The first few months of this project have been a bit of a whirlwind. Some things I’m intending to put here, such as edited interviews with bands, will follow soon. But media so far has been more extensive than I could have hoped. It has involved appearances on Sky News and ITV, being interviewed by Jamelia for a show on music in the Midlands, and involvement in BBC Radio coverage of major metal events such as Black Sabbath’s final gig. There’s one example here…

There’ve also been appearances on fantastic local radio shows like The Midweek Mosh and opportunities to bring the worlds of university research and metal together. This, for instance, is me (in my battle jacket) alongside Tony Iommi on campus at the University of Birmingham before an evening discussing Black Sabbath’s role in Birmingham’s past and future:

There’s also been an exhibition of photos from Why Metal Matters in the University of Birmingham Library:

I’ve loved being involved in events collaborating with the champions of the Birmingham scene, trying to work together to imagine brighter futures for the city’s darkest music. These photos are from one of a series of events at The Night Owl run by Andy Miller (DJ Millabong, who hosts The Rock of Ages radio show) to build and sustain the community the scene requires:

And Why Metal Matters words & images can also be found in occasional pieces on the BBC website:

The first publications have begun to appear, including a piece in Riffs journal (the whole edition - an Ozzy Osbourne special - is available for free here.

And the project’s efforts to get metal into the agendas of those who can help secure the scene’s future has resulted in contributions to events run by groups including the World Health Organisation.

Beyond metal, I’ve appeared on BBC TV, Smithsonian TV and written for media including The Big Issue, The Guardian, The Scotsman, as well as publishers including Harper Collins, Oneworld, the University of Chicago Press and Oxford and Cambridge University Presses.

I’m always looking for opportunities to write about and photograph metal. If you’d like me to write something, or to collaborate on a project please do get in touch. I love speaking about these projects too, so if you’d like to book a talk about metal and activism, histories of metal, or the challenges and opportunities facing metal scenes today, do reach out.