The Cover Story

SOFT PLAY: “We need to do this together… the magic of our band is both of us”

Following the hiatus of Slaves, a trifecta of time, therapy and trauma sought to bond the brothers Laurie Vincent and Isaac Holman back together, repairing their fractured friendship and reigniting that creative fire once more. Under their new guise of SOFT PLAY, and superb new album Heavy Jelly, the duo are finally embracing what they wanted to be all along – whether you like it not…

Zeal & Ardor: “The more music we put into this world, the more obvious it becomes who we really are”

Over the last decade, Zeal & Ardor has grown from a niche experiment inspired by a bigoted shitpost into one of the most exciting and invigorating outfits in avant-garde metal. With fearless fourth album GREIF, Manuel Gagneux is still broadening horizons, thumbing his nose to genre convention and inviting his bandmates into the studio to make their boldest statement yet…

Knocked Loose: “Sacrificing heaviness was never an option… As this band grows, it only gets more uncomfortable and extreme”

Modern hardcore’s most uncompromising heavyweights, Knocked Loose have been swinging at extreme music’s glass ceiling for over a decade now. But having boiled four years of suffering, uncertainty and self-discovery into awesome third album You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To, the Kentucky crew are armed to brutally break through…

Wage War: “There’s nothing better than seeing your fans connect to music you feel proud to have made”

After three years away, Floridian metalcore faves Wage War are back with new album STIGMA. In a world-exclusive first interview, we catch up with Briton Bond and Cody Quistad to get the lowdown on one of the scene’s biggest albums of the year, and why they’re all about having fun every step of the way…

Bob Vylan: “Our work is never done – the job is never complete”

On release day for their sensational third album Humble As The Sun, we get in the van with Bob Vylan as they tear through two sold-out shows, and find a band focused not just on success but how to channel the power of love, community and independence...

Graphic Nature: “We’re grateful for everything, because in a second it can be taken away”

Just over a year on from their gripping debut album, Kent metallers Graphic Nature are set to out-do themselves with upcoming follow-up Who Are You When No One Is Watching? Despite their undeniable rise, though, behind-the-scenes frontman Harvey Freeman has been battling PTSD, and has experienced a “wake-up call” to truly seize the day…

SeeYouSpaceCowboy: “This is the uncensored, no-holds-barred version of us”

San Diego sasscore stars SeeYouSpaceCowboy are no strangers to turmoil and destruction. Where 2021 breakout LP The Romance Of Affliction looked brutally inwards, though, upcoming third album Coup De Grâce takes a more “playful” approach as the world falls apart around us. For the band’s Cover Story debut, Connie Sgarbossa lifts the lid on the record, talking creativity, cabaret and pure chaos…

Sum 41: “If there’s one record that defines who we are, it’s this one”

In just under a year’s time, Sum 41 will be no more. But before the Canadian pop-punk legends call it a day, they’ve got a huge tour, not to mention this month’s outstanding final album. For one last time as Kerrang! cover stars, Deryck Whibley and Jason ‘Cone’ McCaslin reflect on their decision, what they’ll do next, and how right now the band are “the best we’ve ever been”…

Kid Kapichi: “Things might get worse before they get better – but they will get better”

Emerging from one of the murkiest periods in modern politics, Kid Kapichi’s brand of in-your-face social realism has electrified listeners with its unbowed attitude and punchy clarity of purpose. On third album There Goes The Neighbourhood, the Hastings quartet underline that, as we face a lacklustre election year, real power will always lie with the people...

While She Sleeps: “We’ve been grinding for a long time, and we’re in a really good place”

For almost 20 years, While She Sleeps have given everything to achieve their dream. Through multiple throat surgeries, untold miles travelled, and restructuring the very business in which they operate, a lifetime of grit and graft is paying off. And with new album SELF HELL, they’re poised to take the next step in their constant, unwavering ascendancy by any means necessary…

Mannequin Pussy: “Repression of your personal freedom is a cardinal sin of humanity – it means everything to us”

Mannequin Pussy are done with love. Done with politics. Done with the status quo. On new album I Got Heaven, we find the Philly four-piece taking on ideas of identity and insidious social norms, and finally coming to terms with the fact that sometimes you’re better off alone if it means a better you…

NOAHFINNCE: “There’s always going to be people that can’t see me as anything more than an influencer, but they’re not worth worrying about”

Having spent nearly a decade baring his soul online, now NOAHFINNCE is finally ready to do it through his music. And with debut album GROWING UP ON THE INTERNET he’s pulling no punches, showing the world that he was born to do this while opening up about everything from transphobia to mental health…

Crawlers: “You give less of a f*ck as you get older… You start realising life’s too short”

Throughout various stages of life, we’ve all been guilty of changing who we are just to fit in. Crawlers, however, are having none of it. On spectacular debut album The Mess We Seem To Make, they offer a space for the outsiders, celebrate our differences, and – as they explain in their first-ever K! cover – show why you should always be your true, unapologetic self…

Chelsea Wolfe: “This feels very much like what I was put here to do”

When Chelsea Wolfe began work on her seventh album, it didn’t take long for the California cult hero to notice things weren’t feeling quite right. After “cutting cords” with past versions of herself and making a big lifestyle change, though, she rediscovered her gift for songwriting – and is determined to keep sharing it with the world…

Alkaline Trio: “It’s like we’re living in the apocalypse… it’s end-of-days stuff out there”

For almost three decades, Alkaline Trio have traded in the darker side of life, telling tales of addiction, depression and loss. Now as the world is seemingly falling apart around them, they’re channelling Armageddon into new album Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs, and rediscovering themselves in the process…

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes: “I’m looking forward to being the band that we’ve always wanted to be”

Good things come to those who wait. For Frank Carter and Dean Richardson, it’s taken the best part of a decade to find the true meaning of The Rattlesnakes, and that deep, human connection between themselves and their art. New album Dark Rainbow is the first fruit of this next era, but as we find out, they’re only just getting started…

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