Devin Townsend still brings so much of what other heavy music doesn’t – colour, vibrancy, dynamics, and inventiveness – and with Empath, he’s delivered one of the finest albums of his career.

Meshuggah took to the stage at The Forum in London, joined by fellow Swedish metal heavyweights The Haunted, flaunting the sort of calibre required to give birth to an entire sub-genre of metal, as well as to continue pushing it to its limits.

Peter Meinertzhagen had a very interesting chat with Devin Townsend about classical music and creating music. “In a similar way to how I’m happy to see how my process evolves, I’m happy to let the music evolve in the ways it’s meant to, because ultimately the people that support what I do generally do it because it’s coming from a place of some sort of authenticity.”

‘Transcendence’ is certainly up there with the best of Devin Townsend’s albums and while it’s more evolution than reinvention, the increased collaboration hints at even greater experimentation to come in the future. – By Peter Meinertzhagen

Peter Meinertzhagen saw the mighty thrash metal legends Testament in Oxford. “Testament were absolutely outstanding, captivating from start to finish, and their experience really shone through in their performance.”

Peter Meinertzhagen saw Wrekmeister Harmonies, Luminous Bodies and Casual Nun live at The Black Heart. “I love what J.R. Robinson is doing with Wrekmeister Harmonies, and by constructing these avant-garde tone poems and having the confidence to perform them live”

A couple of weeks ago Peter Meinertzhagen caught up with Jon Davis from Conan, to find out more about Conan, the new album ‘Revengeance’, doom and that “Conan” sound. “It’s quite a cathartic experience to turn your amps up really loud and just play one note for an hour.”

Peter Meinertzhagen went to Oxford to see TesseracT, The Contortionist and Nordic Giants. “If TesseracT persist in putting on performances like this, their position in the progressive pecking order will continue to grow, as too will the venues they manage to sell-out.”

Peter Meinertzhagen went to the Black Heart in London for the Latitudes album release show. “Beautiful, dynamic, and incredibly focused, Latitudes continue to carry the torch for expressive and artistic metal that shows how subtleties in texture and tone are essential ingredients in creating engaging post-metal.”

Eight Bells shrug off the meandering bluesy psychedelia of their début in favour of a sound that is darker, more mature, and more atmospheric, sounding less like a jam and more like a crafted narrative. – By Peter Meinertzhagen