Botswana’s heavy metal culture gets hyped for all the wrong reasons: namely the desert-defying style of its leather-clad crews. But beneath the surface is a DIY subculture uncorrupted by the outside world.
In northeastern Iran, heavy metal band Master of Persia are flogged, imprisoned and exiled for writing songs with the power to give a voice to those otherwise unheard.
An accident halted the rise of Savannah’s most ambitious metal band, splitting Baroness apart. But the catharsis of getting back on the road keeps them sane.
Forged in the crucible of oil-rich and conflict-ridden Kirkuk, the story of Iraqi band Dark Phantom is pure metal. But in a city littered with Isis sleeper cells, going underground is no affectation. It’s a means of survival.
Iraq's Dark Phantom lead the charge of heavy metal acts taking on Islamic extremists and corrupt government officials across the region. Here we celebrate some of the loudest voices.
