The inaugural World Metal Congress will be held on March 22 and March 23 at Rich Mix in London, England. Representatives from every field will come together to discuss, promote, and celebrate the incredible success and scale of heavy metal music from India to South Africa to Singapore and beyond through panels, documentary film premieres and live music showcasing the unparalleled global impact of one of Britain's greatest cultural exports. Conceived by ex-Metal Hammer editor and Twin V Ltd. founder Alexander Milas in partnership with Dr. Lina Khatib of world-renowned policy institute Chatham House, University of Central Lancashire's Dr. Niall Scott and independent promoter Josh Retallick of Old Empire, the aim of World Metal Congress is to connect the global metal community. "This is a world first," says Milas. "In these troubling times the fact that this music resonates with people of every colour and culture and creed is an incredibly special thing, and we want to shout that from the rooftops. With the [World Metal Congress] we're creating a unique forum to help bring that truly global community together, and we've already had a phenomenal response." "I'm really pleased to hear that the World Metal Congress will be taking place in the U.K.," says Tony Iommi, the founding guitarist of BLACK SABBATH. "The metal community is huge but rarely gets the recognition it deserves. My best wishes for a successful event." Created with the support of Arts Council England, an industry-facing conference on day one will feature key decision-makers from labels, festivals, media, and the artists themselves including BBC Radio 1, Wacken Open Air festival, Music For Nations, Vice, and Barney Greenway of NAPALM DEATH, among many others. Human rights and universal artistic licences are tightly intertwined," says Greenway. "Breaking tired old stereotypes, celebrating free creative expression without borders and confronting and debating challenging ethical band decisions continues to be an absolute must." Day two presents documentary films highlighting metal's triumph over adversity and a live gig from Singapore's WORMROT, one of global metal's true success stories, with much more to be revealed in the coming days. A full program of events will be announced in the near future through www.worldmetalcongress.org.
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