Matt Mills

💥 I HAVE A PODCAST NOW! After months of work, I'm thrilled to announce HEAVY STORIES: a new podcast where I share powerful conversations with metal's biggest, best and most interesting musicians. New episodes will drop every Monday morning, wherever you get your podcasts, starting next week! Check back tomorrow for details about episode one. Until then, look at the incredible logo by @sevenheavens_studio and listen to a snippet of my theme song(!!!), courtesy of the best guitarist in the game, @samvallenmusic from @caligulashorse . And don't forget to follow the @heavystoriespodcast account! I can't wait to get this started and show you what I've been working on 🤘

As a diehard At the Gates fan, it’s an honour to tell the story of the late Tomas Lindberg in the new issue of Metal Hammer. I interviewed three of his longtime bandmates – Anders, Jonas and Adrian – about his life, death and legacy, as well as the band’s reverent new album, The Ghost of a Future Dead. You can order your physical or digital copy now via Magazines Direct (link in stories), or pick it up in all good newsagents. We miss you, Tompa 🤘

It was an absolute privilege to host the Q&A at @einar_solberg ’s launch event last night! He’s always a great chat, and the audience had good, insightful questions, as well. His new album Vox Occulta is a must-hear for fans of orchestral drama and big, hooky choruses. Much love to @hc_white for letting me do this 🫡

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🚨 BIG GUARDIAN BYLINE! 🚨 I couldn’t share this during my recent travels, but last week I got three talented bands in The Guardian to talk about the masked acts taking over heavy metal. Zachary from Imperial Triumphant, the singer from Gaerea and Balsac the Jaws of Death (yes, that’s his name) from Gwar all offered some great takes and stories. We spoke about the appeal of masks for both the audience and the bands themselves, the physical drawbacks of having your face concealed all the time, the cult-like obsession around megastars Sleep Token and Ghost, and the history of heavy musicians covering themselves up. This was a great long-term project and shout-out to @benbthomas for the inspiration and edit. Link in my stories and bio. . . . #sleeptoken #president #heavymetal #rockmusic #mask

En route home from an amazing long weekend in Estonia. I was here to cover Tallinn Music Week, a showcase festival featuring some very cool obscure European artists, and saw some incredible sets. The Body of a Swan (a darkwave band so loud that they emptied half the venue, slide 13), Servo (the missing link between Killing Joke and Godflesh, 12) and indie-poppers Sibyl Vane (6) were the best of the best. I also explored the gorgeous Old Town, went to the KGB Museum (located on the secret top floor of a Soviet-era hotel), found an Anton Corbijn exhibition and got attacked by parrots. I even took part in a panel on music journalism in the social media age and was one of the judges on a heavy metal battle of the bands! Feeling very grateful, and keep an eye on the @metalhammeruk socials for my coverage!

Gutted to hear that Phil Campbell has passed away. This was us backstage at Bloodstock 2016, and he was such a lovely, soft-spoken guy. Motörhead förever! 🤘

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It’s World Book Day tomorrow! To celebrate, The Guardian got some of us to write about the times music made us read – and I KNEW I had to bring up how Iron Maiden’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner got me through my second year of English at college. I had no idea my anecdote would become a headline in a broadsheet newspaper, but I’m thrilled it did! (Link in bio and stories)

HARDCORE IN THE GUARDIAN ✅ Pick up today's paper and you'll find my review of the EXCELLENT new Converge album, Love Is Not Enough. A wholesome Valentine's statement from a band who never miss. You can also find it on the website. Link in my bio and stories.

FIRST PRESS TRIP OF 2026 – DONE ✅ SOUND UP FOR THIS ONE 🔊 This week, I had the honour of going to Eurosonic festival in Groningen, Netherlands: three days dedicated to spotlighting up-and-coming European talent and giving them a platform. I discovered a ton of amazing artists across the three days and thrived off the rush of charging from venue to venue at ridiculously late/early hours. Here were my favourite acts, all of which you can get a little taste of in this slideshow (in the order they're listed): - @doveellis_ : Irish singer/songwriter who's already making big waves, with major Jeff Buckley vibes. - @maustetytot_yhtye : Depeche Mode except with two Finnish ladies instead of a bunch of Essex lads (massively complimentary). - @manwomanchainsaw : erratic art-rock with violins, keyboards, lots of vocals and tight songwriting chops. - @elinsifhall : an immersive polymath from Iceland, a country that doesn't know how to produce bad music. - @kombynat_robotron : German psychedelic riffery which refused to let me stand still. - Yim Yim : Dutch funk that served for a much-needed 2am pick-me-up. - @neomi.music : the joint-highlight of everything. A stunning composer and vocalist, with her ballads enhanced by the acoustics of an actual church. - @servo_rouen : The other big win. Post-punk/industrial that turns wiry guitar lines into earworm melodies. I also saw a few killer metal bands, but that's for another time at another place 😉 What a start to the year. I'm exhausted but also feeling motivated as hell. Onwards!

My face is in a magazine, and all I had to do was interview Bleed from Within, Ho99o9, Lorna Shore, Amon Amarth, Carpenter Brut, Dimmu Borgir, Ice Nine Kills and Paleface Swiss in the same issue to get there. Pick up the brand-new issue of Metal Hammer to read all my prestigious works 🤘📝