safely assume is going to be a large number of absolutely stacked review round-ups for 2022! Merl and Steve get stuck into new Korn album Requiem and discuss why sometimes less is more (and why, all these years later, no one does Korn like Korn); we also heap praise on what is surely the best metal album of 2022 so far in Venom Prison's masterful new opus, Erebos; we rate the new Rolo Tomassi record, Where Myth Becomes Memory (HINT: it's also really good); and Steve gives us a hot tip for a new band ticking all the right boxes.

Plus, we review Turnstile's epic show in London from earlier in the week and ask the big question: could they be the band to go further than anyone in the history of hardcore has managed?

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It's finally here! Part 2 of our big 2022 preview has arrived, and on this week's show Merl and El answer all your burning questions about the year ahead. Questions such as: will touring really come back to life this year? What are the best festival lineups of the year? Why can't anyone clash with Iron Maiden at Download? And what's gonna be the Metal Hammer album of 2022?!

We also discuss the When We Were Young Festival bill that has everyone talking, rate the new Ghost single, pay tribute to Meat Loaf and more!

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With everyone upset by the untimely and, let's be honest, pretty messy demise of Every Time I Die, we decided to push Part 2 of our 2022 Preview to next week and instead have Merl and Steve pay tribute to the career, influence and legacy of one of modern heavy music's very greatest bands.

From debut album Last Night In Town setting them up as one of the more promising hardcore bands on the early 00s scene; to their embracing of southern rock riffing on Gutter Phenomenon and the immense influence that'd have on hardcore thereafter; all the way to their epic final album, last year's Radical, we celebrate one of the most perfect back catalogues any band has ever produced.

We also discuss why they became one of the greatest live bands of their generation, how Steve would feel about the rest of the band continuing on without Keith, the album we'd give to a newcomer and much, much more.

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Happy New Year! Merl and El kick off 2022 with a preview of the year ahead - and what a massive year it's shaping up to be.

Did Avenged Sevenfold's comments about Kanye West give us any clues on their new music? Will we really get new Slipknot and Rammstein albums this year? Who else is in the studio that has us excited? And what does the future of festivals like Download, Arctangent and Reading and Leeds look like?

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It's the FINAL final episode of 2021! Merl, El, Jonathan and Steve analyse numbers 10-1 on the Metal Hammer 2021 Critics Poll, and hand out some fun end of year awards.

Did Gojira's majestic Fortitude merit a runaway victory? Did Trivum make the best album of their career with In The Court Of The Dragon? Was Limp Bizkit's triumphant return the comeback of the year? And where the hell did Merl find those corny sound effects?

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The Podcast so big they had to cut it in two! Our huge look back at the last twelve months in metal has arrived as Merl, El, Jonathan and Steve dissect the Metal Hammer 2021 Critics Poll, discussing the first half of the magazine's official top 20 albums of the year.

With heavyweight releases from the likes of Wardruna, Helloween, At The Gates, Sleep Token, Architects and more making it into numbers 20-11, it's clearly been a banner year for heavy music, so we get stuck right in.

It's the final Reader Q+A of the year! Merl and El tackle questions about their favourite recent memories at Metal Hammer, who they'd want to get in a Metallica Secret Santa, the best metal band of the 21st century, what surprised them most about metal in 2021, whether the world is becoming more metal and much more.

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Tetrarch guitarist Diamond Rowe stops by the Metal Hammer Podcast! Merl and Diamond discuss her journey to becoming a modern day guitar hero, what it was like growing up in Atlanta as a metal fan, the amazing circumstances that saw Tetrarch support Avenged Sevenfold in their early days, how they're channelling nu metal for a new generation and why nu metal is getting so much love again, what she thinks of the new Limp Bizkit album, her ultimate guide to Atlanta and much, much more!

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In honour of our latest issue celebrating 40 years of Metallica, Merl and Steve build their dream Metallica setlists! Having both been lucky enough to see Metallica many times over the years, the lads each attempt to craft the perfect, 16-song set comprising of rare cuts they're yet to see live, fan favourites that can't be ignored, underrated bangers and even a few covers. And yes, there's a lot of Load love in there. Also revealed are the most surprising Metallica set Merl's ever seen live (HINT: it included one song they've only ever played *four times*), the surprising choice for Steve's favourite 21st century Metallica album and much more.

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