 HM Magazine, Issue #117 featuringP.O.D., January/February 2006 | |
| Editor | David Stagg |
|---|---|
| Categories | Christian metal |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Publisher | David Stagg |
| Founder | Doug Van Pelt |
| First issue | Summer 1985 |
| Final issue | 2011 (print) |
| Company | HM Publications LLC |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Houston, Texas |
| Language | American English |
| Website | hmmagazine |
| ISSN | 1066-6923 |
HM Magazine is a monthly, digital andprint on demand publication focusing on hard music andalternative culture of interest to Christians. It is based inHouston, Texas.[1] Originally published asHeaven's Metal, it was renamed toHM in 1995, and in late 2004Heaven's Metal was reissued as a separate publication fromHM, with some shared editorial overlap.
In 1985, a journalist Doug Van Pelt startedHeaven's Metal as a fanzine. It changed its name in 1995 toHM, standing for Hard Music, but the Heaven's Metal branding was brought back in 2004 and was released alongsideHM.[2][3]Heaven's Metal achieved more popularity and became an official publication, with five full-time journalists working for the magazine. In 2000,HM achieved a regular subscription base of 15,000 readers.[4]
During the 1990s,HM sealed a distribution deal with a major magazine wholesaler that immediately increased its print-run from 13,000 to 22,000 copies, and it allowed Van Pelt and his co-workers to double ad rates, makingHM a stable business enterprise.[4] The most popular issue of the publication was No. 77 (May/June 1999), whereDoug Pinnick ofKing's X came out as homosexual.[4] A subsequent wave of Christian music retailers refusing to sell the music of King's X is attributed to the publicizing of Pinnick's sexuality in thatHM issue.[4]
In 2010,Heaven's Metal ceased print and its content was merged into the digital issues ofHM.[5] In February 2013, Van Pelt soldHM to current editor David Stagg.[6] Van Pelt remains the owner and publisher ofHeaven's Metal, which is officially a separate publication even though it shares some editorial coverage withHM.[7][8]