How SHIT is Metal Hammer?

[Hammer of Might]

Got a copy because I needed something to read and couldn't find any Terrorizers...

In the case of the UK one at least, it's little better than kerrang. It's a complete and utter trend mag, but what's worse is they seem to try and appear really legitimate and "tr00".

For instance, they seem to try and make as many references to "black metal" as possible, but simply to use it as a shock word to the bulk of their readers who feel that reading that - even though the magazine itself never really goes very in depth into black metal - makes them in some way 'authentic', and leaves the readers to add their cliched sinister connotations about church burnings and black and white faced bands that only the magazine holds the keys to access. One reviewer called Krisiun black metal three times.

It's hard to explain, but throughout the entire magazine, it just seems to be trying to persuade you that it is really in touch with the "scene", and tries to make the reader feel really clued in, but really just plasters its pages with stupid hype about phil anselmo or loads of "the next metallica"s who are sort of emo-hardcore whiners.

I got a free DVD with it, which was an absolutely horrific experience.

I'm not trying to assert some sort of "tr00ness" of my own here, because I don't really consider myself that connected with the 'scene' myself for one thing, but I'm just pretty disgusted that this magazing feels it has to prostitute itself to shitty modern rock.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Yeah I hate bad publications.

 

[bmh]

Not a quarter as shit as Kerrang.

 

[ElectricWiz]

Both Kerrang and Metal Hammer were really kicking in the day. Back in, say, 83-86. I live in the U.S. (and was in a small rural town then) and so had a tough time finding them....but there was always stuff on Venom...Saxon....Slayer....Metallica....plus Priest, Maiden and all that. They used to be cool. Sure, there was Bon Jovi covers too, but the good outweighed the bad back then. Ah, the good 'ol days.

 

[None_So_Vile]

Metal Hammer is utter pile of dog shit, it's for all the wannabe metallers out there who listent to CoF and reckon they're an authority on black metal

....and don't even get me started on Kerrang, that magazine is a disgrace

 

[Stormwatch]

Yeah Kerrang! and MH (and Raw) were great once upon a time. But they're fucking shite now - I've never bought MH again since they gave St Anger a great review and said it was the future of metal. What a fucking joke. The problem is, although I buy Terrorizer, it's full of bands I've never heard of, will never actually get around to hearing and don't really want to hear anyway (you know, all the cloned black metal bands and the "electronic" pish). This months issue is one of the worst ever (the one with Nightwish(!) on the cover). I think I read the interviews with Krisiun and the Gorgoroth piece and that was about it. And the reviews are a load of shite - the reviewers seem to write utter drivel for the first half of each review, compare albums to obscure bands, then barely mention whether the songs are good or not.
In the UK we're really short of a good all round heavy rock/metal magazine that covers everything from classic rock to death and black metal.

 

[Hammer of Might]

I find terrorizer is usually a good read, partically because it DOES sometimes cover bands that I wouldn't otherwise know aout or bother finding.

The reviews can be pretty crap, but they're not half as bad as the aforementioned publications (Krisiun = "black metal" in metal hammer), and generally I enjoy the articles.

We could do with another publication though, like you say Stormwatch, which just covers the whole range of "proper" metal without trying to follow trends but at the same time maybe not feeling a need to go ultra-obscure at the same time.

 

[None_So_Vile]

Terrorizer is an excellent magazine but it pisses me off due to the amount of wankery it does over the metalcore and hardcore scene. Also it often gives interviews to Cradle of Filth...why?!

Their CD reviews are often crap and barely describe the album, they just rant on using as many long words as possible and give the reader no idea what the album is like. It would be handy if they gave a rough guideline for each band on what genre they are.

Other than that, excellent mag

 

[Stormwatch]

Ah, yes, but they DO try to describe the bands in reviews. They call them "post-thrashcore" or some shite like that, which leaves you none the fucking wiser. I actually had a letter printed in the mag about this very thing and they just disagreed with me. But, as you clearly agree with me - their reviews are for the most part, useless.

 

[Hammer of Might]

"none the fucking wiser" - what a great phrase!

 

[++Jinx++]

In the UK we're really short of a good all round heavy rock/metal magazine that covers everything from classic rock to death and black metal.

So bloody true, the lack of any decent magazines in this country is ridiculous.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Is Pit still around?

They had pretty good coverage of both mainstream bands and underground bands. The store I used to get it from no longer carries it.

 

[Death Aflame]

I dont't know if their sold in the Europe or not, but Bold Words & Bloody Knuckles(BW&BK) is a pretty decent metal/hardcore magazine.

 

[EternalEnemy]

Havent read a lot magazines, and i havent read Kerrang. I wish i was super fucking rich so i could read every possible magazine and do everything i wanted...

Anyway, ive read a little Metal Hammer. Well, they call Norther death metal. How fucking wise is that? Actually usually when i read a magazine, its genre definitions dont follow any sort of logic from planet earth. Everything can be everything if it has one weakly associated element of the genre.
Goddammit, the only reason i like reading them is that theres interviews, random reviews (useless but enjoyable), and stuff like that. Mainly interviews, since those are something you cant get everywhere.
And magazine reviews usually suck. They try to sound so fucking experienced with metal, yet never say anything at all.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Is Pit still around?

They had pretty good coverage of both mainstream bands and underground bands. The store I used to get it from no longer carries it.

I bought one early this year.

 

[necrophobic_minge_man]

if you want an excellent metal read get zero tolerance. fantastic mag. far better than terrorizor.

 

[ShadowOfDeath]

the only decent professional magazine is unrestrained!

The rest are bullshit.

Fanzines > Professional Bullshit Zines.

 

[Dragan]

it just...just... .......

 

[no country for old wainds]

STOP LOOKING AT EBAUMSWORLD.

Thanks.

 

[Oblivious Maximus]

Is Pit still around?

They had pretty good coverage of both mainstream bands and underground bands. The store I used to get it from no longer carries it.

Yeah, Pit is still around, it's just that there's like 3 months between issues. I like it though.