''Rock Hard'' (also ''RockHard'') is a German music magazine published in

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

, with other language editions in various countries worldwide, including France, Spain, Brazil, Portugal, Italy and Greece. The magazine focuses on

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 ...

and heavy metal content, including reports, interviews, specials, reviews and news. Next to the German edition of ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'', it is the leading magazine for metal and hard rock in Germany. German news magazine ''

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'' has called it the ' ("central organ") of heavy metal fandom in Germany; others have dubbed it a ' ("cult magazine"). Founded by Holger Stratmann, more than 300 issues have been published in Germany since 1983; it has been published monthly since 1989. ''Rock Hard'' magazine is independent from major media companies. Its slogan is "critical, competent, independent". Since 1990, magazine employees have also organized the

Rock Hard Festival Rock Hard Festival is a heavy metal festival organized and sponsored by the '' Rock Hard'' magazine. First established in Lichtenfels, Bavaria, Germany, in 1990 on an irregular basis, mostly for magazine anniversaries, it is held annually in Gels ...

, which has been held annually in Gelsenkirchen on the

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

weekend since 2003. The festival is streamed by news magazine ''Spiegel Online'', the internet edition of ''Der Spiegel'', and by '' WDR'' television under the ''

Rockpalast ''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and jazz ...

'' label. Götz Kühnemund was editor-in-chief of ''Rock Hard'' from 1990 until January 2014, when he and some other editors had to leave the magazine due to financial needs and creative differences with the magazine's founder and publisher Holger Stratmann. Kühnemund, who is a well-known figure not only in the German metal scene, was known for his efforts to preserve what he called "real heavy metal" instead of going more commercial, opening the magazine to influences from different metal substyles. Kühnemund's departure was compared to "the pope leaving the church". Kühnemund then founded a new magazine called ''Deaf Forever''. Boris Kaiser and Michael Rensen became the new editors-in-chief in a dual leadership. Since February 2016, only Boris Kaiser is editor-in-chief, while Michael Rensen works as an editor again. ''Rock Hard'' has its own music streaming channel on the internet video portal ''Putpat.tv''. It also publishes its own mobile app in addition to the magazine which is available on ''

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

'' and ''

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...

''. This development was due to the falling sales of the printed magazine, a phenomenon which has affected all music press in Germany in recent years and also forced ''Rock Hard'' to "concentrate on the core business", using the online sector for marketing and additional services.

References

External links

Rock Hard official site
{{Authority control Music magazines published in Germany Heavy metal publications Monthly magazines published in Germany Magazines established in 1983 1983 establishments in Germany Mass media in Dortmund German-language magazines

Further reading

References

External links