25th Anniversary Issue Links the Work of Dedicated Musicians Through a List of HM’s ‘Top 100 Christian Rock Albums of All Time’
A quarter-century ago, Doug Van Pelt transformed newsstands by providing news and insights to heavy metal fans through a new magazine, aptly titled Heaven’s Metal. Van Pelt, founder and editor, was a junior attending the University of Texas when he created the magazine in 1985. During this time, Christian hard rock bands such as Stryper, DeGarmo and Key and Kings X were influencing the Christian and the general music industry, which quickly pushed Van Pelt to dedicate his efforts on the magazine full time.
After Heaven’s Metal‘s 10th anniversary, Van Pelt decided to focus on the current trends in music thus calling the magazine HM. The name change acted as a banner for the broader spectrum of music they began to cover. HM‘s prior focus on heavy metal shifted to a wide array of genres from hardcore to indie rock to punk. While HM included a large span of genres, hard rock bands such as P.O.D., MxPx, Impending Doom and Flyleaf continued to grace the cover. As culture shifted, so did HM and with that, is has become the gateway for musicians to express themselves.
Van Pelt’s most popular feature in HM, “What So & So Says,” is a segment in which bands such as The Used, Thrice and Korn have shared their views on Christianity and related topics. HM also provides readers with spotlights on upcoming artists, album reviews, trending topics and in-depth music news.
For its 25th anniversary, HM created a list to showcase the “Top 100 Christian Rock Albums of All Time,” with U2’s seminal album The Joshua Tree holding the number 1 position.
The much-awaited list is comprised of albums from the likes of bands such as Dashboard Confessional, Underoath, Skillet, P.O.D., Stryper and MUTEMATH. Van Pelt introduced the list as a category of recognition. HM rocked out its latest issue with additional stories on Impending Doom and Haste the Day’s latest albums. Throughout Van Pelt’s career, he not only has worked with HM but has made a name for himself through many avenues in the industry. Van Pelt has been profiled in Alternative Press magazine, written a top 10 Christian metal albums list for Revolver and penned long-standing columns for Guitar World and CCM Magazine.
“It has been a dream come true to see HM grow throughout the years,” said Van Pelt. “It’s been such a blessing and privilege to have spent the last 25 years working to promote bands and people whom I respect. To do something you love for this long is an honor, and we are looking forward to seeing what the next 25 years holds for HM and music as a whole.”
HM is sold in all 50 states and is distributed in Barnes & Noble, Hastings and Family Christian Stores. HM subscribers live all over the world and represent about 20 countries, including Iceland, Papua New Guinea, the Czech Republic and Cypress. HM recently was awarded a Telly Award for its HM/Gwar Internet commercial campaign (developed and filmed by the makers of the Owl City “Fireflies” video — Endeavor Media).
