Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles
Encyclopedia
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles is a Canadian heavy metal
magazine
.
Founded by former M.E.A.T. magazine staffer "Metal" Tim Henderson and author Martin Popoff
in 1994, Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles (BW&BK) has become a globally respected metal publication. Though based in Canada, BW&BK also features writers from the USA, Germany and the UK, allowing the magazine to represent metal's international appeal.
Covering many facets of extreme music
, BW&BK is renowned for its emphasis on news
and interview
s, rather than pin-ups or excessive visuals. The reviews section takes on current records circulating through the underground metal world, and a section called Metal Forecast tracks the release date of upcoming recordings. BW&BK is complemented by its internet presence BraveWords.com, whose main focus is up-to-the-minute metal news.
Superstore in Toronto, Canada. Publishing a newsletter called Metal Tim Bits (the title a play on the Tim Bit donut served at the popular Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons
), Henderson was eager to begin a post-M.E.A.T. metal venture. After several photocopied issues of Metal Tim Bits surfaced, Henderson encountered Popoff in the Toronto HMV’s metal section and Popoff began discussing his first metal book, Riff Kills Man. The two subsequently plotted a magazine creation based on Metal Tim Bits, and Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles was born. Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles’ moniker was inspired by Agony Column’s 1990 album of the same name (which, incidentally, received a perfect 10 rating in Popoff’s Collector’s Guide To Heavy Metal.)
, Entombed
, Gwar
, Cannibal Corpse
and Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath
. No ads were featured the inaugural issue.
, Alex Lifeson
of Rush
(an interview conducted in Lifeson's living room), Metallica
’s Jason Newsted
and Lars Ulrich
, Megadeth
, Mercyful Fate
, Iron Maiden
, Fear Factory
, Cradle of Filth
, Venom
, Annihilator
and many others. By this time, current writers Carl Begai
, Chris Bruni, Mark Gromen, Allan Grusie and Aaron Small had joined the team.
and AC/DC
were featured, while Metallica’s ReLoad
was chastised in BW&BK’s Cross-Fire review section.
, Gene Simmons
of KISS
, Death
, Morbid Angel
, Emperor
, In Flames
(in celebration of Gothenburg
, Sweden’s then-rising scene), Rhapsody
, Hypocrisy
, Witchery
and a unique chat with Janie Hendrix (administrator of the Jimi Hendrix
vaults).
A large piece focusing on Canadian metal bands was also printed, a reflection of BW&BK’s Canadian roots. A Top Metal Albums of the ‘80s feature also surfaced around this time.
, BW&BK printed interviews with Rob Halford
, Demons & Wizards
, Stratovarius
and Eidolon
, amongst others. Entombed
’s comeback album, Uprising
, put the band on the cover of issue #39. AC/DC was once again featured in the magazine, while Iron Maiden, In Flames, Rob Halford
, Hypocrisy, Nevermore
, The Haunted
, Dimmu Borgir
, Annihilator and Dimebag Darrel all featured on the magazine cover throughout the year. Current writers David Perri and Greg Pratt also joined the fold.
, Metallica and Rush alongside mainstays Opeth
, Dimmu Borgir and Slayer.
BW&BK debuted the Brave Picks soundcheck in its reviews section. In doing so, BW&BK became one of the first North American metal magazines to use the soundcheck
system, which had thus far only being done in European magazines. Soundcheck asks individual writers to rate the month’s most relevant albums, and then average scores based on all the writers’ grades are computed to determine the ranking of each album in the soundcheck.
, Children of Bodom
(one of BW&BK's top-selling issues), Fear Factory
, Behemoth
, Soulfly
, Kataklysm
, Candlemass
and Gene Simmons of KISS. Classic strongholds Judas Priest
and Black Sabbath were also given the main page.
In 2005, BW&BK once again spotlighted Canadian metal, this time creating an incomplete A-Z list of all active, signed Canadian metal bands. Current writer Dom Lawson began contributing to BW&BK.
.
In conjunction with BW&BK #100, the magazine held a birthday party at Montreal’s Les Foufounes Électriques
concert venue/nightclub and also produced the fourth installment of its annual 6-Pack metal festival.
Prior to issue #100, 2006 saw unique activity in the BW&BK camp with Voivod
, Sepultura and Satyricon
's maiden appearances on the cover, while Lamb Of God
and Trivium
’s faces closed out 2006.
2007 began with a major piece on Heaven and Hell
and commercial black metallists Dimmu Borgir gracing BW&BK's cover once again.
, Candlemass
, Trouble
, Soilwork
, Kataklysm
, Shadowkeep
and other metal luminaries.
2006's incarnation of the 6 Pack Festival was held in Montreal
, Canada on October 14 at Le Medley. The line-up included Testament
, Brutal Truth
, Dismember
, Grave
, Camilla Rhodes and Torn Within. The pre-show party was also held in Montreal on October 13 at Foufounes Electriques (Canada's equivalent of New York City's famous CBGB), and the Foufounes event also celebrated BW&BK's 100th issue.
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
.
Founded by former M.E.A.T. magazine staffer "Metal" Tim Henderson and author Martin Popoff
Martin Popoff
Martin Popoff is a Canadian-born music journalist and critic who covers the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles magazine, he has additionally written over twenty books that both critically evaluate heavy metal and document its history...
in 1994, Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles (BW&BK) has become a globally respected metal publication. Though based in Canada, BW&BK also features writers from the USA, Germany and the UK, allowing the magazine to represent metal's international appeal.
Covering many facets of extreme music
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, BW&BK is renowned for its emphasis on news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
and interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
s, rather than pin-ups or excessive visuals. The reviews section takes on current records circulating through the underground metal world, and a section called Metal Forecast tracks the release date of upcoming recordings. BW&BK is complemented by its internet presence BraveWords.com, whose main focus is up-to-the-minute metal news.
Early ‘90s
BW&BK’s direct pre-cursor can be traced to Tim Henderson and the HMVHMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
Superstore in Toronto, Canada. Publishing a newsletter called Metal Tim Bits (the title a play on the Tim Bit donut served at the popular Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons Inc. is a Canadian fast casual restaurant known for its coffee and doughnuts. It is also Canada's largest fast food service with over 3000 stores nationwide. It was founded in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario, by Canadian hockey player Tim Horton and Jim Charade, after an initial venture in...
), Henderson was eager to begin a post-M.E.A.T. metal venture. After several photocopied issues of Metal Tim Bits surfaced, Henderson encountered Popoff in the Toronto HMV’s metal section and Popoff began discussing his first metal book, Riff Kills Man. The two subsequently plotted a magazine creation based on Metal Tim Bits, and Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles was born. Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles’ moniker was inspired by Agony Column’s 1990 album of the same name (which, incidentally, received a perfect 10 rating in Popoff’s Collector’s Guide To Heavy Metal.)
March ’94 – first issue
200 copies of BW&BK #1 were originally printed, and its cover price was $1.95. HMV embraced the magazine and other record stores followed suit. Issue #1 was 16 pages on grey stock paper, and featured interviews with PanteraPantera
Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...
, Entombed
Entombed (band)
Entombed is a Swedish death metal band which formed in 1987 under the name of Nihilist. Though Entombed began their career as an early pioneer of Scandinavian death metal which initially differed itself from its American counterpart with its distinct guitar tone, by the early 1990s their sound had...
, Gwar
Gwar
Gwar is a satirical heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, United States, in 1984. The band is best known for its elaborate science fiction/horror film inspired costumes, obscene lyrics and graphic stage performances, which feature humorous enactments of politically and morally taboo...
, Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band from Buffalo, New York. Formed in 1988, the band has released eleven studio albums, one box set, and one live album...
and Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
. No ads were featured the inaugural issue.
1994–1997
BW&BK continued to grow, reaching 48 pages by October 1997. In the interim, the magazine had spoken to such luminaries as SlayerSlayer
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...
, Alex Lifeson
Alex Lifeson
Aleksandar Živojinović, OC, better known by his stage name Alex Lifeson, is a second generation Serbian-Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist of the Canadian rock band Rush. In the summer of 1968, Lifeson founded the band that would become Rush with friend, drummer John Rutsey...
of Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
(an interview conducted in Lifeson's living room), 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 ...
’s Jason Newsted
Jason Newsted
Jason Curtis Newsted is an American bassist known for his work with Metallica, Voivod and Flotsam and Jetsam. Joining Metallica in 1986 after Cliff Burton's death, Newsted remained a member until 2001, making him the band's longest-serving bassist...
and Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...
, 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...
, Mercyful Fate
Mercyful Fate
Mercyful Fate was a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen. Initially active from 1981 to 1985, they reunited in 1992. The band went on hiatus again in 2000, when frontman King Diamond decided to continue his solo career...
, Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
, Fear Factory
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1989, they have released seven full-length albums and a number of singles and remixes. Over the course of their career they have evolved from a succession of styles, as well as steadily pioneered a combination of the styles death metal,...
, Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
, Venom
Venom
Venom is the general term referring to any variety of toxins used by certain types of animals that inject it into their victims by the means of a bite or a sting...
, Annihilator
Annihilator (band)
Annihilator is a Canadian heavy metal band hailing from Ottawa, Ontario, also from Vancouver, British Columbia between 1987-2002 by founding member, vocalist, guitarist and bassist Jeff Waters. The band has been around since 1984 and is the biggest selling heavy metal artist from Canada in history,...
and many others. By this time, current writers Carl Begai
Carl Begai
- Life :Begai was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He attended York University in Toronto and received a B.A. in History in 1993.Begai currently lives in Germany.- Career :...
, Chris Bruni, Mark Gromen, Allan Grusie and Aaron Small had joined the team.
Late 1997
BW&BK #21 was the first issue of the magazine to feature a colour cover. Inside the issue, interviews with Ozzy OsbourneOzzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
and AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
were featured, while Metallica’s ReLoad
ReLoad
ReLoad is the seventh studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on November 18, 1997 through Elektra Records. The album is a sequel or counterpart to the band's previous album, Load. It debuted number 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 417,000 copies in its first week....
was chastised in BW&BK’s Cross-Fire review section.
1998–1999
With the introduction of new layout team Hugues Laflamme and Angie Aue, BW&BK was brought to what Popoff described as “world class levels.” Notable moments in this period include interviews with Slayer, SepulturaSepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
, Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
of KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, Death
Death (band)
Death was an American metal band founded in 1983. The band's founder, Chuck Schuldiner, is considered "a pioneering force in death metal and grindcore". The band ceased to exist after Schuldiner died of brain cancer in 2001, though remains an enduring heavy metal brand.Death is considered one of...
, Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida. UK music magazine Terrorizer ranked one Morbid Angel album in its “Top 40 greatest death metal albums”, with their 1989 debut Altars of Madness appearing at number 1...
, Emperor
Emperor (band)
Emperor was a Norwegian black metal band formed in 1991. They dissolved in 2001, but reunited in 2006 and again in 2007 for a few festival dates and brief US tours. The group was founded by Samoth and Ihsahn .-Biography:...
, In Flames
In Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...
(in celebration of Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden’s then-rising scene), Rhapsody
Rhapsody (online music service)
Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...
, Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy (band)
Hypocrisy is a melodic death metal band from Sweden. It was formed in 1990 in Ludvika, Sweden by Peter Tägtgren.Musically, the band started off with a traditional death metal sound on their first albums, and soon drifted to become a melodic death metal band. The lyrics in their early stages -...
, Witchery
Witchery
Witchery is a Swedish thrash/speed metal band, formed by former members of Satanic Slaughter in 1997. The current lineup consists of vocalist Emperor Magus Caligula , ex-Devian), guitarists Patrik Jensen and Rickard "Richard Corpse" Rimfält, bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, and drummer Martin Axenrot...
and a unique chat with Janie Hendrix (administrator of the Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
vaults).
A large piece focusing on Canadian metal bands was also printed, a reflection of BW&BK’s Canadian roots. A Top Metal Albums of the ‘80s feature also surfaced around this time.
2000–2001
Chronicling the rise of power metalPower metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
, BW&BK printed interviews with Rob Halford
Rob Halford
Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...
, Demons & Wizards
Demons & Wizards
Demons and Wizards is a power metal band conceived as a side-project of the metal bands Blind Guardian and Iced Earth. It is made up of the vocalist for Blind Guardian, Hansi Kürsch, and the guitarist of Iced Earth, Jon Schaffer. Schaffer writes the music and Kürsch writes the lyrics...
, Stratovarius
Stratovarius
Stratovarius are a Finnish power metal band that formed in 1984. Since their formation they have released 13 studio albums and one live album. Along with Helloween, Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire and Gamma Ray, Stratovarius are considered one of the leading groups of the power metal and symphonic...
and Eidolon
Eidolon (band)
Eidolon was a Canadian power metal band formed in 1993 by brothers Shawn and Glen Drover . The band was signed to Metal Blade Records, but was let go in 2004, in part because of a refusal to tour. Eidolon signed soon after to Escapi Records. The band has released seven studio albums to date...
, amongst others. Entombed
Entombed (band)
Entombed is a Swedish death metal band which formed in 1987 under the name of Nihilist. Though Entombed began their career as an early pioneer of Scandinavian death metal which initially differed itself from its American counterpart with its distinct guitar tone, by the early 1990s their sound had...
’s comeback album, Uprising
Uprising (Entombed album)
Uprising is the sixth full length album by Swedish metal band Entombed. It was released in 2000. Album was recorded at Das Boot Studios and produced by Nico Elgstrand and Entombed.-Track listing:...
, put the band on the cover of issue #39. AC/DC was once again featured in the magazine, while Iron Maiden, In Flames, Rob Halford
Rob Halford
Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...
, Hypocrisy, Nevermore
Nevermore
Nevermore is an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington. Formed in 1991, they are known to incorporate elements from styles such as thrash, power, progressive, and neo-classical metal into their songs, and also makes use of acoustic guitars and a wide range of vocal styles.-Early years...
, The Haunted
The Haunted
The Haunted is a Swedish metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1996.The original members were Anders & Jonas Björler, Peter Dolving, Adrian Erlandsson and Patrik Jensen...
, Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir
Dimmu Borgir is a Norwegian black metal band from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1993. Dimmu borgir means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, Faroese and Old Norse. The name is derived from a volcanic formation in Iceland, Dimmuborgir...
, Annihilator and Dimebag Darrel all featured on the magazine cover throughout the year. Current writers David Perri and Greg Pratt also joined the fold.
2002–2003
BW&BK’s distribution now totaled 23 countries and the publication became available wherever metal magazines are sold. BW&BK experimented with a wider range of cover features, including Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Metallica and Rush alongside mainstays Opeth
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish heavy metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. Though the group has been through several personnel changes, singer, guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt has remained Opeth's driving force throughout the years...
, Dimmu Borgir and Slayer.
BW&BK debuted the Brave Picks soundcheck in its reviews section. In doing so, BW&BK became one of the first North American metal magazines to use the soundcheck
Soundcheck
A soundcheck is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance, when the performer and the sound crew run through a small portion of the upcoming show on the venue's sound system to make sure that the sound in the venue's "Front Of House" and stage monitor sound...
system, which had thus far only being done in European magazines. Soundcheck asks individual writers to rate the month’s most relevant albums, and then average scores based on all the writers’ grades are computed to determine the ranking of each album in the soundcheck.
2004–2005
In 2004, BW&BK celebrated its tenth anniversary. The covers over this annum included first-time appearances from MegadethMegadeth
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...
, Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...
(one of BW&BK's top-selling issues), Fear Factory
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1989, they have released seven full-length albums and a number of singles and remixes. Over the course of their career they have evolved from a succession of styles, as well as steadily pioneered a combination of the styles death metal,...
, Behemoth
Behemoth (band)
Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground, alongside bands such as Vader, Decapitated, Vesania and Hate....
, Soulfly
Soulfly
Soulfly is a heavy metal band formed in 1997 based in Phoenix, Arizona. The original lyrical content revolved around spirituality and religious themes, with later albums encompassing other themes including war, violence, aggression, hatred and anger. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max...
, Kataklysm
Kataklysm
Kataklysm is a Canadian death metal band. They call their musical style "northern hyperblast" after an advertisement in M.E.A.T. magazine describing another band, Fear Factory, as "hyperblast". The term refers to the extremely fast blast beats that Kataklysm's drummer, Max Duhamel, fuses into the...
, Candlemass
Candlemass
Candlemass are an influential Swedish doom metal band established in 1984 by Leif Edling , their leader and songwriter. The band is originally from Stockholm. After releasing five full-length albums and touring extensively throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Candlemass disbanded in 1994, but...
and Gene Simmons of KISS. Classic strongholds Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
and Black Sabbath were also given the main page.
In 2005, BW&BK once again spotlighted Canadian metal, this time creating an incomplete A-Z list of all active, signed Canadian metal bands. Current writer Dom Lawson began contributing to BW&BK.
2006–present
Most notable about 2006 was BW&BK’s 100th issue, released in October. Filled with personal reflections from Henderson and the rest of the magazine’s staff, issue #100 also included a large quantity of congratulatory autographs from some of metal’s biggest names (all autographs were requested in person by BW&BK staff members, with BW&BK business manager Jacki Short handling the lion’s share of the work). In addition, issue #100 showcased a re-print of BW&BK #1, a nod to the magazine’s roots. Issue #100’s cover notably featured Motörhead legend Lemmy cutting a BW&BK birthday cakeBirthday cake
The birthday cake has been an integral part of the birthday celebrations in Western cultures since the middle of the 19th century. Certain rituals and traditions, such as singing of birthday songs, associated with birthday cakes are common to many Western cultures. The Western tradition of adding...
.
In conjunction with BW&BK #100, the magazine held a birthday party at Montreal’s Les Foufounes Électriques
Les Foufounes Électriques
Les Foufounes Électriques is a concert venue located at 87 Saint Catherine Street East in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada in a neighbourhood known as the Quartier Latin . It is a multi-level establishment with 3 dance floors...
concert venue/nightclub and also produced the fourth installment of its annual 6-Pack metal festival.
Prior to issue #100, 2006 saw unique activity in the BW&BK camp with Voivod
Voivod (band)
Voivod are a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière, Quebec, Canada. Their musical style has changed several times since the band's origin in the early 1980s...
, Sepultura and Satyricon
Satyricon (band)
Satyricon is a Norwegian black metal band, and the first one in the genre to join a multi-national record label .-Biography:Satyricon was formed in 1990 by Czral and Wargod. Ulver and Satyr soon joined them...
's maiden appearances on the cover, while Lamb Of God
Lamb of God
The title Lamb of God appears in the Gospel of John, with the exclamation of John the Baptist: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" in John 1:29 when he sees Jesus....
and Trivium
Trivium (band)
Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. Signed to Roadrunner Records, the band has released five studio albums, eleven singles, and twelve music videos...
’s faces closed out 2006.
2007 began with a major piece on Heaven and Hell
Heaven and Hell (band)
Heaven & Hell were an English and American heavy metal supergroup active from 2006 to 2010. The band was a collaboration featuring Black Sabbath members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler along with former members Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice....
and commercial black metallists Dimmu Borgir gracing BW&BK's cover once again.
6-Pack Festival
BW&BK organized and put on the BW&BK 6 Pack Festival in Cleveland, USA in the spring of 2003, 2004 and 2005. The festival featured, over the years, KatatoniaKatatonia
Katatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström .-1991-1993:The early Katatonia releases, such as the EP Jhva Elohim Meth.....
, Candlemass
Candlemass
Candlemass are an influential Swedish doom metal band established in 1984 by Leif Edling , their leader and songwriter. The band is originally from Stockholm. After releasing five full-length albums and touring extensively throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Candlemass disbanded in 1994, but...
, Trouble
Trouble (band)
Trouble is an American doom metal band noted as one of the pioneers of their genre, alongside bands such as Candlemass and Saint Vitus. The band created a distinct style taking influences of the British heavy metal bands Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, and psychedelic rock of the 1970s...
, Soilwork
Soilwork
Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork .Their sound is a fusion of the classic...
, Kataklysm
Kataklysm
Kataklysm is a Canadian death metal band. They call their musical style "northern hyperblast" after an advertisement in M.E.A.T. magazine describing another band, Fear Factory, as "hyperblast". The term refers to the extremely fast blast beats that Kataklysm's drummer, Max Duhamel, fuses into the...
, Shadowkeep
Shadowkeep
Shadowkeep is a British heavy metal band, formed in Guildford, England, in 1999 by guitarists Chris Allen and Nikki Robson .-Early recordings, concerts and festival appearances:...
and other metal luminaries.
2006's incarnation of the 6 Pack Festival was held in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada on October 14 at Le Medley. The line-up included Testament
Testament (band)
Testament is an American metal band from Berkeley, California, formed in 1983. They are often credited as one of the most popular bands of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
, Brutal Truth
Brutal Truth
Brutal Truth is an American grindcore band from New York City, formed by ex-Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, and Stormtroopers Of Death bass guitarist Dan Lilker in 1990. The group disbanded in 1999, but reformed in 2006 and continue to release new music.-History:...
, Dismember
Dismember (band)
Dismember was a Swedish death metal band that formed in 1988. They are well known in the death metal underground. They split up in October 2011.-History:...
, Grave
Grave (band)
Grave is a Swedish death metal band that formed in 1986 by vocalist and guitarist Ola Lindgren, who is their only constant member. The band had particular success in the early 1990s, and their first four albums, Into the Grave, You'll Never See..., Soulless and Hating Life, cemented their...
, Camilla Rhodes and Torn Within. The pre-show party was also held in Montreal on October 13 at Foufounes Electriques (Canada's equivalent of New York City's famous CBGB), and the Foufounes event also celebrated BW&BK's 100th issue.