Heaven’s Metal Magazine is officially back in print, celebrating its 40th anniversary with a commemorative special edition—the first since its 150th issue hit stands in early 2012.
The spark for this return came when Editor Doug Van Pelt started discussing print ideas with Anthony Gober of Anchor Merchandising, who needed a program for this summer’s Immortal Festival (July 25-27 & August 29-31). The conversation quickly snowballed. “Why don’t we make the festival program a legitimate 40th anniversary issue of Heaven’s Metal Magazine?” Van Pelt suggested. Suddenly, the small idea became a major project.
The response from the Heaven’s Metal team was immediate. All 14 editors jumped in, tackling 18 feature articles, while 18 advertisers signed up within days. “My concern about paying for printing and shipping disappeared in just two days,” Van Pelt said. “I forgot how much fun it is to lay out a magazine.”
For Seth Metoyer, President of Broken Curfew Records, designing the cover was a dream come true. “Especially for the 40th anniversary issue. The team poured countless hours into this release, and I hope the passion, legacy, and sense of community we’ve built shines through for all the fans.” Metoyer’s work is on full display with the special Saint cover.
This issue features a flipbook design: one half spotlights bands from the festival’s first weekend, and when you flip it over, you get coverage of all the second weekend’s acts.
Senior staff writer and Heaven’s Metal Streaming Radio curator Chris Gatto summed up the feeling: “It’s about time Heaven’s Metal Magazine was back in print. Make paper magazines a thing again!” Fellow senior staff writer Loyd Harp added, “I started reading the magazine as a teenager in the late ‘80s. Getting to work on this issue has been really rewarding.”
The 40th anniversary edition will be available at select stores and sold at the Immortal Festival, where Anchor Merchandising manages most of the band booths. The official release date is July 25, with pre-orders available now at the HM Press online store.
As a bonus for fans, ApologetiX—“that Christian parody band”—has contributed a brand-new spoof of Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal.” Their version, naturally, is called “Heaven’s Metal,” and buyers of the issue will get a free MP3 download.
For an advance (PDF) copy for review, or to set up interviews with the Heaven’s Metal staff, email