Metal Hammer has teamed up with Merseyside avant-garde metalcore crew Loathe to put together an exclusive bundle.
Available exclusively via the Louder webstore, it features the new issue of Metal Hammer with a cover not available in the shops, as well as a t-shirt designed by the band’s bassist, Feisal El-Khazragi. Order yours now while stocks last!
Inside, the four-piece talk all about their brand-new album A Stranger To You: their first studio release in more than five years. They also open up about their story so far, from the British underground to the forefront of modern metal, touring with Korn, Gojira and plenty of other big names.
“When I was younger, I felt very angry at the world,” guitarist/vocalist Erik Bickerstaffe admits. “I had a ‘fuck everyone’ attitude, and a lot of music would be me putting all this resentment out there. I’ve definitely been more self-centred in the past. I was a bit selfish. As I’m getting older, I’m becoming more of a human in the world.”
The issue also features a huge review of A Stranger To You. “Throughout A Stranger To You, Loathe seem hellbent on wildly changing dynamics with daring regularity, such as when the quiet, industrialised, gothic soundscape of (Athena) leads immediately into the mathy rage of Revenant and the sun-kissed dream pop of the funky The Way It Breaks,” writes journalist Stephen Hill.
“It’s to their credit that these sharp left turns feel coherent and consistent with Loathe’s overall vision as a band.”
Elsewhere, we talk with German electro-metal unit Electric Callboy about their new album Tanzneid and how they built their reputation as one of metal’s greatest party-starters.
“At its peak, we had 80 people in this tiny flat. People that we didn’t know were ringing the doorbell,” co-singer Nico Sallach tells us. “They treated our flat like shit. I wanted to go to bed, and there were drinks and liquids that I couldn’t identify all over my bed! Very good memories, even if it doesn’t sound like it.”
We also talk to veteran Slipknot producer Ross Robinson about the 25th anniversary of the nine-piece’s landmark second album, Iowa. “We were looking to help Norway burn some more churches,” he says. “We wanted to join that extreme metal club!”
All that, plus we send a writer into an escape room with zombie-metal sensations Dominum, give I Prevail singer Eric Vanlerberghe your burning questions, discover Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner’s personal playlist, talk to Sharon Osbourne about her efforts to preserve Ozzy’s legacy, and much, much more.
Only in the new Hammer – now available with that Loathe cover and t-shirt! Gets your now while stocks last.
(Image credit: Future)

