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Oxford Has Put Heavy Metal, Mesopotamians, and Noh Theater Together at Last

In a play entitled 'Ashurbanipal: The Last Great King of Assyria,' concerning the life of a seventh-century B.C. king, written by an Assyriologist DPhil candidate, blocked in the style of Japanese Noh theater, and scored by a quantum physicist with an original heavy metal soundtrack drawing inspiration from Opeth, Porcupine Tree, and Tangerine Dream. Full story

Slayer and Their Original Drummer Are Having a Serious Problem

Dave Lombardo’s problem with the band isn’t personality based; it’s about money. When he complained to the band that he was only paid a small advance for all his 2012 touring, he was told—on Valentine’s Day—not to pack his suitcase for their upcoming tour. Full story

Fresh Off the Boat

Back in Taiwan

In this episode of 'Fresh Off the Boat,' Eddie heads back to Taiwan to get heavy into the heavy metal scene—face paint, screaming lessons, and furry pink pillows. He also tastes Taiwan's famous "little snacks" in Gongguan before debating the pros and cons of Taiwanese independenc… Full story

The Slayer Christmas Sweater Is a Disgrace

Sure, you can make the argument that the Three Wise Men following a star through the desert in search of a Baby King to give him resin is kind of the Christian religion’s "Seasons In The Abyss" video. But I simply cannot reconcile the inherent cheekiness of a Slayer Christmas swe… Full story

Melchior Tersen's Shiny Happy People

These pictures from his new series, 'Communauté,' feature portraits of people at concerts doing things that makes them happy, and that makes us happy. So click through the gallery and get happy. Full story

Noisey

One Man Metal

We interviewed three enigmatic solo artists—Leviathan, Striborg, and Xasthur—who produce black metal on the margins of society. These are men who don’t just play the music, but also embody what it reflects: isolation, misanthropy, and anger. Full story

Live from Iceland's Black Metal Asshole

Magda shows us pictures from her recent trip to Iceland, where smelly kids love to put on corpse paint, get drunk, and make out in broad daylight. Which is all the time, by the way. Full story

Hydra Head Records Tricked Me into Liking Nu Metal

Earlier this week Hydra Head Records announced they were going out of business… kinda. I got sad—not because I was a huge fan of beard metal—because Hydra Head was a well-run label that spared no expense on their releases, supported their artists, and were cool people. Full story

Nader Sadek's Metal Masks Freak Us Out

If you are going for that phlegm-drenched evil ax-murderer vibe this season, take a look at Nader Sadek's signature masks. Full story

Planet Metalheads

Jörg Brüggemann spent three years traveling the world photographing metalheads in their natural environments—at home, on the streets, at shows, in tents, etc. Now those photos are a book. Full story