Your 2026 New Heavy cover stars are: Sleep Theory, Castle Rat, PRESIDENT and Paleface Swiss – four rising bands set to soundtrack your 2026.

Castle Rat are fronted by a sword-waving, chainmail-bikini-clad barbarian who dies and is reborn onstage each night: step into their fantastic fantasy world. This bundle comes with a limited-edition Castle Rat cover, and an exclusive Castle Rat plush toy.

Elsewhere in the Issue…

• Since going viral on TikTok in 2023, Sleep Theory are blowing up US radio and won’t stop until they’re the biggest band in the world.
• PRESIDENT debuted at Download last year, share management with Sleep Token, and have gained a devoted fanbase in less than 12 months. We delve into what’s next for metal’s newest masked band.
• Paleface Swiss are boundary-pushing next-gen deathcore trailblazers – we find out how these four lads are rewiring metal for 2026.
• We delve into the 30 greatest albums of the 2020s, so far! Pagan doom, Marmite metalcore, genre-smashing hardcore, razzle-dazzle arena metal… it’s all here!
• We hit Las Vegas with Avatar (and nearly get Johannes killed – sorry, Johannes); Kreator frontman Mille Petrozza looks back on 40 years of extreme aggression; and Thornhill frontman Jacob Charlton talks beer thieves and secret Satanic sex clubs.
• Dream Theater drumming legend Mike Portnoy answers your questions; Alter Bridge reflect on rising from the ashes of Creed with Open Your Eyes; and Kittie’s Morgan Lander imparts her hard-earned life lessons.
• We investigate the live reunion of Children Of Bodom; Gaerea’s enigmatic Vocalist invites us into his weirdly mainstream record collection, and Brit crew The Hara explain how they’re making metal for misfits.

…all this, plus all the essential gigs and reviews from the world of metal!