The first six months of this project have been a bit of a whirlwind. Some things I’m intending to put here, such as ddited 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:

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:

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. If you’d like me to write, or collaborate on, something about metal, the chances are I’d love to be involved, so 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.