HM (magazine)

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 of King's X 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

References

1. "HM Magazine". Linkedin.
2. Moberg, Marcus. (2015-02-26). "Christian Metal: History, Ideology, Scene". Bloomsbury Publishing.
3. [http://www.tollbooth.org/news/oct4.html Heaven's Metal Re-launches As A Fanzine]. The Phantom Tollbooth. {{Webarchive. link. (September 18, 2023 October 4, 2004)
4. Langer. (August 7, 2000). "Heaven's Metal". [[Austin Chronicle]].
5. Van Pelt, Doug. (2010-03-25). "Heaven's Metal Fanzine Subscription".
6. McCallister, Daniel. (September 1, 2020). "HM Magazine".
7. "Meet the Crew".
8. Pelt, Doug Van. (2020-11-12). "The great HM/Gwar Commercial Spots".