The Cover Story

Pierce The Veil: “We’ve built this whole world where we can do anything creatively, and it’s so satisfying and comforting”

It’s been a seven-year wait, but Pierce The Veil’s fifth album The Jaws Of Life is finally here. On the eve of release, frontman Vic Fuentes dives deep into its creation, and reflects on how exciting a place it is for the band right now…

Dawn Ray’d: “You don’t have to ask for permission to make things better”

British black metal trio Dawn Ray’d have received both high praise and death threats for their anarchist beliefs. On their new album, To Know The Light, they rail against the things they see as keeping us down, just as much as they suggest liberating solutions. And as chaotic as everything looks, they refuse to back down…

Meet Me @ The Altar: “You know you’re making it when people are just talking sh*t for no reason… Every successful person gets hate”

It’s been a long time coming, but Meet Me @ The Altar are finally releasing their debut album. With all eyes on them, waiting to see if they can live up to the hype as the future of pop-punk, we sit down with a surprisingly relaxed Téa, Edith and Ada, who are simply taking global domination in their stride…

Bad Omens: “Most stuff people in our space are doing is kind of boring… I want to challenge myself and struggle when I create”

Through years of graft and experimentation, Bad Omens have graduated from plucky tour openers to one of the most talked about bands in metal. Ahead of their long-awaited return to the UK, Noah Sebastian and Jolly Karlsson reflect on their rapid ascension and why being the outsider is a good thing…

You Me At Six: “Showing pain doesn’t make you weak. You’re just human”

Over the past year, Josh Franceschi has been posing himself questions both personal and professional. And in getting his life back on track while creating You Me At Six’s eighth album Truth Decay, he’s come to learn that honesty really is the best policy…

Holding Absence: “As a kid, music is what helped me, and I’d love to be that person for more people”

Holding Absence have been on an upward trajectory to rival Santa’s sleigh, and it shows no sign of stopping – even with a pesky pandemic getting in the way. As they prepare to (finally) take their latest album The Greatest Mistake Of My Life into the nooks and crannies of the UK, Lucas Woodland reflects on their incredible journey so far…

I Prevail: “Thirty years from now when we’re all 60, we want to still be doing this for a living”

As I Prevail approach their 10th anniversary as a band in 2023, the Michigan metalcore gang have spectacularly risen into a genuine force in heavy music. With the physical release of latest album True Power on the way, and shows at the likes of London’s O2 Academy Brixton lined up, this is their brilliant story (so far).

Mimi Barks: “When you don’t limit yourself, there’s the risk of pissing people off. I don’t give a f*ck”

On her new mixtape DEADGIRL, Mimi Barks explores everything from “hating, self-growth, re-awakening, revenge”. Soundtracked by her signature doom-trap, the London-via-Berlin trailblazer is ready to share her journey with the world…

††† (Crosses): “There were two options: either we don’t do this band at all, or we try it with just us two. We chose the latter”

This month, ††† (Crosses) – the musical brainchild of Deftones icon Chino Moreno and Far prodigy Shaun Lopez – return with PERMANENT.RADIANT, a six-track collection that’s going to blow people away. But, as Kerrang! finds out, it’s taken a lifetime of friendship and challenges to get to this point…

Waterparks: “This is the best version of us – with new and exciting steps forward”

On Waterparks’ fifth album INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Awsten Knight – as he always does – threw himself headfirst into the creative process. Now, previewing it for the first time in this exclusive interview, the frontman reveals how the hard work is paying off…

A.A. Williams: “It never felt like classical was enough… I needed to make more noise!”

When A.A. Williams’ excellent debut Forever Blue arrived in 2020, its glassy melancholy chimed with a world trapped on the inside looking out. About to embark on a tour in support of superb second offering As The Moon Rests, however, the London songstress is finding strength in releasing her shadowy sounds into the great wide open.

L.S. Dunes: “We didn’t realise how much we needed this band until we started writing for it”

After two decades of interlinking friendship, L.S. Dunes saw five of emo and post-hardcore’s most respected figureheads finally get together. Rather than trading on old glories, however, debut LP Past Lives is about parrying their shared experience – from firebrand beginnings to fatherhood – into some of the coolest ‘dad rock’ the world has ever seen…

Palaye Royale: “This is the world we’ve created and the world that we get to live in – and it’s beautiful”

It took retreating to a haunted mansion in Hollywood make their new album Fever Dream for Palaye Royale to realise how big their would could become. Now, with perspective re-aligned, they’re determined to build it out even further…

Backxwash: “This is therapy for me… I’ve created a universe for all these pieces of work to live in”

As Ashanti Mutinta prepares to bring Backxwash’s current album trilogy to an end with HIS HAPPINESS SHALL COME FIRST…, the Zambian-Canadian rapper reflects on religion’s role in her life, the importance of having a creative outlet, and how others have “healed” through her art…

Architects: “You want your music to be an escape for people. You want to be a place where people can come together…”

An outsider at heart, by casting off the shackles of expectation, Sam Carter has finally learned to embrace who he wants to be. And as Architects gear up to release their 10th album, the Brighton metallers are also finding their own path away from fan pressures and on into pure creative freedom...

Lorna Shore: “Things are unbelievable right now… we’re excited to see how far we can take this”

They’re one of the hottest heavy bands on the planet, but since forming in 2010, Lorna Shore have been on quite the journey to get here. Guitarist Adam De Micco and new (ish) vocalist Will Ramos meet Kerrang! to look back at where they came from – and why, now, the future has never been brighter…

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