There can be something comforting about heavy metal. Though the sound of the music can be bloodcurdling, the genre’s style and traditions remain pretty consistent: long hair, black clothes—and a contempt for sell-outs and commercial gimmickry.
Of course, defining such offenses is a fool’s errand, but the editors of Revolver, a leading magazine in the genre, have learned a few things based on newsstand sales. A recent issue featuring Pantera, whose former guitarist was shot to death on stage in 2004, was one of the most popular in the magazine’s 10-year history. On the apparently lamer side of the spectrum, an AC/DC cover contributed to the poorest-selling issue. “Old man music,” explains Josh Bernstein, Revolver’s head of business development.
Just as metal fans have generally stayed faithful to CDs over digital downloads, they’ve apparently stuck by the printed word as well. Revolver’s paid circulation has hung steady at about 150,000 during a time when newspapers and magazines are bleeding readers. “It’s never in style or out of style,” Mr. Bernstein says of the music his magazine covers.
To honor the genre’s stalwarts and perhaps pump up its profile, Revolver has produced its second annual Golden Gods Awards show. The first installment ran on MTV, but the network passed on a second helping, bumping the telecast over to sister channel VH1 Classic, where the show will air Saturday night.
No spoilers here: The show was taped last month and the winners, as elected by fan voting, were announced online. Among them, Judas Priest singer Rob Halford took a top award and former Black Sabbath frontman Ronnie James Dio—often credited as the inventor of the “devil horn” hand gesture—accepted a vocalist award, one of his last public appearances before he died earlier this week.
Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, who performed with Motorhead singer Lemmy Kilmister and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl at the show, says he has a complicated relationship with the genre. “Lately there’s been a lot of different types of metal. Some of it, vocally, I find very irritating. I need melody. Anything with yelling, I can’t deal with much,” he said.
Having collaborated with everyone from Michael Jackson to Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, Slash has his detractors among metal purists. But at least they respect his craft, he says, unlike in today’s pop and rock scene, where “lead guitar is as out of vogue as you can get.”
Even if he might not always prevail in fan debates over credibility and technical skill, Slash says he respects the process. “With metal, there’s a passion about it,” he says. “I wish that could be said for the broader rock world.”
Write to John Jurgensen at john.jurgensen@wsj.com
