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US Metal Index tracks 5,114 death metal bands nationally, but only 71 shows — with one band, Citizen, accounting for 23 of them, revealing a stark gap between the genre's recorded size and its live footprint.
Arch Enemy's smooth transition to new singer Lauren Hart and King Diamond's confirmed split from guitarist Andy La Rocque highlight a week of lineup shakeups — with lessons for New York's heavy metal underground and Charlie Benante's Anthrax-adjacent side project keeping local thrash lineage alive.
New band formation in South American metal peaked at 258 in 2020 and has fallen every year since, down to 157 in 2024 — a 39% decline — even as the total index has grown to 4,742 bands.
Taking Back Sunday's Louder Now 20th anniversary reissue and Red Rocks show headline a week that also brings a surprise Spiritbox single, a posthumous John Sykes EP, and Carla Harvey's latest with The Violent Hour.
From Islander's stance against death-cash-in covers to Shinedown's Eric Bass opening up about his faith crisis, this week's metal news turned into a masterclass in handling grief — and Florida's scene has been writing that playbook for decades.
Nekrogoblikon's 20th anniversary, new MetalSucks columns, and a wave of heavy metal veteran activity offer a wide-angle look at how California's comedy metal, NWOTHM, and industrial scenes are all quietly evolving heading into 2026.
From Anthrax's basement-sized homecoming at Saint Vitus to Peter Tägtgren's rapid-fire industrial rollout and a simmering doom underground, this week's US metal news balances legacy reckonings with fresh momentum.
The deathcore world mourns Andy Williams while Ohio's own genre-blending, thrash, and NWOTHM scenes reflect on the legacies — from Every Time I Die to Slayer's Reign In Blood — that shaped them.
Halestorm's home-built Dark Garden studio session, tributes to Every Time I Die's Andy Williams, Slayer's Reign In Blood turning 40, and Alissa White-Gluz's Blue Medusa debut all trace back to lessons Pennsylvania's DIY metal scene already knows by heart.
A reopened Van Halen-Hagar feud, Alissa White-Gluz's Blue Medusa debut, and a wave of legacy-act news all point to bigger trends worth watching in New York's death metal, heavy metal, and NWOTHM underground heading into 2026.
AFI's Davey Havok opens up about retiring 'Miss Murder' from the setlist, sparking a wider look at how California legacy acts — from The Kinison's reunion tour to the Sammy Hagar/Alex Van Halen feud — wrestle with the songs and stories that define them.
European Metal Index tracks 37,621 bands, 827 venues, and 1,169 upcoming shows in 2026 — but Athens, the city with the most bands (581), currently has zero confirmed shows in our database.
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