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We don't need magazines anymore, all the info is on the web, free. Sure, it's sad that these people lost their jobs, but shit happens... No use in wasting paper like that, digital media is the best for this wicked world.

sure it saves paper, but for me, and many others their is something that reading stuff on a screen just can't do for us...

I have HORRID handwriting, to the point where even I have trouble reading it sometimes(my hand also gets tired quickly) but I will almost always pick pen(or pencil) and paper over a keyboard when note taking, personal writing, etc simply because a computer just won't do it for me. Also let it be said that I love computers and pretty much all associtated tech. stuff, and if I may say so myself I'm pretty good at it.

as another side note which doesn't fully fit in the above, or in what is about to follow: I need/like to be able to spread out it in my work. Something about the factor of having to leap over the the table to get the open and half-rifled through book that contains what I need to cement my sudden brilliant idea is helpfully and crucial for me(also let me say, if I try to leap over a table I'll probarly break a few bones...) and pressing alt-tab(or know with vista window-tab) and using control-f in a pdf document isn't just the same...

I also prefer to read real books, and newspapers comparered to stuff on the computer. Something with it being right in front of me, in a materal and solid format.

and finally on a closing note with this long tirade-- having physical copies of music is much safer then simply downloading them, and its also possible, though I'm not sure, that the band would benfit more from you buying a physical copy, or at least buying the digital copy from them and not through i-tunes, rapshody(etc) which is what people would do. I'd also think a switch to all digital would make internet piracy, easier and more popular.

It sucks about Metal Maniacs but Metal Edge I won't miss because the mag has gone from reporting true metal to alternative and nu metal crap. It's been like that for years so I stopped reading it.

But this doesn't surprise me with the net people now have access to content with just a push of the button saves me from having to hunt down where I put the mag last lol.

This is a very dangerous argument, relevant not only to metal media, but to press as a whole. With printed media becoming obsolete, so will be real journalism. And the latter is a must when it gets to freedom of press and freedom of speech. If there are no real journalists, there will be nobody to question the authority. And once you get everything for free, as you say, on the internet, no one will pay a journalist salary to question that authority. First, you will get all your news digested and piecemealed for you, so it is simple to read in one click. Next thing, you know your mind is being manipulated. For one, in no way I consider myself a real metal journalist. Just a guy who has a hobby and got a chance to share his opinion with others. Those real journalists? They lost their jobs, but like you said, shit happens.

What a great shame indeed. I just hope my beloved Terrorizer doesn't go the same way...

And thats my problem with most Magazines, they almost always have to compromise their integrity in order to survive (thats "real journalism" Alex?) dont get me wrong im not glad Metal Maniacs is gone but i just dont see how they were relevant anymore , sure the feeling of getting your magazine in the mail is great but nostalgia aside this generation is getting exposed to more and better music thanks to the internet than we ever did with magazines, when the media turned their backs to Metal music, Metal was able to survive with fanzines and underground distribution i will always turst more the opinion of a fan than of a real journalist, sites like this are really just fanzines in a digital format the same kind of fanzines that helped and continue to help metal a lot more than magazines ever did, except that i dont have write a letter to the editor anymore to tell him how i feel about the latest issue i can just post reply and express my thoughts within minutes its this kind of feedback that i feel that is invaluable.

Agreed with this, mainly.

There is a contradiction in trying to keep a magazine running that covers actual proper underground music at a grassroots level, and being a commercial success. I am perpetually impressed at how Terrorizer manages to stay as good as it is.

Also, I like the intro about the hockey team. Both are things that have real value, but which cannot exist in a world that recognizes only the shallow value of commerce.

I don't see how publishing some ads is compromising your journalistic integrity. It is not if they were writing glowing reviews or conducted favorable interviews if they published an ad for the label/album.
All of the Maniacs writers, BTW, came from underground fanzines, if you didn't know, and stuck to printed press, because the moment internet replaces printed press, and I am making an argument for the WHOLE of the press, not just metal media, there will be no press as we know it. Not to mention that every one of those Maniacs writers were 10 times more of a writer I will ever be.
I am not subscribing to Terrorizer (not in Europe), but am glad they are able to balance the commerce with underground to keep the printed press alive.

C'mon, the mass media is being manipulated from decades ago, way before the Internet. I agree with that too many information could lead to another Dark Age.

That is why those who cared instituted the Fairness Doctrine in the US, which Reagan successfully repealed. It is your job as a responsible news consumer to make sure you read from multiple sources and make your own conclusions.

It all comes down to the concept of instant gratification. Things are moving so fast that rich spoiled fucking kids don't know what work is. They don't have to work to earn money, save that money, order a cd, wait for a cd, and then listen to it and digest it. It's "wahh I'm entitled to what I want when I want and I want this music now. Wahhhhh I want to read my shitty news sources from other shitty barely literate fellow teenagers and hear what I want to hear cos I am right, I'm sixteen and know EVERYTHING."

The concept of character, work, integrity, and values are being flushed away. I really hate what is happening to the world, I hate the way technology is making people lazy, I hate that my definition of metal, metal from the heart and soul, strength in character, strength in will is now being replaced by whatever the ignorant teen masses deem as metal so they can be "cool."

Fuck that.


Like Alex said, the level of journalism is going to take a nosedive. Metal Reviews is lucky because Chris and Danny worked so damn hard and put so much work in the early days that they established a level of quality that is high. They come from the old school. I will bet you that the majority of new "metal" sites and whatnot that will pop up now that mags are gone are gonna be as interesting to read as a herpes medication ointment ingredient listing.

I've gained far more useful information about Metal, and music in general, from websites such as this then I ever got in my mag-reading days. Most of the time the magazines had certain bands/labels they were "tight" with, and would fellate any old crap that band/label put out. Metal Edge/Maniacs(same publishing company) were especially guilty of this. I really won't miss them, and the notion that either of those rags had any form of journalistic integrity is laughable. They were loyal to whoever was giving them the most ad sells, and didn't give a damn about quality. I can't count the number of times I bought something based on their "recommendations" and wound up with a piece of junk. I don't think they even really listened to a lot of the shit they gave glowing reviews to. At least with Metal websites, you can get several different opinions about something, as opposed to some wannabe "journalists" thougths on it. Most reviews in Metal mags were merely exercises in word masturbation.

I was never reading Metal Edge, but I disagree about the Maniacs entirely. What labels they were tight with? Any specific examples of what bands they "promoted" that ended up in your junk pile? If anything, those guys tried to cover just about even amount of all metal styles, some hardcore, some more mainstream metal, but also the Firing Squad for demos of unknown bands and Apocalyptic Raidz for Black/Death most obscure bands no one ever heard about. They had interviews with everybody's darlings, like Opeth or Arch Enemy or Amon Amarth, and then talked to one-man bands whose faces are unknown to the public. I have gleaned a ton of useful info from their pages, bought albums based on their recommendations, with mixed success, just like it would be if I read reviews/interviews from any other outlet. I figured out eventually whose tastes match mine more or less, and went with that. I am sure many people who read these pages can say that Alex is "tight" with some bands, recommended them something which ended up as junk, because our tastes were way too different.

You're absolutely right that not ALL the mags had stellar writers all the time and that they were not bastions of integrity. But I would like to think that at least some zines like Feast Or Famine were labors of love. Having an actual good editor does wonders for a would be writer. It forces them to go back and learn to write better. Just like playing live helps refine your band into a tight unit, writing for something that hopefully has standards causes you to be better yourself. Now it seems that there will be no editors for anything, and again, rant, I'm not seeing much self evaluation in most people anymore other than " I rule in everything I do"

Exactly what I wanted to say and I hate the same things. That coupled with what muxenle said sums up my thoughts.

What if you don't have a laptop and want to read about some metal whilst taking a shit? How can you accomplish this now?

So what is stopping these publishers for forming a subscription website and charge the same or less than the actual physical printed version.

Instead of moaning that the net has ruined printed formats why not use the net to your advantage. What's the difference in readin a mag and reading a webzine about the same material absolutely no difference.

And you say that printed media is still the true format I hate to burst your bubble but printed media has gone the same way as TV journalism completely into the proverbial shitter. There is so much propaganda in printed media it's not funny.

It's sad that some of these mags are going out but welcome to the tech age we no longer watch movies on beta listen to LP's or talk on huge cellphones.

My discussion is not limited to just metal mags (of course, I started with that). I read NY Times and Wall Str Journal everyday. The discussion is ongoing: do you really believe that those who have been able to get their news, on whatever subject, for free are now going to pay for every click? Studies were done and the answer is absolutely no. So, the print media publishers can't overnight turn in web/internet publishers and survive, as you are suggesting. Besides, some people voiced here that "those mags weren't very good anyway". So, if they weren't going to pay for something "not so good" in print, do you expect they would pay for it on the web? Not a chance. Besides, the Maniacs web version still exists, for now. You care to give them 2 dimes to sustain them? Let me take it one step further. You all are enjoying MR mightily, saying how "you are learning about metal a lot more from zines like this instead of the corrupt media". Show of hands - how many clicked the Paypal donate button and gave $1 to MR? I already know the tally. The truth is - all these websites, underground printed zines are sustained by enthusiasm (Chris' in our case), but printed media can't afford that. Those people who write for it, may elect to not make a dime, I know some Maniacs freelancers did not, but those who make paper, apply inks onto it, etc. they all want to eat.

Yeah, yeah rich spoiled kids are to blame for everything yeah yeah fuck that, serioulsy Ben what the fuck was that? do you expect 16 year olds to have strong concepts of character, work, integrty and values? you may have forgot your childhood but i havent at 16 everyone is stupid and everything you do is to be cool, good thing about teenage kids is that they grow up and right now thanks to the web theyre growing up being exposed to more and better music than we were and i dont see how is that a bad thing.