Metal Forces
Encyclopedia
The British
publication Metal Forces emerged during 1983 and aided greatly in the promotion of metal and rock genre music. The magazine was well known for its coverage of unsigned bands through its Demolition feature and championed the likes of Metallica
, 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
. 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
. 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
.
In August 1991 Metal Forces created the off-shoot publication Thrash 'n Burn, a monthly title dedicated to extreme metal
.
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
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".
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". In 2007, the Metal Forces reviewer wrote the band history of Hellhammer for Century Media Records
.
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.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
publication Metal Forces emerged during 1983 and aided greatly in the promotion of metal and rock genre music. The magazine was well known for its coverage of unsigned bands through its Demolition feature and championed the likes of Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
, HellsBelles
HellsBelles
Hell's Belles was a heavy metal band from England active from 1984 to 1987. They are considered part of the latter stages of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal .-1980s - Hell's Belles:...
, Overkill
Overkill (band)
Overkill is an American thrash metal band, formed in 1980 in New Jersey. They have gone through many line-up changes, with singer Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and bassist D.D. Verni remaining from the original lineup. Along with Anthrax , the band is one of the most successful East Coast thrash metal...
, Death and Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
long before they had secured record deals. They are credited as contributing in this fashion to the success of the band Anacrusis
Anacrusis (band)
Anacrusis is a progressive/thrash metal band from St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Anacrusis was one of the first bands to attempt to blend thrash and progressive metal...
. Dave Reynolds, a former writer for Metal Forces, has claimed that the magazine was the first to coin the terms thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
and death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
. 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
Atrophy (band)
Atrophy was a thrash metal band formed in Tucson, Arizona, USA by Chris Lykins, James Gulotta, and Brian Zimmerman. The original bandname was Heresy, but by the time the band was rounded out to its professional line-up – with Tim Kelly and Rick Skowron joining the fold – the name was...
, Hobbs' Angel of Death
Hobbs' Angel of Death
Hobbs' Angel of Death are 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, Hobb's Angel of Death and Inheritance before disbanding in 1996...
, Aftermath
Aftermath (American band)
Aftermath is a heavy metal band from Chicago formed in 1985. They have released two studio albums under two monikers and been involved in several compilation projects. They subsequently changed their name to Mother God Moviestar after a trademark dispute in which the band sued the rapper Dr....
and the Chris Barnes
Chris Barnes (musician)
Chris Barnes is an American singer-songwriter, best known as a death metal vocalist recognized for his very low guttural vocals and explicitly violent lyrics...
fronted Leviathan. In addition to metal acts, the magazine also featured interviews with alternative rock acts such as Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
.
In August 1991 Metal Forces created the off-shoot publication Thrash 'n Burn, a monthly title dedicated to extreme metal
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. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
.
Background
In an interview, rock columnist Dave Reynolds indicated that the magazine was created in response to difficulties working with rival publication Kerrang!Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
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
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
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".
Controversy
In 1984, Metal Forces printed a review of black metalBlack metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band Hellhammer
Hellhammer
Hellhammer was an influential extreme metal band from Switzerland, active during 1982–1984. They are regarded as being one of the first extreme metal bands and are a key influence on later black metal and death metal bands.-Biography:...
so negative that the band's guitarist, Tom Warrior, indicated the band would never play in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
because of it; after forming a new band, Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost was a metal band from Zürich, Switzerland. They are known for their heavy influence on the extreme metal genres. The group was first active from 1984 to 1993, and re-formed in 2001. Following Tom Gabriel Fischer's departure in 2008, Celtic Frost decided to break up again...
, 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". In 2007, the Metal Forces reviewer wrote the band history of Hellhammer for Century Media Records
Century Media Records
Century Media Records is an Independent record label with offices in the United States, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom.- Background :...
.
In 1986, Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...
, early guitarist of Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
and later founder of Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
, complained that replacement guitarist Kirk Hammett
Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the heavy metal band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, Hammett was ranked 11th on Rolling Stones list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
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.
Track listing
- Violent Slaughter - Leviathan
- Chainsaw Massacre - Hobbs' Angel of DeathHobbs' Angel of DeathHobbs' Angel of Death are 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, Hobb's Angel of Death and Inheritance before disbanding in 1996...
- War For Freedom - AftermathAftermath (American band)Aftermath is a heavy metal band from Chicago formed in 1985. They have released two studio albums under two monikers and been involved in several compilation projects. They subsequently changed their name to Mother God Moviestar after a trademark dispute in which the band sued the rapper Dr....
- Imprisoned - AnacrusisAnacrusis (band)Anacrusis is a progressive/thrash metal band from St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Anacrusis was one of the first bands to attempt to blend thrash and progressive metal...
- Chemical Dependency - AtrophyAtrophy (band)Atrophy was a thrash metal band formed in Tucson, Arizona, USA by Chris Lykins, James Gulotta, and Brian Zimmerman. The original bandname was Heresy, but by the time the band was rounded out to its professional line-up – with Tim Kelly and Rick Skowron joining the fold – the name was...
- Leviathan - Leviathan
- Satan's Crusade - Hobbs' Angel of DeathHobbs' Angel of DeathHobbs' Angel of Death are 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, Hobb's Angel of Death and Inheritance before disbanding in 1996...
- When Will You Die - AftermathAftermath (American band)Aftermath is a heavy metal band from Chicago formed in 1985. They have released two studio albums under two monikers and been involved in several compilation projects. They subsequently changed their name to Mother God Moviestar after a trademark dispute in which the band sued the rapper Dr....
- Disembowled/Annihilation Complete - AnacrusisAnacrusis (band)Anacrusis is a progressive/thrash metal band from St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Anacrusis was one of the first bands to attempt to blend thrash and progressive metal...
- Preacher, Preacher - AtrophyAtrophy (band)Atrophy was a thrash metal band formed in Tucson, Arizona, USA by Chris Lykins, James Gulotta, and Brian Zimmerman. The original bandname was Heresy, but by the time the band was rounded out to its professional line-up – with Tim Kelly and Rick Skowron joining the fold – the name was...