music-HM magazine

Rock Stars on God: 20 Artists Speak Their Minds About Faith, by Doug Van Pelt, Relevant Books. Reviewed by Gord Wilson.(This is a slightly revised version of a review that ran in HM magazine, issue #108, July/August 2004).

In the '80s, when everyone knew that God was dead, one band for some reason didn't: Stryper. One fan didn't know it either: Doug Van Pelt. He started a magazine in his basement called Heaven's Metal and put Stryper on the cover. Twenty years and hundreds of bands later, Heaven's Metal goes by HM, which stands for "Hard Music," with thousands of subscribers to that shared amnesia.

HM always retained three things: an independent, underground feel; a rabidly loyal fanbase; and the metal. While other music magazines were trotting out their latest fashionable models, HM was always the musical muscle car. It was a place for metalheads and motorheads on the fringes of culture, misfits from the mainstream and deviants who never minded the bollocks and said the heck with changing trends. And Doug was never happier than lying under that car with a wrench in his hand.

Thanks to the damnableness of niche marketing, that all changed. It may be good for search engines, but it also means that those who most defy labels-- like Bono of U2 and Doug of HM-- are the first ones forced to wear them. Guitar World called HM "The Bible of Christian Rock." Really? That's a good thing? But who's going to buy "The Muscle Car of Metal Music Magazines?" While it's an open question which circle of hell niche marketers will occupy, I pray that HM never "makes it" and Doug never stops tinkering with his car.

Stryper sang their beliefs loud and clear, and so does Doug. His editorials could have been written by Billy Graham. But HM has always been more about questions than answers. What do you think is going on? What are you going to do about it?

Critics, when not patronizing, dismissed HM as stupid or irrelevant, the groupthink of like-minded fanatics. After all, Doug was singing to the choir. But there was one place in the magazine that charge wouldn't hold. For his "So and So Says" column, Doug interviewed famous rockers in a style that would now be called "in your face," but which punk singers probably found informal and relaxing.

Rock Stars on God collects twenty of the best interviews with rockers from Gens X, Y, and Z, including Green Day, Rage Against the Machine, Bad Religion, Static X, and Social Distortion, along with Boomers Henry Rollins (Black Flag), Kiss and Alice Cooper. The questions are not obvious, the answers by no means canned. Godsmack respects Doug's style as an interviewer; and there are places where it seems like Henry Rollins might clock him (like he did my friend Mike-- Mike's claim to fame). Different folks, different strokes.

"We are the first generation raised without God," writes Doug Coupland in Life After God. If Rock Stars on God is any indication, it's also a generation out to find Him. (Alert readers will note that the book title cleverly plays off of Mike Knott's song, "Rock Stars on Heroin").

HM Magazine Subscription

Left: The 100th HM issue!
Middle: We're not worthy!
Bottom: Link to HM Home

The Only Magazine That Matters by Gord Wilson November 23, 2002 -(This is a slightly revised version of the original Amazon Review).

Once upon a time a Texas kid named Doug Van Pelt got an interview with an upcoming, young metal band called Stryper, and xeroxed a fanzine in his basement. That was Heaven's Metal. Now HM stands for Holy Mackerel--I mean, Hard Music. It's not just metal any more.

After Stryper pioneered the way, a lot of other great bands rushed down the trail--so many Doug had to make a bigger magazine to hold them all. After Doug pioneered the way, a lot of other great magazines rushed down the trail. A lot of great writers started writing about a lot of great bands. With so much to listen to, and so much to read, fans were in heaven.

But then it got hard. Some false prophet declared the end of print, and famine fell upon many 'zines. Doug walked sadly through the graveyard, strewn with once-proud writers, past the gravestones that bore the once-proud names: Swordbearer, White Throne, Harvest Rock Syndicate, Notebored, Counter Culture. Stricken to his soul, he looked up to heaven and cried out, "I am but one soul; what can I do?" Turning, he began to gather up the wretched writers, carrying them one by one to the shelter of his Texas home.

Today, the broken writers have been nursed back to health, and Doug lets them express their writing addiction in his magazine. There--did I do good, Doug? Can I go back to the kennel now?

Rad Rockers.com.............................................

RadRockers describes itself as "the boneyard of CCM" (but they mean rock). "RadRockers caters to progressive musical tastes-- offering the widest selection of cool independent, underground and import radical CDs. We do not compete with your local store. We take over where they leave off. If they say it's "out of print" or can't get it, then check RadRockers.com."

RadRockers is where all those great albums go when they disappear off the face of the earth. Some very rare ones go up in price, but most of them go down, and sometimes you can get great deals from RadRockers. They run both a website and send out an e-letter. the On the site the CDs are grouped by price, or you can search under the last name of the artist or the name of the band. It also helps to make notes where you found a particular CD or search for it again.

The plus on the site is that it has a lot more info on the CDs. You can actually read reviews of every CD they sell. You can also get their e-mail letter which every so often shows up in your in box and lists all the new specials. This is one of the few e-mail updates I get, and one I look forward to, since it gives you some idea of where to start browsing on the site. RadRockers is doing a great service for everyone who loves great music and mourns that all those CDs have such a short shelf life in the stores.

One way to find out more about some of the bands and albums at RadRockers is in Mark Allan Powell's Encyclopedia of CCM (which includes a searchable database CD). I have a review of this book in the Books/Amazon Reviews section for anyone who is interested, and it's in the Living Dog Store under "A Reading Dog" in "Art and Media". Many of these bands and CDs also get write ups, reviews and interviews in HM magazine (see my review above). HM comes out six times a year.

Clicking the Amazon link enables you to get a subscription through Amazon. This is good is you're going to get other stuff from Amazon anyway, but it may take as long as four months to start a subscription, so if you want to give HM as a gift, order it about six months before (no one will object to getting such a great magazine before their birthday). If you want your subscription quicker, click on the magazine picture to go to the HM website and sign up there. You'll want to check out their great website anyway, which has lots of stuff that's not in the magazine.

That was then; This is now: Bloodgood on Heaven's Metal, Vol. 1, Issue #5 Below: HM #108	Rock Stars on God Rock Stars on God: 20 Artists Speak Their Minds About Faith, by Doug Van Pelt, Relevant Books. Reviewed by Gord Wilson.(This is a slightly revised version of a review that ran in HM magazine, issue #108, July/August 2004). In the '80s, when everyone knew that God was dead, one band for some reason didn't: Stryper. One fan didn't know it either: Doug Van Pelt. He started a magazine in his basement called Heaven's Metal and put Stryper on the cover. Twenty years and hundreds of bands later, Heaven's Metal goes by HM, which stands for "Hard Music," with thousands of subscribers to that shared amnesia. HM always retained three things: an independent, underground feel; a rabidly loyal fanbase; and the metal. While other music magazines were trotting out their latest fashionable models, HM was always the musical muscle car. It was a place for metalheads and motorheads on the fringes of culture, misfits from the mainstream and deviants who never minded the bollocks and said the heck with changing trends. And Doug was never happier than lying under that car with a wrench in his hand. Thanks to the damnableness of niche marketing, that all changed. It may be good for search engines, but it also means that those who most defy labels-- like Bono of U2 and Doug of HM-- are the first ones forced to wear them. Guitar World called HM "The Bible of Christian Rock." Really? That's a good thing? But who's going to buy "The Muscle Car of Metal Music Magazines?" While it's an open question which circle of hell niche marketers will occupy, I pray that HM never "makes it" and Doug never stops tinkering with his car. Stryper sang their beliefs loud and clear, and so does Doug. His editorials could have been written by Billy Graham. But HM has always been more about questions than answers. What do you think is going on? What are you going to do about it? Critics, when not patronizing, dismissed HM as stupid or irrelevant, the groupthink of like-minded fanatics. After all, Doug was singing to the choir. But there was one place in the magazine that charge wouldn't hold. For his "So and So Says" column, Doug interviewed famous rockers in a style that would now be called "in your face," but which punk singers probably found informal and relaxing. Rock Stars on God collects twenty of the best interviews with rockers from Gens X, Y, and Z, including Green Day, Rage Against the Machine, Bad Religion, Static X, and Social Distortion, along with Boomers Henry Rollins (Black Flag), Kiss and Alice Cooper. The questions are not obvious, the answers by no means canned. Godsmack respects Doug's style as an interviewer; and there are places where it seems like Henry Rollins might clock him (like he did my friend Mike-- Mike's claim to fame). Different folks, different strokes. "We are the first generation raised without God," writes Doug Coupland in Life After God. If Rock Stars on God is any indication, it's also a generation out to find Him. (Alert readers will note that the book title cleverly plays off of Mike Knott's song, "Rock Stars on Heroin").
	HM Magazine Subscription Left: The 100th HM issue! Middle: We're not worthy! Bottom: Link to HM Home
To get HM sooner, click below to go the the HM home page	The Only Magazine That Matters by Gord Wilson November 23, 2002 -(This is a slightly revised version of the original Amazon Review). Once upon a time a Texas kid named Doug Van Pelt got an interview with an upcoming, young metal band called Stryper, and xeroxed a fanzine in his basement. That was Heaven's Metal. Now HM stands for Holy Mackerel--I mean, Hard Music. It's not just metal any more. After Stryper pioneered the way, a lot of other great bands rushed down the trail--so many Doug had to make a bigger magazine to hold them all. After Doug pioneered the way, a lot of other great magazines rushed down the trail. A lot of great writers started writing about a lot of great bands. With so much to listen to, and so much to read, fans were in heaven. But then it got hard. Some false prophet declared the end of print, and famine fell upon many 'zines. Doug walked sadly through the graveyard, strewn with once-proud writers, past the gravestones that bore the once-proud names: Swordbearer, White Throne, Harvest Rock Syndicate, Notebored, Counter Culture. Stricken to his soul, he looked up to heaven and cried out, "I am but one soul; what can I do?" Turning, he began to gather up the wretched writers, carrying them one by one to the shelter of his Texas home. Today, the broken writers have been nursed back to health, and Doug lets them express their writing addiction in his magazine. There--did I do good, Doug? Can I go back to the kennel now?