Kerrang! is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication Mixmag). The magazine was named onomatopoeically after the sound of a "guitar being struck with force".

Kerrang! was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one-off "Heavy Metal Special" from the now-defunct Sounds newspaper. Due to the popularity of the issue, the magazine became a monthly publication, before transitioning into a weekly in 1987. Initially devoted to the new wave of British heavy metal and the rise of hard rock acts, Kerrang!'s musical emphasis has changed several times, focusing on grunge, nu metal, post-hardcore, emo and other alternative rock and metal genres over the course of its forty-year publication history. In 2001, it became the best-selling British music weekly, overtaking NME.

After publishing a total of 1,818 issues, Kerrang! ceased publication of their weekly magazine in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while continuing as an online publication featuring digital "cover stories". In December 2021, the print edition of Kerrang! was revived, and is now published on a quarterly basis.

Kerrang! was founded in 1981. The editor of the weekly music magazine Sounds, Alan Lewis, suggested that Geoff Barton edit a one-off special edition focusing on the new wave of British heavy metal phenomenon and on the rise of other hard rock acts. Billed as a "Sounds Heavy Metal Special", Kerrang!'s first issue was published on 6 June 1981. Angus Young of AC/DC appeared on Kerrang!'s first cover. According to Alan Lewis, the first issue reportedly sold out within days of its publication, and the magazine began being published on a monthly basis. In February 1982, after only eight issues, Kerrang!'s frequency was doubled by its publisher, Spotlight Publications (owned by United Newspapers). Starting with issue 148 in 1987, the publication went weekly. During the 1980s and early 1990s the magazine placed many thrash metal and glam metal acts on the cover, including Tigertailz, Mötley Crüe, Slayer, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Poison, and Venom. The term thrash metal was first coined in the music press by Kerrang! journalist Malcolm Dome, in reference to the Anthrax song "Metal Thrashing Mad". Prior to this Metallica's James Hetfield had referred to their sound as "power metal".

In April 1991, Spotlight/United Newspapers sold Kerrang! to EMAP Metro (now known as Ascential plc). Although Kerrang! had an average weekly circulation of 58,685 by this point and was making profits of £1 million a year, the publication had been faced with significant competition from RAW magazine, also owned by EMAP. British journalist David Hepworth, who launched a number of titles for EMAP in the 1980s, said: "We [EMAP] had made it nearly impossible for Spotlight to publish Kerrang! profitably because we promoted RAW and they had to promote back, and that ate into their margins." EMAP moved Kerrang!'s offices to Carnaby Street in London's West End.

In April 1992, Barton left his post as the magazine's editor, and was replaced by Robyn Doreian. Although her tenure as editor was brief, Doreian would balance the magazine's focus between heavy metal and the growing alternative music scene, following the unexpected success of grunge acts such as Nirvana. Phil Alexander became the new editor of Kerrang! in June 1993. Alexander felt that the magazine was lagging behind RAW in terms of its coverage of newer bands, and Kerrang!'s emphasis began to largely eschew previously featured glam/metal acts in favour of modern acts, such as Hole, Nine Inch Nails, Kyuss, Corrosion of Conformity and Machine Head. During the Britpop era, the magazine would largely focus on heavier "Britrock" acts such as The Wildhearts, Manic Street Preachers, Terrorvision and Therapy?. Starting in 1995, Kerrang! began covering the nu metal genre after one of the magazine's journalists, Mörat, was introduced to Korn by Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn. During the late 1990s, the magazine would end up covering the likes of Limp Bizkit, System of a Down, Deftones and Slipknot, and various other punk rock, hip-hop and hardcore acts.

In April 2000, Paul Rees became the new editor for Kerrang!. In 2001, Kerrang! overtook NME as the biggest selling music weekly in the United Kingdom, bolstered by its coverage of nu metal. By mid-2002, the magazine had a circulation of 83,988 copies per week. After Rees left them to edit Q magazine, former Kerrang! reviews editor Ashley Bird appointed editor from 2003 to 2005. Following his departure, Paul Brannigan took over as editor in May 2005. In the mid-to-late 2000s, the genre focus of Kerrang! shifted once more, with a new emphasis on emo, post-hardcore, pop-punk and metalcore music, coinciding with the decline of nu metal. Furthermore, the magazine continued to occasionally feature more established bands such as Iron Maiden and Metallica on the cover. In 2006, the magazine's circulation stood at 80,186 copies.

In 2008, EMAP sold its consumer magazines to Bauer Media Group. Brannigan left Kerrang! in 2009 and Nichola Browne was appointed editor. She later stepped down in April 2011. Former NME features editor and GamesMaster deputy editor James McMahon was appointed as editor on 6 June 2011.