That's Not Metal

Musical drum stools strikes again, Dying Wish and Fleshwater set new records for the autumn, and the Poisoned Ascendancy shadiness raises its sassy head once again. Releases: Alice Cooper - The Revenge of Alice Cooper Post Animal - Iron Scalp - Not Worthy of Human Compassion Kontusion - Insatiable Lust for Death Nuovo Testamento - Trouble Fit for a King - Lonely God The Armed - The Future is Here...

We shake up the reviews with looks at plenty of smaller newcomer bands with TNM fave The Dirty Nil plus Blood Vulture, Psycho-Frame, Blind Equation, Crown of Anguish, Stangarigel, & Nuvolascura, and of course we do our best this week to speak to the seismic passing of the Prince of Darkness, heavy metal's hugest figure, Ozzy Osbourne. The Dirty Nil 46:49 Blood Vulture 1:04:23 Psycho-Frame 1:20...

TNM makes a long overdue return to 2000 Trees Festival to see Alexisonfire, Coheed and Cambria, the return of letlive., a massively contested slot from Kneecap, plenty more from punk rock spectrum, and in the same episode somehow, we face the great Profanatica jar controversy. Releases: Bring Me the Horizon - Lo-files Daron Malakian and Scars On Broadway - Addicted to the Violence Bush - I Beat Lo...

The biggest metal weekend of all time maybe arrives, with our impressions of Black Sabbath's Back to the Beginning and Ozzy's retirement party, plus trips to the return of Slayer in the UK. Releases: Split Chain - motionblur Calva Louise - Edge of the Abyss dead7 - Love What You Can While You’ve Still Got Something Left to Love Ward XVI - ID3NTITY Born of Osiris - Through Shadows Margarita Witch C...

It's a rock show extravaganza as we chat about one of the highest profile weeks for live heavy music in the UK ever with Deftones, Linkin Park, King Diamond, and Iron Maiden, as well as a sobering discussion of the fallout of Bob Vylan's appearance at Glastonbury and removal from Radar Festival. Releases: Higher Power - There’s Love In This World If You Want It Pig Pen - Mental Madness Dropkick Mu...

Outbreak returns in 2025 in a different guise, with a new site in London for a different kind of mass hardcore experience with sets from Turnstile, Sunny Day Real Estate, Speed, Model/Actriz, plus bonus appearances from Deafheaven and God's Hate. Releases: Cryptopsy - An Insatiable Violence Helms Deep - Chasing the Dragon Haggus - Destination Extinction Witherer - Shadow Without a Horizon Upon Sto...

A glut of huge hardcore storms TNM reviews with albums from Turnstile, Malevolence, Stray from the Path, Kaonashi, Deadguy (& Hexvessel, not very hardcore), and Nine Inch Nails kick off their incredible Peel It Back arena production. Turnstile 34:18 Malevolence 1:18:45 Stray from the Path 1:39:00 Kaonashi 1:57:44 Deadguy 2:18:16 Hexvessel 2:35:50

TNM returns from a week off with a cross continent double fest report as we hit up Yorkshire's Fortress and Poland's Mystic Festival, seeing every band under the sun from Agalloch to Ulcerate, W.A.S.P. to King Diamond, Bullet to Beherit. Releases: Turnstile - Never Enough Volbeat - God of Angels Trust Kaonashi - I Want to Go Home Orthodox - A Door Left Open View From the Soyuz - Ubiquitous Kataton...

A bumper Album Club dissection as Mötley Crüe go horribly wrong on Generation Swine. Crossfaith's electronicore captures a moment on Zion, Have Heart's melodic hardcore landmark Songs to Scream at the Sun, and Suffocation invent/perfect brutal death metal with Effigy of the Forgotten. Brandon. We love you. This episode was originally published May 2024 on patreon.com/thatsnotmetal.

Sam is lured back to the UK's pop punk home for Slam Dunk 2025 and has to think long and hard about Electric Callboy, and we doff our caps to Svalbard's decision to drop the curtain on a decade plus career as one of the UK's favourite heavy bands. Releases: Skunk Anansie - The Painful Truth Midnight - Steel, Rust and Disgust Thus Spoke Zarathustra - I’m Done With Self Care, It’s Time for Others’ H...

In a month that saw two no. 1 metal albums, we go through 2025's biggest reviews gauntlet with Ghost, Machine Head, Behemoth, PUP, The Callous Daoboys, Model/Actriz, Age of Apocalypse, & Sijjin. Ghost 30:52 Machine Head 1:17:32 Behemoth 1:42:36 PUP 2:06:43 The Callous Daoboys 2:21:42 Model/Actriz 2:47:50 Age of Apocalypse 3:00:55 Sijjin 3:14:07

We rummage through the wreckage as Trivium and Bullet for My Valentine's Poisoned Ascendancy tour comes to a sudden stop with fingers generally being pointed at one party, and we ask big questions like: are four-sided longsleeves good? Releases: Bury Tomorrow - Will You Haunt Me, With That Same Patience Callous Daoboys - I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven Novelists - Coda Pridian - Venetian Dark Hu...

TNM's 2025 festival summer begins with Incineration descending upon Camden for extreme metal sets from the likes of Lamp of Murmuur, Blackbraid, Spectral Wound, Blood Incantation debuting Absolute Elsewhere in the UK, & a mountain-moving Celtic Frost performance by Triptykon. Ough. Releases: Sijjin - Helljjin Combat PUP - Who Will Look After The Dogs? Propagandhi - At Peace Press Club - To All...

On the single biggest release week of the year we head down to Ghost kicking off the Skeletour here in the UK, Charli XCX officially declares it a Turnstile Summer, the original Alice Cooper band reunites after 52 years, and there's important updates about last week's Weezer movie announcement. Releases: Superheaven - Superheaven Melvins - Thunderball Lik - Necro Ancient Death - Ego Dissolution Tr...

Reviews really hot up with some of the most hyped and acclaimed records of the year, some experiments from familiar faces, and some real underground crushers with Deafheaven, Scowl, Employed to Serve, Inhuman Nature, Messa, & Final Dose. Deafheaven 25:41 Scowl 57:31 Employed to Serve 1:20:33 Inhuman Nature 1:43:08 Messa 1:52:32 Final Dose 2:07:53

We cover some of the biggest, baddest, craziest Album Clubs there is: Thin Lizzy go studs and leather on Thunder and Lightning, Wintersun undergo an epic, farcical saga to create Time I, Palm Reader's raise UK hardcore's ambition on Beside the Ones We Love, and Agoraphobic Nosebleed's hellish 99 song chemical digi-grind Altered States of America. This episode was originally published March 2024 on...

The time comes to hold a funeral for one of our podcast's greatest villains You Me At Six as their reign of tyranny comes to an end assessing their end and legacy, Turnstile hit us with their first track of Never Enough, a bumper questions section talking the best metal solo artists and two album wonders, and announcing a particularly crunchy band special. Releases: Epica - Aspiral Cabal - Everyth...

Linkin Park release a new single but downgrade shows, Evanescence release 2025's hottest AMV, Midnight write an anthem for Cleveland Metal, and Danzig's in hot water for far right dogwhistles on merch. Releases: Scowl - Are We All Angels Bleed From Within - Zenith Thornhill - Bodies Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Death Hilarious Benediction - Ravage of Empires Tómarúm - Beyond Obsidian Eupho...

Sam and Perran sit down to talk about Knocked Loose's recent massive headline tour in the UK bringing Basement, Harms Way, & Pest Control into massive Academy venues, as well as Powerwolf announcing a UK arena and Download booking the Vengaboys, and a mega end of month release round-up. Releases: Ophicvs - Steel Beast Cradle of Filth - The Screaming of the Valkyries Bloodywood - Nu Delhi Lordi...

In our new reviews show we stop to take stock of the state of some of our most popular heavy bands with Architects, Spiritbox, & A Day to Remember, as well as Whitechapel, Spiritworld, Warbringer, Imperial Triumphant, & Rwake. More hardcore bands imploding over idiocy too. Architects 27:10 Spiritbox 1:05:56 A Day to Remember 1:30:17 Whitechapel 1:46:14 Spiritworld 2:08:37 Warbringer 2:25:2...

Napalm Death's 2025 edition of the Campaign for Musical Destruction (Bollocks) rolls around, Tool are being sued by their fans over setlist controversy, and we give our take on the ground-shaking moment when a member of Mastodon departs the band. Releases: Coheed and Cambria - Vaxis - Act III: The Father of Make Believe Steven Wilson - The Overview clipping. - Dead Channel Sky Warbringer - Wrath a...

We really cover ground on this one: prog goes pop on Rush's Power Windows, 2010s Britrock goes horribly wrong when The Blackout Start the Party, American Football reinvent emo on LP1, and black metal's most comforting album in Agalloch's The Mantle. This episode was originally published February 2024 on patreon.com/thatsnotmetal.

Ghost unveil all things Skeletá, Slayer add yet another mega-show onto the UK summer, and Bobby Liebling is being seen by more people than should ever see Bobby Liebling. Releases: Architects - The Sky, The Earth & All Between Oversize - Vital Signs Cloakroom - Last Leg of the Human Table Avantasia - Here Be Dragons Dirkschneider - Balls to the Wall Reloaded Stress Test - Stress Test Havukruun...

We close out February with reviews of some of our boldest and sloppiest with Killswitch Engage, Bleeding Through, Winona Fighter, Pissgrave, Vacuous, & Gràb, Green Lung & Unto Others' recent Heathen Neverland trip across Europe, and yes, Sam finally reviews a Dream Theater album. Killswitch Engage 40:37 Bleeding Through 1:06:01 Dream Theater 1:31:51 Winona Fighter 1:56:08 Pissgrave 2:10:38...

There's reports from High Vis and Tribulation both hitting headline tours around the UK, A Day to Remember bring news of their surprise album and its promised big ole volumes, and Parkway Drive stake a claim on the Sydney Opera House. Releases: Killswitch Engage - This Consequence Silverstein - Antibloom Anxious - Bambi To Obey a Tyrant - Frigore Inferni Wren - Black Rain Falls Hirax - Faster Than...