The Kerrang! staff's mixtapes!

In celebration of this week's Rockstar Mixtapes cover feature - in which the stars give you their favourite songs in 10-track must-hear playlists - the Kerrang! magazine staff have put together their own lists for you to read and enjoy.

You can read all of our mixtape choices below!

The Rockstar Mixtapes issue of Kerrang! Magazine is on sale now.

JAMES MCMAHON, EDITOR

CHISEL
WHAT ABOUT BLIGHTY?
"Like Paul Weller if he grew up on DC hardcore, Ted Leo is one of the unsung heroes of modernpunk."

ATOM & HIS PACKAGE
IF YOU OWN THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS, YOU'RE A COCK
"I was listening to this song the other day while I was eating dinner. It's so funny I actually snorted a pea out my nose."

JOYCE MANOR
IF I NEEDED YOU THERE
"My favourite new band. This song is one minute and eight seconds long. Every second is stupendously exciting."

CHEAP GIRLS
FT. LAUDERDALE
"It's hard to say this without sounding like a total dick, but seriously, the wordplay in this song is astonishing."

X
SEX AND DRUGS IN HIGH SOCIETY
"I have never ever been as obsessed with a band in adult life like I have become with X."

HOT WATER MUSIC
TRUE BELIEVERS
"It's a Bouncing Souls cover, yes, but I think this version might even be better, than the original."

S*M*A*S*H
LADY LOVE YOUR C**T
"It kind of bums me out that this band have been forgotten about. This is a really important song for a band to write, and they had lots like it."

JOEY RAMONE
GOING NOWHERE FAST
"Sometimes it bums me out so much I can barely move just thinking that the world is running out of unheard recordings of Joey Ramone singing."

THE SWELLERS
WELCOME BACK RIDERS
"The most underrated band in contemporary pop punk? No question."

UNDECLINABLE AMBUSCADE
7 YEARS
"'Why can't it be like the day when we first me?' 'Who will love me when you're gone?' 'I thought the heart was just a muscle / how can it hurt so much?' Um, I think I've got something in my eye..."

SIMON YOUNG, DEPUTY EDITOR

THE JESUS LIZARD
PUSS
"Duane Denison's abrasive riffs complement David Yow's anguished, boozy howl on this '90s classic. If you've not welcomed The Jesus Lizard into your life, now is the time to do so."

GROOP DOGDRILL
SALT PETER
"If you've ever lost a parent, then you will get this song. Thank you, Pete, Damo and Hug."

TOMAHAWK
GOD HATES A COWARD
"This Mike Patton-led supergroup features members of Cows, The Jesus Lizard and Helmet. They're phenomenal. Try to watch the live performance of this on YouTube, just to see Patton screaming into a gas mask. Immaculate hair, too."

THE MURDER CITY DEVILS
IDLE HANDS
"Who cares if Spencer Moody sounds like a man singing after the pubs have closed? He's a poet, albeit a speccy one soaked in buckets of booze."

RUSH
TOM SAWYER
"If you don't like Rush, then we can't be friends."

JETPLANE LANDING
CALCULATE THE RISK
"This song makes me want to smash stuff up. I felt guilty for kicking the head off a dandelion yesterday, so that says a lot."

CABLE
SOUVENIR
"Every few days, I send members of Cable a letter begging them to reform, because there's a big gaping hole in my heart where they should be. I think they're beginning to crack."

THE BRONX
HISTORY'S STRANGLERS
"The Bronx are a band I will never get sick of listening to. I don't think they're capable of writing a bad song. I wish I was in The Bronx, but then again, I wish for a lot things, and they rarely ever happen. I'll have to console myself with this song, then."

BIFFY CLYRO
LIVING IS A PROBLEM BECAUSE EVERYTHING DIES
"This is one of my favourite songs. The album version boasts a baffling intro, massive verses, a gigantic chorus and lyrics that will break your heart. If you dare to talk during this song at a gig, I will silence you."

ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT
SPITTING
"Taken from the band's 2001 album Group Sounds, Spitting features an insistent riff, a wall of brass, and ace backing vocals from then-Tanner frontman Gar Wood. Perfection in just two minutes."

NICK RUSKELL, FEATURES EDITOR

METALLICA
ONE
"I remember seeing this on Beavis And Butthead when I was 10 years old and falling in love with it immediately. It's Metallica's fault I am what I am today. They corrupted my young mind - and for that I am forever grateful."

BATHORY
HADES
"How evil, how Satanic, how out of control and chaotic do you want it? Bathory tore a bloody hole through metal and helped birth black metal with this."

ACCEPT
FAST AS A SHARK
"This sums up everything that is truly powerful about heavy metal to me. It is ALWAYS one of the first picks if I'm soundtracking a wild, heavy metal night."

DARKTHRONE
NATASSJA IN ETERNAL SLEEP
"I first heard this black metal classic when I was 15, and it was so evil and nasty it literally put me off my food. Pure evil."

ELECTRIC WIZARD
RETURN TRIP
"'I hope this fucking world fucking burns away / And I'd kill you all if I had my way'. This song is the heaviest, most anti social, most misanthropic thing ever recorded. It destroyed my father in law's stereo, it's that heavy."

CATHEDRAL
EBONY TEARS
"If you need doom metal summing up (by a band that isn't Sabbath), Cathedral are it. Heavy, crawling misery has never sounded so good."

CELTIC FROST
GROUND
"As a huge Celtic Frost fan, I was thrilled when these metal pioneers returned with a new album. I was even more thrilled that they hadn't wimped out, but made the darkest, heaviest album they've ever put their name to. Altogether now, 'Oh God, why have you forsaken me?'"

WATAIN
THE DEVIL'S BLOOD
"I saw Watain in a pub when they first came over to the UK. They were so powerful, so totally dedicated and fanatical about what they were doing, you just knew you were seeing the future. The kings of modern black metal."

SLAYER
NECROPHOBIC
"This blew my mind when I was about 10 or 11. It's miles beyond the speed limit of anything I'd ever heard. You can't even hear what Tom Araya's singing, it's so fast!"

SAINT VITUS
BORN TOO LATE
"'I'll never be like you / And I don't want to be like you'. This doom staple about being an outsider basically sums up the feelings of pretty much every Kerrang! reader. Killer riff, too."

SCARLET BORG, PICTURE EDITOR

DAVID BOWIE
SPACE ODDITY
"My introduction to music, my sister used to play this all the time when I was a kid. Puts me straight back into the '70s."

JOHNNY CASH
FOLSOM PRISON BLUES
"When I hear this it reminds me of my mum. She was always playing classic rock 'n' roll and dancing around the kitchen."

T-REX
JEEPSTER
"This song just has summer written all over it. The original glam rock classic."

DEPECHE MODE
STRIPPED
"'80s electronica overload, which probably influenced my love of Nine Inch Nails and was covered by the mighty Rammstein."

GUNS N' ROSES
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
"Where have you been all my life? The soundtrack to my late teens and the best thing to come out of the '80s."

BLIND MELON
NO RAIN
"Underrated, often forgotten and gone too soon, Shannon Hoon has the voice of an angel."

SOUNDGARDEN
LIKE SUICIDE
"I love this song. Not the most obvious choice for Soundgarden, but Chris Cornell's voice is so beautiful on this."

NINE INCH NAILS
WISH
"Loud, aggressive and with Reznor just spitting venom all over it. Classic NIN."

RAMMSTEIN
DU HAST
"Live, this is just mental. No clue what Till is singing about, but Rammstein rock like a motherfucker."

MARK LANEGAN
DRIVING DEATH VALLEY BLUES
"Reminds me of a West Coast road trip, stopping at lost-cause diners in the middle of nowhere."

JEN WALKER, LISTINGS EDITOR

A DAY TO REMEMBER
ALL I WANT
"I fell in love with this track the second I heard it and it's barely been away from my ears since. Or the Kerrang! stereo, much to the annoyance of Reviews Ed George Garner."

DEAF HAVANA
MY LIFE IS AVERAGE
"Everyone thinks their life is crummy at some point or other, and James Veck-Gilodi sums up that sentiment perfectly here. Via an irresistible vocal performance, I might add."

PARAMORE
THAT'S WHAT YOU GET
"A total go-to break-up song, I just love the lyrics and huge chorus on this classic Paramore track."

GOOD CHARLOTTE
THE ANTHEM
"GC were the first band I ever saw live, my favourite band growing up, and this anthemic track of theirs does exactly what it says on the jewel case."

HEAD AUTOMATICA
BEATING HEART BABY
"Daryl Palumbo in his 'other' band. This song was the soundtrack to my college days."

FALL OUT BOY
SOPHMORE SLUMP OR COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
"One of my favourite bands of all time. This song reminds me of the time I drunkenly dared my friend to jump off a roof. We listened to this on the way to the hospital."

TAKING BACK SUNDAY
CUTE WITHOUT THE 'E' (CUT FROM THE TEAM)
"Nothing beats Tell All Your Friends era-Taking Back Sunday, and this song is lyrically amazing."

NEW FOUND GLORY
MY FRIENDS OVER YOU
"In my opinion, the best pop-punk song ever written, by one of the best pop-punk bands around."

BLINK-182
GOING AWAY TO COLLEGE
"Blink were <> band that got me into rock and this - one of their sweeter, more heartfelt tracks - has to be my favourite."

MAYDAY PARADE
MISERABLE AT BEST
"Cute and soppy in equal measure, this is another perfect track to bawl your eyes out and smile to at the same time. Nobody does cheery misery quite like Mayday Parade."

DAVID MCLAUGHLIN, WRITER

WEEZER
TIRED OF SEX
"What a way to kick-off: that bassline, that solo, Rivers Cuomo screaming like he means it. I miss the old Weezer, and this makes me feel 17 years old again, howling along in my bedroom."

ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT
LORNA DOOM
"A turbo-charged, punk rock thrill-ride by the greatest live band of all time. Fun fact: this used to be set as my alarm tone to get me up every morning. Then I lost that phone and now mostly I sleep in. Sorry."

HELMET
EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTED
"This is Helmet at their crushing, uncompromising best. I love the heaviness of Page Hamilton's riffs, Henry Bogdan's bass and John Stanier beating the absolute living shit out of his drumkit."

THE RAMONES
THE KKK TOOK MY BABY AWAY
"Like all the best Ramones tunes, this is so simple and effective. It's straight-up genius. Every time that intro riff kicks in, it floors me."

MISFITS
SATURDAY NIGHT
"Yeah, it's the modern Misfits with Michale Graves on vocals. I went there. What of it? This has a cool '50s swing to it, given a modern horror punk make-over and Graves crooning his poor dark-heart out. 'Woo-ooh-ooh'!"

JONAH MATRANGA
LIVIN' SMALL
"A change of pace because every mixtape needs a ballad or two and this, by the ex-Far frontman, is a heartbreaker with a sweet, anti-aspiration-as-aspiration, sentiment."

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
THUNDER ROAD
"Specifically the live version from the 1975-85 double album. It's basically my favourite performance of any song ever. I love Bruce even more than Brian Fallon from Gaslight Anthem does. And that's a lot."

SHELLAC
WATCH SONG
"A nasty, snarling fight song to wash away the pseudo soppiness of what's come before. Even the metallic, screeching and scraping of Steve Albini's guitar sounds angry."

BRAND NEW
SIC TRANSIT GLORIA...GLORY FADES
"The tension in this is almost unbearable. The bassline just builds and builds, like the hot'n'heavy story told in the lyrics. You might need to have a cold shower after listening to it."

ALEXISONFIRE
.44 CALIBER LOVE LETTER
"Man, I miss Alexis. This is a perfect way to round things off and go out on a high. At least in terms of the tempo. Underneath, it's all broken hearts and nostalgia, basically. Sigh."

SAM COARE, NEWS EDITOR

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
THUNDER ROAD
"I grew up listening to Bruce and, for a number of soppy, won't-go-into-them-here reasons, Thunder Road is one of my favourite tracks ever."

DINOSAUR JR
WHAT ELSE IS NEW
"Frankly, I could have picked any Dinosaur Jr song - but What Else Is New gets the nod for having the audacity to open with that solo."

SUGAR
TILTED
"I did a London to Paris charity bike ride the other year, and listening to Sugar's back catalogue stopped me from going mad every day. I remember going down a big hill really fast to Tilted, which is oddly what the song sounds like to me."

SMASHING PUMPKINS
MAYONAISE
"I never really 'got' Smashing Pumpkins for a while - I don't know why - but hearing Mayonaise was once of those lightbulb moments where it suddenly all made sense."

MY BLOODY VALENTINE
YOU MADE ME REALISE
"Live, the 'holocaust' section of white noise in this song lasts around 20 minutes. Mark Kemp, a US music writer, once said of it: 'After about 30 seconds the adrenaline sets in, people are screaming and shaking their fists. After a minute you wonder what's going on... After another minute it's total confusion... After about four minutes, a calm takes over'."

AEROSMITH
DREAM ON
"Because, having sat through the torrential rain when Aerosmith played Download 2010, I retreated to my tent about five minutes before they played Dream On."

SLIPKNOT
SPIT IT OUT
"'Jumping the fuck up' before the closing chorus of this at Download 2009 is my favourite ever festival moment."

TRASH TALK
EXPLODE
"True story: frontman Lee Spielman cleaned my kitchen after I put TT up for the night once. He didn't do a very good job."

IRON MAIDEN
FEAR OF THE DARK (LIVE AT DONINGTON VERSION)
"No one conducts a crowd quite like Bruce Dickinson, and Fear Of The Dark makes the cut purely for its audience participation."

GUNS N' ROSES
NOVEMBER RAIN
"I once drunkenly sang this at a girlfriend and, suffice to say, we're not together any more."

MISCHA PEARLMAN, WRITER

JAWBREAKER
ASHTRAY MOMENT
"Pretty much my favourite band of all-time. No-one writes about break-ups better than Blake Schwarzenbach, and this is one of the most devastating failed relationship songs ever penned. Everything they did was perfect, though."

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
BACKSTREETS
"Buying Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska album when I was 11 pretty much changed my life. Backstreets is one of the most epic, beautiful stories ever told through song."

THE LAWRENCE ARMS
RECOVERING THE OPPOSABLE THUMB
"When this song explodes in the last third, it's just phenomenal. One of the most underrated bands around, and they deserve to be much bigger."

BOYSETSFIRE
ROOKIE
"I've played this song hundreds of times, and every time I do, I marvel at how fucking good it is. Possibly one of the best songs in the history of post-hardcore."

SCREECHING WEASEL
HEY SUBURBIA
"Ben Weasel is a bit of a dick, but his band's Ramones-inspired pop-punk is superb. This song perfectly captures the folly of youth and just living for the moment because there's nothing else to do."

THE GET UP KIDS
SHORTY
"Short, simple and sad, this early GUK song is pure emotional turmoil. But they're one of the quintessential mid-'90s emo bands, so that's no surprise! Great song for a mixtape, too."

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM
BOOMBOXES AND DICTIONARIES
"I played this song a lot when one of my closest friends died a few years ago. I still think of him every time I hear those opening lines. Beyond that, it's also just a fantastic song."

ALKALINE TRIO
COOKING WINE
"Rough, raw and full of alcohol, this was the first Trio song I ever heard, when a friend put it on a mixtape in the summer of 1999. It hooked me instantly."

BLACK CAT MUSIC
THE DIRTY PENNY
"These guys sadly broke up after just a few albums, but they were dark and dangerous and brilliant. This is one of their slower songs, but it's full of their quintessential romantic despair. Awesome!"

MODEST MOUSE
DRAMAMINE
"A beautiful, lilting song by one of the most innovative modern bands around. And it contains one of my favourite ever lines: 'We kiss on the mouth but still cough down our sleeves'. Shiver-inducing brilliance!"

GEORGE GARNER, REVIEWS EDITOR

IRON MAIDEN
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
"The first band I ever loved. As a kid I would always try and hold the 'running low' part for as long as Bruce Dickinson. I still try to do that as an adult. Their best song."

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
BULLS ON PARADE
"I waited and waited and waited to see them live, and when I finally got a chance at Leeds Festival 2008, I nearly blacked out. I distinctly remember getting punched in the back of my head as the 'Dun-er, Dun-dun-er" riff kicked in."

THE GHOST OF A THOUSAND
BLACK ART NUMBER ONE
"I frequently have days in which I decide that I hate the entire world. This is a song for those kind of days. In my opinion, it is actually criminal that this band a) didn't become huge and b) split up."

TOOL
AENIMA
"Just in case you thought The Ghost Of A Thousand track was me joking: no, I really do hate the world. I used to go to Nottingham Rock City's club night every Saturday and they would always play this song last. I would just run around the place screaming, 'I wanna see it come down!' If only I could be 1% as cool as Maynard."

RISE AGAINST
RUMOURS OF MY DEMISE HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED
"Often reminding me that I don't hate the world as much as I say I do, this song sums up everything I love about Rise Against. When I hear this song I always want to go out and do something that will actually matter and last, instead of sitting in and playing xBox."

BILLY TALENT
WHITE SPARROWS
"I'm sending the playlist into emotional hell now. A lot of people think of Billy Talent as a sort of upbeat band because of their spiky delivery, but this song shows them in another light. It makes me think about my own dearly departed every time."

LIFE OF AGONY
HOW IT WOULD BE
"Life Of Agony's music has a special place in my heart and this song cuts me to the bone every single time. My brother introduced me to them and I remain as totally paralysed by their autobiographical honesty today as I was back then."

TYPE O NEGATIVE
LOVE YOU TO DEATH
"It's not all death and apocalypse with me. Hello, heart break. Skip to 5.45, as Pete Steele sings "Am iiiiiiiiiii"... That's one of the most perfect moments in music. This is the second saddest love song ever."

PEARL JAM
COME BACK
"And now onto the saddest... I was having the worst time of my life when I first heard this song and it helped me out in a way that no other song has."

DEFTONES
PINK MAGGIT
"I can't think of a better song to end this mixtape, despite it jarring with Pearl Jam. Basically, this song channels pretty much every single emotion you could possibly have all at once. It's a perfect song by my favourite metal band."

KATIE PARSONS, NEW BAND EDITOR

PANTERA
5 MINUTES ALONE
"The power of the opening riff is such that it sends my entire body into convulsing heavy metal spasms. It's rather tempting to make this entire list Pantera songs, to be fair..."

YOUNG GUNS
WEIGHT OF THE WORLD
"This track cheers me up whenever I'm feeling low. Brilliant memories of the K! Tour 2010 too! Epic, vast, huge melodies that immediately inspire mass sing-alongs and goose bumps from top to toe."

UNEARTH
ENDLESS
"This song gives me instant flashbacks to chaotic head-walking moshpits and frantic arm swinging fun. One of my favourite live bands of all time. True story!"

SNOT
SNOT
"Incredible band, and Get Some [1997] is still one of my favourite albums. The hardcore energy, punk beats and rowdy chaotic noise makes me want to dance, scream, laugh and head-bang all at the same time."

HE IS LEGEND
DIXIE WOLF (THE SEDUCTION OF...)
"When this song came out, I was utterly convinced that the lyrics related to exactly the situation I was in at that time. While they don't anymore, remembering how much a song moved me at the time still feels pretty special."

LIFE OF AGONY
RIVER RUNS RED
"A great example of a band who managed to combine being fearsomely heavy while still being emotional, melodic, powerful and moving. This one goes out to all my fellow dance-floor stompers of the early '00s."

ARCHITECTS
EARLY GRAVE
"One of those bands who are as loved by fans as they are admired by other musicians for being frankly bloody brilliant. This album [Hollow Crown] raised the bar for British noise. Still a total belter."

FOO FIGHTERS
MY HERO
"Glastonbury 1998. Rain falling, steam rising, arms raised, mud everywhere, England scoring in the World Cup - it all came together in one unforgettable moment."

ALICE IN CHAINS
DOWN IN A HOLE
"A totally stunning, moving, heart-breaking and incredible song featuring AIC's trademark layered vocal harmonies."

PAUL SIMON
GRACELAND
"There are those very rare occasions when you may have to slip on something a little less riffy. If you're ever trying to calm yourself down and sleep after a crappy day, may I suggest this album [Graceland] on repeat."

ALEX SHELLIM, DEPUTY ART EDITOR

CEREMONY
SICK
"It's the perfect post-bad-day-at-work track."

CONVERGE
CONCUBINE/FAULT AND FRACTURE
"The opening tracks off the now classic Jane Doe contain more ideas in four-and-a-half minutes than most bands manage in an entire album. Or career. It took a while to get into, but it was totally worth it."

TRASH TALK
SACRAMENTO IS DEAD
"One of the rock world's genuinely dangerous bands, Trash Talk are the real thing. It doesn't get much better than seeing this performed at 2am in a central London basement."

THE BRONX
HEART ATTACK AMERICAN
"If my home was on fire, my vinyl copy of The Bronx I is one of the first things I would grab before bundling my girlfriend and cat out of the door."

GIVE UP THE GHOST
HEARTS
"From one of the albums that set the benchmark in modern hardcore. Fingers are crossed that their reunion brings them back over here."

MODERN LIFE IS WAR
D.E.A.D.R.A.M.O.N.E.S.
"This makes me wish I had been in a band."

THE MOVIELIFE
JAMESTOWN
"Brilliant while they were around, The Movielife are one of the first bands I ever saw live."

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
WAKE UP
"The first song of theirs I heard, they're one of the bands that I'll still be listening to when I'm 70. Timeless."

DEATH GRIPS
I'VE SEEN FOOTAGE
"I've not been this excited about a new band for a while. The most punk hip-hop act ever, or the most hip-hop punk band ever?"

FOO FIGHTERS
EVERLONG
"If I could go back in time to relive one moment, it would be a spotlit Dave Grohl starting this song at Reading Festival in 2002. I've been back every year since and nothing has come close."