Iron Maiden review – showstopping rock theatre and tantalising live rarities
Deep cuts and under-sung treasures are given their moment in the dry ice from the reliably extravagant and big-hearted band
Download festival review – 20th birthday brings double Metallica, occult glam and a new breed
After travel chaos this proves to be an epic four-dayer, with an eclectic mix from Bring Me the Horizon to AA Williams plus Metallica spanning their career
Def Leppard & Mötley Crüe review – from the pathetic to the sublime
On this co-headline tour, Mötley Crüe are crass and limp, and then shown up all the more by the triumphant power of Def Leppard’s homecoming
Metallica: 72 Seasons review – a poignant if protracted nostalgia kick
With weighty lyrics referencing James Hetfield’s ongoing recovery and harking back to the band’s formative British influences, 72 Seasons has the edge of Metallica’s 80s heyday – albeit one blunted by overlong songs
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs: Land of Sleeper review – doom rockers refine mind-bending sound
With repeated rhythmic blows and pulsing bass licks, the Newcastle band amplify the volume on their fourth album and keep listeners entrenched in their heady cosmos
Elder: Innate Passage review – ground-shaking heaviness meets lofty ambition
The Berlin-based band’s new album delivers pulverising heft and proggy nirvana at its most polished
Incubus review – noughties California band throw themselves behind the hits
Bringing back their much-loved early albums, the crossover band’s big-choruses and expansive rock anthems still get the fans singing
Ozzy Osbourne: Patient Number 9 review – immortal king of heavy metal cheats death again
The irrepressible rocker offsets his usual forays into the occult with moving contemplations of illness on a star-studded return
Static Dress review – more moshpit, less theatricality please
The promising post-hardcore band put on an overly conceptualised show that could easily afford to rely on their fervent rapport with fans
ArcTanGent festival – metal at its spine-tingling best
The likes of Cult of Luna, Amenra and Tesseract grace the return of a prized weekend of heavy and progressive talent
Supersonic festival 2022 review – joy and fury from an inspiring music community
From Grove’s queer swagger to Circle’s ecological visions and Divide and Dissolve’s call for decolonisation, this thrilling underground fest has radical utopianism at its heart
Nova Twins: Supernova review – explosive wit and anger from UK’s finest rock duo
The genre-splicing pair’s sharp, concise songwriting makes for a mindblowing blast of distorted noise-pop – and destroys the narrative about who gets to make rock music
Download festival review – monster metal weekend roars back to full volume
At capacity again after two years of Covid, jubilant crowds greet showstopping turns from full-glam Kiss to musically flashy Iron Maiden and the fury of Bleed from Within
Meshuggah review – mechanical Swedish metallers in need of human frailty
Effectively summoning moods of burning heat and freezing cold, the djent pioneers’ machine-like precision can be tiring
Alice Cooper review – guillotine-wielding rocker is no longer a cut above
The shock-rock superstar delivers a fine spectacle, but his varied back catalogue gets homogenised on this arena tour