The Metal Month III Progress Thread

[Trollheart]

We are live!

is go!
There will be a LOT happening this year, so for those of you who can't be bothered checking in every hour to see what's been posted, I'll be keeping a running commentary here as to what's posted each day. Feel free to comment, here or in the journal. Hope to see you there!

[The Batlord]

Let The Pussification commence.

[Trollheart]

[Trollheart]

As per my announcement in the introduction to Metal Month III, here are the details, for those who want them, of Trollheart's Hall of Heavy Metal Heroes; what it is, what it means and how you can secure your place at the table.

Spoiler for Trollheart's Hall of Heavy Metal Heroes: the details:

So, you think you deserve a seat at Trollheart's Hall of Heavy Metal Heroes, do you? Well, let me tell you, friend, I don't just hand these honours out for free, you know!


In order to qualify as a Knight or even Squire at the table of the Hall of Heroes, you need to contribute, or have contributed to Metal Month, this one or previous or future ones. You can write an article, give me suggestions, submit your top ten or extend Metal Month into your journal, if you have one. The more involved you get, and the more regularly, the better your chances of securing a place at the table.

Rankings begin with Squires. Squiredom is awarded to people who regularly comment on Metal Month and take an active part in discussions. One-line posts, smileys etc are not counted, in fact enough of these will help to count against you and may in fact disqualify you from selection. There is no limit on how many Squires may be appointed.

Junior Knight is the next rank. A Junior Knighthood is awarded to one who submits his or her own albums for review, for any of my sections such as Members' Top Ten, Don't Listen to That --- Listen to This! Etc. We currently have three positions filled; there is no limit on how many Junior Knights can be appointed, just as with Squires.

Knight: There can be eight Knights, all of whom receive the award for making at least one solid contribution to one or more Metal Months. Only one of these positions are currently filled, so there are seven vacancies at this time.

Senior Knight: There are four Senior Knight positions up for grabs. They are awarded to those special individuals whom I believe have made invaluable contributions to Metal Month on a regular and ongoing basis. At present (2015) all four positions are filled.

Champion Knight: This is the highest level of promotion possible, and is only conferred on someone who has helped with, or contributed to, Metal Month so much that I can't really imagine it without them. This position is currently vacant, and highly-sought after. Honest.


At the moment, the following places have been assigned already:

Senior Knights
Sir Batlord of The High Metal Kingdom
Sir Frownland The Obscure
Sir Janszoon The Wise
Sir Myths Of Metal

Knights
Sir Briks of The North Borderlands (recently changed name to Sir Isbjorn, but was awarded the knighthood under his original name, so is entitled to go by either)


Junior Knights
Sir Wpnfire Deathroar
Sir Mondo of Bungle
Sir Plankton Fretmaster Supreme


Obviously, though some positions are all filled up, future promotion for the holders of these offices can leave vacancies, which may then be filled, either from the lower ranks if merited, or often by a completely new applicant who has earned the title.

I have not had time to check back through the last two Metal Months and award positions, so if you think you are eligible for a place at the Hall of Heavy Metal Heroes, then please contact me with your petition. Granting of these titles is entirely within my gift and is non-negotiable, though it is unlikely any deserving cases will be refused. Nevertheless, in making an application you accept that my decision, whatever it may be, is final.

[Trollheart]

Day One:

We open on one of the "Freshly Forged in '15" albums, ie a new one released this year, and it's Secret Garden by Angra. We follow this up with the first steps in our journey across four war-torn lands in "The International Language of Metal" as we investigate what Bosnia has to offer, starting off with Igra by a band called Apocalypse. Next we look into one of the albums that started me off in Heavy Metal, in "The Metal that made Me", with Sabbath's Heaven and Hell. Earlier today we had our first shot of "Metal goes to the Movies", featuring Dokken, Alice Cooper and Fastway, and we began a detailed look into the phenomenon of Pirate Metal with a trawl (sorry) through the discography of the fathers of the not-subgenre, Running Wild. More to come.

[Plankton]

I'm honored to have that title. I feel young again.

[The Batlord]

Originally Posted by Plankton

I'm honored to have that title. I feel young again.

To paraphrase Boston: it's not more than a feeling.

[Trollheart]

Any current holders of Knighthoods are of course free to change their names: I just gave you the best ones I could think of. But the title is yours, so do with it as you will. Within the law, of course...

[Wpnfire]

I am (finally) considering debuting my long-postponed, dark-themed journal for metal month, but I'm not quite sure I have enough material to work with yet. Stay tuned.

[Trollheart]

Day Two:

Back with another new album from this year, this time our "Freshly Forged" pick is Crusade: Zero from Hate. Follow that up with our second band from Bosnia, called Misery Crown, then we open this year's focus on our Featured Artiste, Judas Priest, with a look at their debut album, Rock a Rolla. After that we're into Atmospheric Black Metal in "What's all that about?", looking at Ulver, Darmerfarben and Folkvang.

Our first of four visits to The Meat Grinder brings us (eventually) to Exhumed, where we check out Anatomy is Destiny.