Martin Popoff
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian
music journalist Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
,
critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...
and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of
heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a ...
. The senior editor and co-founder of ''
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'' (''BW&BK'') is a Canadian heavy metal magazine. Although based in Toronto, Canada, ''BW&BK'' features writers from the US, Germany and the UK, allowing the magazine to represent metal music from an internationa ...
'', he has additionally written over twenty books that both critically evaluate heavy metal and document its history. He has been called "heavy metal's most widely recognized journalist" by his publisher. Popoff lives in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario.


Career

Born in
Castlegar, British Columbia Castlegar is the second-largest community in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada. In the Selkirk Mountains, at the confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia Rivers, it is a regional trade and transportation centre, with a local ...
, Popoff's interest in heavy metal began as a youth in
Trail, British Columbia Trail is a city in the West Kootenay region of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It was named after the Dewdney Trail, which passed through the area. The town was first called Trail Creek or Trail Creek Landing, and the name was shorten ...
, in the early 1970s, when bands such as
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
and
Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal music. ...
were in the collections of the older brothers and cousins of Popoff and his friends.
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
played even heavier music, and became the group his circle of friends thought of as "our band, not the domain of our elders". Other heavy rock albums of the era, such as
Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
's ''
Razamanaz ''Razamanaz'' is the third studio album by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, released in May 1973. It was the band's first LP record to break the charts and was produced by Roger Glover of Deep Purple, who the band was on tour with at the t ...
'' and Kiss' '' Hotter than Hell'', further shaped his emerging musical tastes. Angel City and
April Wine April Wine is a Canadian rock band formed in 1969 and based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Led by singer-guitarist-songwriter Myles Goodwin since its inception, April Wine's first success came with its second album, '' On Record'' (1972), which reac ...
were among Popoff's favourite bands as a teenager. Of popular music magazines around at the time, Popoff recalls being a regular reader of ''
Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
'', ''
Hit Parader ''Hit Parader'' was an American music magazine that operated between 1942 and 2008. A monthly publication, it focused on rock and pop music in general until the 1970s, when its focus began turning to hard rock and heavy metal. By the early 1980s ...
'', and later, "''
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- ...
'' blew our minds." He does not identify any specific writers as being particularly influential on his own writing style, saying "it never registered who wrote what." Popoff received a BA in English from the
University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
in 1984 and an
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
in marketing at
McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
in 1987, working for
Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...
before co-owning a print brokering company. For a while in the 1980s, he also played drums in a bar band called Torque. In 1993, he released his first book, the independently published ''Riff Kills Man!: 25 Years of Recorded Hard Rock and Heavy Metal'', a collection of 1,942 critical reviews of heavy metal records. Shortly after its publication, he co-founded ''
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'' (''BW&BK'') is a Canadian heavy metal magazine. Although based in Toronto, Canada, ''BW&BK'' features writers from the US, Germany and the UK, allowing the magazine to represent metal music from an internationa ...
'', which released its first issue in 1994. He soon returned to his reviews book, releasing a revised and expanded version in 1997 titled ''The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal'', which almost doubled the original book's number of reviews to 3,700. In the book, he identifies three major stages in the early development of heavy metal. The first stage, "invention", took place in 1970 with the release of ''
Deep Purple in Rock ''Deep Purple in Rock'' is the fourth studio album by Deep Purple, released on 5 June 1970. It was the first studio album recorded by the Mark II line-up of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice. Work on ''In Rock ...
'' coinciding with debut albums from Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep. Stage two, "re-invention", occurred in 1976 with
Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
's ''
Sad Wings of Destiny ''Sad Wings of Destiny'' is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 23 March 1976 by Gull Records. It is considered the album on which Judas Priest consolidated their sound and image, and songs from it su ...
''. The third stage, "re-intensification", happened in 1984 with the release 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 ...
's '' Ride the Lightning''. In the 2000s Popoff revised and expanded his ''Collector's Guide'' one more time, splitting it up by decade into three separate volumes comprising a total of 6,763 albums spanning three decades of heavy metal. ''Volume 3: The Nineties'' was published in 2007. Popoff has stated that he considers the greatest record of all time to be Led Zeppelin's '' Physical Graffiti'', followed by Black Sabbath's ''
Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
''. He has also named Queen's self-titled debut as his personal favourite record of all time, and often regards
Max Webster Max Webster was a Canadian hard rock band formed in Toronto in 1972. The band's founder, Kim Mitchell, enjoyed a long and successful solo career in their native Canada. Biography Initially a trio for their first gigs in December 1972, the ori ...
as his all-time favourite band. Newer groups that Popoff has spoken highly of include
Mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...
,
Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by lead vocalist David Isberg. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every original member; notably Isberg in 1992. Mikael ...
, Lamb of God and Dark Tranquillity. His ''Collector's Guide'' became rather notorious in some circles of rock fans for a particularly scathing review of
Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...
's worldwide smash hit
glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam r ...
album '' Hysteria'', to which he awarded a score of zero out of ten. Popoff continues to defend his opinion of it years later, citing "just awful production, lyrics, singing, clichés of every musical and lyrical sort." A number of Popoff's other books are biographies of notable metal bands, including Black Sabbath in ''Doom Let Loose'' and Dio in ''Light Beyond the Black''. While the biographies are usually not officially authorized, a large amount of research consists of interviews between Popoff and members of each band. Popoff has said of his relationship with his subjects: "I censor myself because I don't want to write something to hurt people. You write a book on Sabbath and you don’t want to write something to hurt (their) families - I love those guys." A Judas Priest biography, ''Heavy Metal Painkillers'', was published in 2007. In 2014, Popoff stated that he is working on a new book, entitled ''Who Invented Heavy Metal?'' In March 2015, Popoff told Metal Shock Finland's chief editor Mohsen Fayyazi that he had finished writing the book and it will be published in approximately a month's time. Popoff is a reviewer for BangerTV and also appears frequently on the many shows featured on the YouTube channel of music publication Sea of Tranquility.


Partial bibliography


Collector's Guide series

* ''20th Century Rock and Roll: Heavy Metal''. Burlington:
Collector's Guide Publishing {{Infobox publisher , image = , parent = , status = , founded = 1984 , founder = Robert Godwin , successor = , country = Canada , headquarters = Burlington, Ontario , distribution = , keypeople ...
. 2000. . * ''Southern Rock Review''. Burlington:
Collector's Guide Publishing {{Infobox publisher , image = , parent = , status = , founded = 1984 , founder = Robert Godwin , successor = , country = Canada , headquarters = Burlington, Ontario , distribution = , keypeople ...
. 2001. . * ''The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal - Volume 1: The Seventies''. Burlington:
Collector's Guide Publishing {{Infobox publisher , image = , parent = , status = , founded = 1984 , founder = Robert Godwin , successor = , country = Canada , headquarters = Burlington, Ontario , distribution = , keypeople ...
. 2003. . * ''The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal - Volume 2: The Eighties''. Burlington:
Collector's Guide Publishing {{Infobox publisher , image = , parent = , status = , founded = 1984 , founder = Robert Godwin , successor = , country = Canada , headquarters = Burlington, Ontario , distribution = , keypeople ...
. 2005. . * ''The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal - Volume 3: The Nineties''. Burlington:
Collector's Guide Publishing {{Infobox publisher , image = , parent = , status = , founded = 1984 , founder = Robert Godwin , successor = , country = Canada , headquarters = Burlington, Ontario , distribution = , keypeople ...
. 2007. . * ''The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal - Volume 4: The 00s'' (with David Perri). Burlington:
Collector's Guide Publishing {{Infobox publisher , image = , parent = , status = , founded = 1984 , founder = Robert Godwin , successor = , country = Canada , headquarters = Burlington, Ontario , distribution = , keypeople ...
. 2011. .


Ye Olde Metal series

* ''Ye Olde Metal: 1968 to 1972''. Power Chord Press. 2007. . * ''Ye Olde Metal: 1973 to 1975''. Power Chord Press. 2007. . * ''Ye Olde Metal: 1976''. Power Chord Press. 2008. . * ''Ye Olde Metal: 1977''. Power Chord Press. 2008. . * ''Ye Olde Metal: 1978''. Power Chord Press. 2009. .


Rock biographies

* ''Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away''. Toronto:
ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...
. 2004. . * ''
UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
: Shoot Out the Lights''. Los Angeles:
Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...
. 2005. . * ''
Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
: English Castle Magic''. Los Angeles:
Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...
. 2005. ISBN B-00-13FZP6-U. * '' Dio: Light Beyond the Black''. Los Angeles:
Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...
. 2006. . * ''
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
: Doom Let Loose - An Illustrated History''. Toronto:
ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...
. 2006. . * ''
Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
: Heavy Metal Painkillers - An Illustrated History''. Toronto:
ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...
. 2007. . * ''Gettin' Tighter:
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
'68-76''. Power Chord Press. 2008. . * ''
Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The band h ...
: Secrets Revealed!''. Power Chord Press. 2009. . * ''A Castle Full of Rascals: Deep Purple '83-'09''. Power Chord Press. 2009. . * ''Time and a Word: The Yes Story''. Soundcheck Books. 2016. . * ''
AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
: Album By Album''. Quarto Publishing Group. 2017 .


Miscellaneous

* ''Goldmine Heavy Metal Price Guide''. Iola: Krause Publications. 2000. . * ''
The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time ''The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time'' is a book by Martin Popoff who is the editor in chief and writer of the Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles magazine as well as the senior editor of bravewords.com. He also wrote The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albu ...
''. Toronto:
ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...
. 2003. . * ''The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time''. Toronto:
ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...
. 2004. . * ''The New Wave of Heavy Metal Singles''. Scrap Metal Records. 2005. . * ''Run for Cover: The Art of Derek Riggs''. Aardvark Publishing. 2006. . * ''All Access: The Art and History of the Backstage Pass''. Los Angeles: Cleopatra Records. 2009. . * ''Worlds Away: Voivod and the Art of Michel Langevin''. Spider Press. 2009. .


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Popoff, Martin 1963 births Canadian music journalists University of Victoria alumni McMaster University alumni Canadian people of Russian descent Living people People from Castlegar, British Columbia