''HM Magazine'' is a monthly, digital and print on demand publication focusing on hard music and

alternative culture Alternative culture is a type of culture that exists outside or on the fringes of mainstream or popular culture, usually under the domain of one or more subcultures. These subcultures may have little or nothing in common besides their relative ...

of interest to Christians. It is based in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. Originally published as ''Heaven's Metal'', it was renamed to ''HM'' in 1995, and in late 2004 ''Heaven's Metal'' was reissued as a separate publication from ''HM'', with some shared editorial overlap.

History

In 1985, a journalist Doug Van Pelt started ''Heaven's Metal'' as a fanzine. It changed its name in 1995 to ''HM'', standing for Hard Music, but the Heaven's Metal branding was brought back in 2004 and was released alongside ''HM''. ''Heaven's Metal'' achieved more popularity and became an official publication, with five full-time journalists working for the magazine. In 2000, ''HM'' achieved a regular subscription base of 15,000 readers. During the 1990s, ''HM'' sealed a distribution deal with a major magazine wholesaler that immediately increased its print-run from 13,000 to 22,000 copies, and it allowed Van Pelt and his co-workers to double ad rates, making ''HM'' a stable business enterprise. The most popular issue of the publication was No. 77 (May/June 1999), where

Doug Pinnick Douglas Theodore Pinnick (born September 3, 1950), sometimes stylized as dUg Pinnick or simply dUg, is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and songwriter for the hard rock and progressive metal band King's X. ...

King's X King's X is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Springfield, Missouri, in 1979. They were first called the Edge and later became Sneak Preview before settling on its current name in 1985. The band's current lineup has remained intact fo ...

came out as homosexual. A subsequent wave of Christian music retailers refusing to sell the music of King's X is attributed to the publicizing of Pinnick's sexuality in that ''HM'' issue. In 2010, ''Heaven's Metal'' ceased print and its content was merged into the digital issues of ''HM''. In February 2013, Van Pelt sold ''HM'' to current editor David Stagg. Van Pelt remains the owner and publisher of ''Heaven's Metal'', which is officially a separate publication even though it shares some editorial coverage with ''HM''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:HM Magazine 1985 establishments in Texas 2011 disestablishments in Texas Christian metal Defunct Christian magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1985 Magazines disestablished in 2011 Magazines published in Houston Monthly magazines published in the United States Online music magazines published in the United States Online magazines with defunct print editions Defunct music magazines published in the United States