Tom Sanford, a NY based artist, has created paintings depicting pop-culture icons before, but none have created a "regular trickle of hate mail/criticism" like this one. [more inside]
posted by dubold on Nov 12, 2009 - 67 comments

A brief primer on the joys of pre-DragonForce power metal, starting with Blind Guardian - Imaginations From The Other Side. [more inside]
posted by jbickers on May 6, 2009 - 16 comments

Iraqi heavy metal? Sure, there's Acrassicauda. They're named after a scorpion. The Guardian has an informative article about them. There's been a movie made about them, which the New York Times has written about. Four members of the group, more recently based in Turkey, were seeking refugee status. Are they any good? I dunno, I guess so, but I''m not all that keen on metal, myself, so I'm not the best person to ask. Just go listen to 'em at their MySpace page.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Sep 11, 2008 - 14 comments

New England's best metal site has now gone national.

Thrash out!
posted by auralcoral on Apr 21, 2008 - 75 comments

This cheesy 1979 promo film from the group, Blackjack, offers a glimpse into the hard rock past of balladeer Michael Bolton, which also includes a co-writing credit for a Top 40 hit by Kiss. Similarly, Bill Joel disavows the days when he posed in medieval armor next to slabs of raw beef on the cover of the self-titled album by Joel's heavy metal duo, Attila, although Julian Cope is a fan of the album and its Deep Purplish vibes (check out Holy Moses and Wonder Woman). To round out the trifecta, we have Tori Amos who got marketed as the metal-chick frontwoman of Y Kant Tori Read (check out the video for The Big Picture). On the other hand, metalheads have the opposite problem of hiding their pop past. Examples include the industrial metal band Ministry's early days as a new wave synth act and Tommy Iommi's brief tenure as a member of Jethro Tull before becoming lead guitarist of Black Sabbath. Meanwhile, Bon Scott, the late lead singer of AC/DC, is probably spinning in his grave over the YouTube footage of him as an Australian teen idol and a bearded hippie with a recorder.
posted by jonp72 on Nov 26, 2007 - 70 comments

"Once Were Kings" Some call them 1980's pop icons, others the Kings of Heavy Metal. Regardless, Van Halen has announced a 2007 tour with David Lee Roth. But without Michael Anthony, will it be worth paying to see? While Dave's current fan base is huge, others feel he has not aged gracefully. Well, it could be worse.....(youtube, ytmnd, and bad 80's haircuts warning)
posted by peewinkle on Feb 3, 2007 - 74 comments

"To me, I've always looked upon the stage as a much-hallowed place, a place of worship for real artists, as I said just before. That doesn't just stem from rock n roll days; to me, Judy Garland was a real artist, Al Jolson was a real artist, people like that gave their all and everything for the stage and most of them finished up dying for it as well. In my view, nobody should be allowed to stand on a stage unless they can present the total professional thing, unless they really can sing and really can play. Punk was a total anti-attitude towards music."NWOBHM: How a now-little-known nostalgic reaction to punk called the New Wave of British Heavy Metal changed the world.[much, much more inside]
posted by koeselitz on Jan 10, 2007 - 40 comments

Top 10 most ridiculous black metal pics of all time - 2005 edition. This is a follow-up to the original 2004 list. NSFW (via Buzz)
posted by madamjujujive on Aug 18, 2005 - 79 comments

Encyclopaedia Metallum. From Abortion Grenade to Zombie Holocaust.
posted by gwint on Sep 3, 2004 - 6 comments

I have seen the future of Metal and it's name is Norselaw and their anthem "Sweet Home Scandinavia". Let the Berzerking Begin!
posted by jonmc on Apr 16, 2004 - 27 comments

There's Gold in Them Thar PCs. If you're worried about the growing problem of e-waste, if you don't want to ship your toxins overseas, you now have another option. You can recover heavy metals (precious and otherwise) in the privacy and comfort of your own home. Just make sure you leave a window open so you have some fresh air.
posted by alms on Mar 16, 2004 - 8 comments

The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM to cognoscenti) one of the lesser known but most influential movements of the past quarter century. After the innovators of Metal ran out of steam in the late 70's and were stampeded in the maelstrom of punk, heavy metal (and testosterone-soaked delindquents everywhere) found itself in a quandary). A number of UK acts took some cues from the punks, shortened the songs, reigned in the self-indulgence and speeded up the tempo, and upped the relevance and intelligence of the lyrical content, while still retaining the vocal prowess, instrumental pyrotechnics and young warrior energy that makes it Metal in the first place. Some groups became world famous. Others only big in Europe. Some great ones missed stardom by just a notch. Many of these acts have been cited as inspirations by Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Napalm Death and the thrash/death metal hordes, and even many post-punks. An interesting summary for fans, and a good introduction for non-mans who may have to recalibrate their opinion of the genre after checking some of these bands out.
posted by jonmc on Dec 17, 2003 - 17 comments

Are you a "true" Metalhead? Well according to the latest update on this site, you're not one unless you have "The Power Viking Spatula From Hell" and "King Sven's Royal Devil Horns Shower Cap". Take a look at some of the crazy "how to be a metalhead" pics too.
posted by kingmissile on Jun 11, 2002 - 12 comments

KNAC was the heavy metal station in southern california from 1986 to 1995. Their stickers graced the back of many a 4x4 and street sign. While driving around today, I noticed a KNAC PURE ROCK sticker for the first time in ages, but there was a .COM where "105.5" used to be. Going to KNAC.COM reveals that they are in fact back with their same format, now solely internet based. After firing up their broadband stream, I heard some good old Ozzy and it was like being in high school again. This begs the question though, since they went under from a lack of advertising before, is there enough money in internet radio to keep them afloat today?
posted by mathowie on Feb 22, 2000 - 2 comments

When did Wired Magazine merge with Heavy Metal?
posted by grant on Nov 20, 1999 - 0 comments