Metal Forces

The British publication Metal Forces emerged during 1983 and aided greatly in the promotion of Heavy Metal and Rock genre music. Metal Forces was well known for its coverage of unsigned bands through its Demolition feature and championed the likes of Metallica,^[1] Slayer, Megadeth, HellsBelles, Overkill, Death and Poison long before they had secured record deals. They are credited as contributing in this fashion to the success of the band Anacrusis.^[2][3] Dave Reynolds, a former writer for Metal Forces, has claimed that the magazine was the first to coin the terms thrash metal and death metal.^[4] A Metal Forces compiled vinyl album, Demolition - Scream Your Brains Out!, based on the magazines popular Demolition column, was released in 1988 through Chain Reaction Records featuring Anacrusis, Atrophy, Hobbs' Angel of Death, Aftermath and the Chris Barnes fronted Leviathan. In addition to metal acts, the magazine also featured interviews with alternative rock acts such as Nirvana.^[5]

In August 1991 Metal Forces created the off-shoot publication Thrash 'n Burn, a monthly title dedicated to extreme metal.

Background

Metal Forces was created in 1983 by Bernard Doe, and released their first issue in Autumn 1983. The issues released covered and promoted bands that were unknown at the time. Metal Forces aided in promoting unknown bands through the magazine, and greatly aided in the promotion of the Heavy Metal and Rock genre during the 1980s and early 1990s. For covering bands that were unknown at the time the magazine is very well known, and in doing so Metal Forces eventually became one of the top magazine's during the 1980s.

During the early 1990s Metal Forces changed from their known and well liked covering of unknown bands, as well as known bands, and changed their 'style' and covered more mainstream and famed rock and heavy metal bands. Through this the magazine eventually started to lose money through the changes that were made. For a brief time after this, Metal Forces launched thrash 'n burn and was very well liked, but it was only brief. By 1992, Metal Forces released their seventy-second and last issue of Metal Forces and was officially defunct. As of 2012, Metal Forces has launched their official website online, which has information from its magazine issues released in the 1980s and early 1990s, and new information and coverage of bands.

In an interview, rock columnist Dave Reynolds indicated that the magazine was created in response to difficulties working with rival publication Kerrang!^[6] According to Reynolds, the magazine gained national distribution in the late 1980s and, with its success, inspired Kerrang! to produce a spin-off publication of its own, Mega Metal Kerrang!^[6] The magazine disseminated information about the metal music scene; in 2007, the senior VP of Roadrunner Records indicated that Metal Forces, along with similar publication KickAss, "was my Bible... the way I discovered new bands and fed my insatiable appetite for all things emerging in the underground".^[7]

Controversy

In 1984, Metal Forces printed a review of black metal band Hellhammer so negative that the band's guitarist, Tom Warrior, indicated the band would never play in England because of it; after forming a new band, Celtic Frost, the guitarist continued to refuse requests for an interview with the magazine for some time, notwithstanding that Metal Forces was, in the guitarist's own words, "the second biggest magazine in heavy metal".^[8] In 2007, the Metal Forces reviewer wrote the band history of Hellhammer for Century Media Records.^[9]

In 1986, Dave Mustaine, early guitarist of Metallica and later founder of Megadeth, complained that replacement guitarist Kirk Hammett was unfairly named "number 1" in the reader poll of Metal Forces on the basis of Mustaine's guitar playing; Hammett indicated that the guitar playing was his own, re-rerecorded from the demo release.^[10]

Metal Forces Official Website

Metal Forces was running as a magazine from its first issue in August 1983, to its seventy-second and last issue in 1992. As of 2012 Metal Forces launched their official website. The website was officially opened March 2012.

Metal Forces presents: Demolition - Scream Your Brains Out!

Track listing

1. Violent Slaughter - Leviathan
2. Chainsaw Massacre - Hobbs' Angel of Death
3. War For Freedom - Aftermath
4. Imprisoned - Anacrusis
5. Chemical Dependency - Atrophy
6. Leviathan - Leviathan
7. Satan's Crusade - Hobbs' Angel of Death
8. When Will You Die - Aftermath
9. Disembowled/Annihilation Complete - Anacrusis
10. Preacher, Preacher - Atrophy

Notes

External links

• Official website
• Official Facebook page
• Official Twitter page