Supersonic festival review – an awesome windmill of noise and connection

This festival of heavier sounds from the fringes was a blast, from chilling Gazelle Twin to Daisy Rickman’s Krautrock-folk, noise icons Melt-Banana and locals Flesh Creep

Korn review – a mosh-pit erupting set drenched in dark energy

The nu-metal pioneers commit entirely with hulking riffs, frenzied scatting and guttural rage as they stomp through their songs with little ceremony

Download festival review – the rock fest’s most cursed year ever

Plagued by rain, technical issues and boycotts – as well as by some distinctly non-metal headliners – the weekend is practically a washout, despite some virtuoso shredding and fiery melodeath lower down the bill

Thou: Umbilical review – one of the finest metal albums of the past decade

Huge riffs, guttural vocals and fearsome intent create a formidable wall of sound in the US band’s maximalist, in-your-face sixth album

Bring Me the Horizon: Post Human: Nex Gen review – a defining album of our digitally overloaded era

Despite losing a key member, the arena-filling pop-metal stars still thrill with their surprise-released new record – a masterpiece of glutted sonic mayhem

Bruce Dickinson review – metal’s charismatic star indulges his goofy side

Letting rip with that still thrilling and propulsive voice, the Iron Maiden frontman performs an all solo material set – keytars, bongos and demonic laughter included

Knocked Loose: You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To review – hardcore punk’s dark stars go supermassive

The Kentucky metalcore quintet cleverly channel pop – and even reggaeton grooves – to create an album of crushing intensity and vast scope

Tenacious D review – Jack Black’s daft duo are deeply schooled in rock

The actor’s prog-metal spoof band with Kyle Gass hilariously skewer rock cliche – but come from a place of deep love for the genre

Lord Spikeheart: The Adept review – Duma star’s relentless metal isn’t for the fainthearted

With doom-laden growls and falsetto screams, the Kenyan metaller’s indefatigable vocals cut through a thunderous onslaught of headbanging sound

While She Sleeps: Self Hell review – exploding out of metalcore with a scream

On their sixth album, the hardcore Sheffield quintet bring furious riffs, howling, swearing and … acoustic guitars?

Ben Frost: Scope Neglect review – grim grandeur with gnarly tongue-out riffs

The avant garde musician’s first album in seven years features cinematic ambience, pummelling sound design and whinnying metal guitar

The Body and Dis Fig: Orchards of a Futile Heaven review – awe-inspiring music for heavy times

A collaboration between the alt-metal duo and Berlin-based shapeshifter Felicia Chen creates a dark but nourishing LP of hellish depth

Enter Shikari review – sensory overload by a British band hitting the big leagues

Twenty years into their career and on their first arena tour, Enter Shikari push the massive sound system to the limit with gleeful and vibrant cross-genre rock

Sleep Token review – masked metallers don’t need faces – or even a voice – to enthral

After vocalist Vessel loses his voice mid-set, the UK band call upon the vast audience they’ve built to carry them through

Ragana: Desolation’s Flower review – amazing guitar tone lights up doomy incantations

The US rock duo address life’s horrors with honesty, fury and gorgeous noise – though some of their riffs can be pedestrian