''Metal Forces'' is a British publication founded in 1983 which promotes the music genres heavy metal and

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

. ''Metal Forces'' was well known for its coverage of unsigned bands through its ''Demolition'' feature and championed the likes of

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

HellsBelles HellsBelles (formerly known as Hell's Belles) is a heavy metal band from England active from 1984 to 1987 and 1998 to present, considered part of the latter stages of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM). 1980s – Hell's Belles Th ...

, Overkill,

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

and

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

long before they had secured record deals. They are credited as contributing in this fashion to the success of the band

Anacrusis In poetic and musical meter, and by analogy in publishing, an anacrusis (from , , literally: 'pushing up', plural ''anacruses'') is a brief introduction (distinct from a literary or musical introduction, foreword, or preface). It is a set of s ...

. Dave Reynolds, a former writer for ''Metal Forces'', has claimed that the magazine was the first to coin the terms

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

and

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

. A ''Metal Forces'' compiled vinyl album, ''Demolition – Scream Your Brains Out!'', based on the magazine's popular ''Demolition'' column, was released in 1988 through Chain Reaction Records featuring Anacrusis,

Atrophy Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. Causes of atrophy include mutations (which can destroy the gene to build up the organ), poor nourishment, poor circulation, loss of hormonal support, loss of nerve supply t ...

Hobbs' Angel of Death Hobbs' Angel of Death were an Australian thrash metal band that began in 1987 in Melbourne, and are one of the first Australian groups to perform in that genre. They released two studio albums, ''Hobbs' Angel of Death'' (1988) and ''Inheritance' ...

Aftermath Aftermath may refer to: Companies * Aftermath (comics), an imprint of Devil's Due Publishing * Aftermath Entertainment, an American record label founded by Dr. Dre * Aftermath Media, an American multimedia company * Aftermath Services, an Americ ...

and the Chris Barnes fronted Leviathan. In addition to metal acts, the magazine also featured interviews with

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

acts such as

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

. In August 1991 ''Metal Forces'' created the offshoot publication ''Thrash 'n Burn'', a monthly title dedicated to

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

History

''Metal Forces'' was created in 1983 by Bernard Doe, with the first issue released in August 1983. Articles covered and promoted mainly bands that were relatively unknown at the time. ''Metal Forces'' aided greatly in promoting unknown bands and heavy metal and

during the 1980s and early 1990s, becoming one of UK's top music magazines during that period. During the early 1990s, ''Metal Forces'' changed from their policy of balancing their articles between established and unknown bands, to a style which covered more mainstream and famed rock and heavy metal bands. The changes implemented were not profitable and the magazine lost readers and advertisers. In this period and for a brief time, ''Metal Forces'' launched the appreciated spin-off ''Thrash 'n Burn'' (later renamed ''Xtreme Noize''). ''Metal Forces'' released seventy-two issues before rebranding under the abbreviated title of ''MF''. The latter ceased publication in February 1993. As of 2012, ''Metal Forces'' launched its official website online, which has information from its magazine issues 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! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

''Ritchie, Jason. (2003
Backstage heroes: interview with Dave Reynolds
getreadytorock.com. Accessed 10 April 2008. 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!'' The magazine disseminated information about the metal music scene; in 2007, the senior VP of

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...

indicated that ''Metal Forces'', along with similar publication ''Kick Ass'', "was my Bible... the way I discovered new bands and fed my insatiable appetite for all things emerging in the underground". In March 2012, ''Metal Forces'' launched their official website. Anthony "Gumpy" Morgan co-edits alongside Bernard Doe.

Controversy

In 1984, ''Metal Forces'' printed a review of

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

band

Hellhammer Hellhammer was a Swiss metal band from Nürensdorf, active from 1982 to 1984. Although the band's sound and style were heavily criticized and poorly reviewed during their active years, they have been widely praised in retrospect and are often re ...

so negative that the band's frontman,

Thomas Gabriel Fischer Thomas Gabriel Fischer (born 19 July 1963), also known by his stage names of Tom G. Warrior and Satanic Slaughter, is a Swiss metal musician. He led the groups Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, and today is the frontman of the band Triptykon. Caree ...

, indicated the band would never play in England because of it. After forming a new band,

Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich. They are known for their strong influence on the development of extreme metalBukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal''. Barnes & Noble Publishing, 2003. p.43 and avant-ga ...

, Fischer continued to refuse requests for an interview with the magazine. In 1986, former

guitarist and founder of

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has releas ...

, complained about the magazine because it named his successor at Metallica,

Kirk Hammett Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...

, the number 1 in the readers' poll of ''Metal Forces''. The voting was based on a demo recording of ''

No Life 'Til Leather A list of all demos written and recorded by American heavy metal band Metallica. ''Whiskey Audition Tape'' These two cover songs were recorded in then-bassist Ron McGovney’s garage, during rehearsals that took place in March 1982. On the st ...

'', which Mustaine had recorded rather than Hammett.Putterford, Mark. ''Metallica Talking: Metallica in Their Own Words''. 2004. Omnibus Press. p. 12.

''Metal Forces Presents: Demolition – Scream Your Brains Out!''

Track listing

#"Violent Slaughter" – Leviathan #"Chainsaw Massacre" –

#"War for Freedom" –

#"Imprisoned" –

#"Chemical Dependency" –

#"Leviathan" – Leviathan #"Satan's Crusade" –

#"When Will You Die" –

#"Disembowled/Annihilation Complete" –

#"Preacher, Preacher" –

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Heavy metal publications Magazines established in 1983 Music magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines disestablished in 1992 Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom British heavy metal music 1983 establishments in the United Kingdom 1992 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Mass media in Hertfordshire