If you’re around the Black Country, you may have seen Home of Metal splashed all over your buses, metro stations and more, all promoting our Heavy Metal dedicated day on Saturday 26th March.

We’re starting off at The Public, West Brom where we’re inviting Heavy Metal fans to bring along their memorabilia to add to our digital archive, anything from t-shirts, ticket stubs, fanzines and records are all invaluable to the project!

Johnny Doom will be hosting the event, interviewing cult metal hero Krusher (former ‘Raw Power’ presenter and Kerrang! art director) who will be talking about some of the Black Sabbath and Monsters of Rock artwork he has created.

Steve Gerrard will be giving a masterlass in music photography, showing you how to get the perfect live shot. Please note that this class is now full.

Steve has been an accredited photographer for bands such as Radiohead, Metallica, Kiss, Muse, Nine Inch Nails, Iron Maiden, The Sex Pistols, Bon Jovi and Melvins. As part of the Home of Metal open day he will be giving one lucky unsigned band a free photoshoot!

We’ll also be screening the first and only Led Zeppelin feature film  ‘Song Remains the Same’ – along with (sometimes bizarre) dream sequences the film sees the band storm through ‘Stairway to Heaven’, ‘Black Dog’, ‘Heartbreaker’ and the rest, to thunderous effect.

Birmingham based artists Juneau Projects will be in attendance on the day to help you create your very own  electronic cardboard instrument. Use cardboard to build your own Telecaster or Flying V, drumkit, keyboard or invent your own instrument. Then add some simple electronics to trigger sound samples, take to the stage, dress up and play!

It’ll be a great day, and it’s all FREE – Home of Metal Open Day, The Public, 11am-4pm

And that’s not all as in the evening we’re hooking up with Flatpack Festival and The Quietus to bring you a very exciting screening of ‘In Bed with Chris Needham’ at IKON Eastside

“The plot: Chris Needham, a 17 year-old Thrash Metal fan from Loughbrough who has been absolutely lacerated by the puberty stick, is about to play his first gig with his band, Manslaughter. The problem is, they’re complete rammel. Between their first painful attempts to stand musically upright and their debut gig, Chris takes the time to defend Metal and Youth, unleashes torrents of adolescent venom upon the Green movement, ‘old bastards’, vegetarians, ‘Chart Music’, organised religion, teachers, and Neighbours, conducts a relationship with his girlfriend in excruciating silence, gets hassled by Mr Taggart and His Amazing Shirt, and goes fishing.”
- Al Needham, Leftlion

‘In Bed with Chris Needham’, IKON Eastside, 8.30pm, tickets from HERE

For up to date news and to contribute to the archive go to http://www.homeofmetal.com/

Home Of Metal are delighted to be launching our digital archive out at SXSW in Austin Texas. To help us get this off with a bang the legendary frontman of Motorhead Lemmy will be doing a Q & A with Johnny Doom from Kerrang! Radio in front of loads of music industry folk. Fused Magazine will be doing a podcast of the event and so will Kerrang! Radio so you’ll get the chance to hear all about it.

Lemmy will be a very busy man during his time at SXSW as he is there to help launch a film all about him entitled ‘Lemmy“.

We’re pretty excited that phase two of our Home Of Metal archive is now up and running, a huge thanks to the Tak! Team for doing such an amazing job. Feel free to have a look and get involved. www.homeofmetal.com

For those of you not familiar with the project here is some info:
Home of Metal is a celebration of the music that was created in the West Midlands, its legacy and influence across the world. Bringing people together to share their passion for the music by creating a digital archive, heritage tours, exhibitions and ultimately a permanent collection dedicated to telling the story of Metal and its unique birthplace.

The Home of Metal digital archive is an opportunity for fans from all corners of the globe to share their passion for Heavy Metal music and contribute stories and memorabilia by uploading images, sound files & film footage to www.homeofmetal.com

In the summer of 2011 Capsule will be producing and curating a series of ambitious exhibitions and associated programme under the banner of Home of Metal taking place throughout The Black Country and Birmingham UK. To include exhibitions at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Wolverhampton Art Gallery & The New Art Gallery Walsall throughout June – September 2011, plus a conference, concerts and film programme to take place in The Black Country early September 2011.

Introduce Light Trap to us, what’s the story and what’s it like?

“Light Trap is a new collaboration between myself, Nik Bullen and Dougie who drums for a great local atmospheric post rock band called Una Corda. We originally jammed together for a Fluxus art show which was collated by Mr Bullen, where we performed two improvisational pieces especially for that evening. After the show we hooked up and discussed pushing the project further, which we are currently in the process of doing now.”

Have you rehearsed together?

“Yeah, quite a bit actually and I’ve really enjoyed it so far. We have so many ideas and similar influences that we probably have too many ideas at the moment, but it’s the freedom of the guitars that I am enjoying the most. As a three-piece you can really work off each other and there’s a really loose, noisey aspect to it, so I get to go mental.”

Obviously you and Nik probably go back a long way, do you remember first meeting him?

“Of course. He was at the Mermaid all the time when we started Doom in about ‘85 and we all hung out, got trashed and listened to music together. I lost touch with him for a while, but then we got back together and made some more music just before he started Scorn. We’ve had our ups and downs over the years, but always kept on a good level.”

A collaboration between Nik Bullen and Johnny Doom is going to bring some crusties out in palpitations, do you reckon any long-term followers of your careers will be into it?

“Yes and no. The stuff we’re working on is quite proggy and noisy and al ot of it is just music with no lyrics. People expecting Napalm Death or Doom will probably find it a bit too arty!” he laughs. “However there is enough sonically that could interest lovers of punk, grind, noise and psychedelics alike. I just hope that people will feel the same freedom from it that I am. Music for me has become so ordered of late, so predictable. Its nice to be creating beautiful chaos again.”

Anyone you’re looking forward to catching at Supersonic?

“Lots…Goblin, Head Of David, Thorr’s Hammer….too many to mention. A lot of the music I’m not even familiar with, but one of the most intriguing things about visiting Supersonic is just ambling around and experiencing new sounds and concepts. It’s a wonderful festival.”

You’ve been quite active in the whole Home Of Metal thing, what kind of impact do you think Supersonic has had on the area’s music scene?

“Supersonic festival and Home Of Metal project are really just an extension of the fantastic work of Jenny and Lisa from Capsule who have been putting on events and gigs in Birmingham for many years now. Their overall mission statement, to bring fresh underground experimental music to Birmingham has been very effective and brought with it so many exciting new aural experiences to starved locals that we are endebted to them for all their hard work. Long may they reign!”
For Tickets to Supersonic Festival buy here

11am – Doors open
Kerrang! Radio DJ in conversation with:
11.30 am -  Pete Turvey
http://www.rockinamoeba.co.uk/
Grew up in the mid/late seventies Birmingham metal scene. Lots of memories and memorabilia.

12.30 – Mike Clement
Mike Clement – “fell” into the rock and roll industry in the mid seventies whilst still at college in Manchester. Mike became a lighting designer working with a diverse range of artists in the late 70’s including Roy Harper, UK Subs, Wah Heat.
After a drunken encounter with an old friend, Ian Wilson from Sad Café, at local watering hole Mulberries, he was persuaded to take a new career direction looking after backline, taking up the challenge he spent the next 4 years working with Motorhead, looking after Lemmy and Wurzel for his sins! Early 1990 he got a call to be guitar tech for Sabbath and has been there ever since…”

1.00pm Chris Phipps – Music Archivist
Chris Phipps is a Birmingham born documentary maker, archivist and music historian. His credits include  ‘Motor City Music Years’, profiling the rock history of the West Midlands, the definitive ‘Bob Marley – Time Will Tell’ biopic, an award winning history of North England rock ‘North Stars’ and countless Top 100 TV formats.  As journalist, radio and TV producer he has tracked the evolution of blues-rock, metal and the NWOBHM for over 3 decades.

As an archivist he has worked closely with director Dick Carruthers on ‘Metal–Louder Than Life’ DVD and sell out  ‘Zeppelin at 40’ shows all over the UK.
He was also the assistant producer of Channel 4’s controversial music show The Tube. Enabling TV debuts to bands ranging from Fine Young Cannibals to Twisted Sister.

Followed by a screening of Motor City Music Years
4pm Museum closes
6pm – till late Drinks at Scruffy Murphys

Our next Home Of Metal open day (think antiques roadshow for fans of Metal) takes place in Waterhall at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery on Saturday 7th of Feb, from 11am to 4pm.

Bring along your memorabilia, photos, old tickets, T-shirts, patches fanzines etc as well as your personal stories to be recorded and added to the Home Of Metal archive.
The event will be hosted by none other than Brummie of the year, Kerrang! Radio presenter Johnny Doom, with a host of guests, as well as a selection of memorabilia which will be on display.

The event is free – all welcome.

Hooooray!

Huge thanks to everyone who voted!

Loads of you got behind me this year (oooooer!)…and i am truly greatful for your support.

As alot of you will know, I have been around Brum for ages playing
noisy music, getting trashed and generally trying to enjoy myself in
this grey sprawling metropolis…..

I started off playing at the Mermaid pub in Sparkhill in the late
eighties with my punk band Doom…then moved to Moseley in the early
nineties allowing me to meet hundreds of strange and interesting new
folk which made way for much partying, debauchery and mayhem!!! Many
fun times have been had at Eddies, Excels, the Coach and Horses, the
Jug of Ale, the Cocks, the Hare and Hounds, Scruffies…even the Moseley
Dance Centre!!! eeek!

Getting a job at Kerrang has also been a dream come true, allowing
me to focus on my main passions (music and talking bollox!) and this
year has been especially fantastic being involved in the Home Of Metal
project, working at Supersonic, meeting Tony Iommi from Sabbath, making
a new album with my band Haxan, supporting loads of underground music
(not just metal!) and generally trying to promote my love for a city
that deserves much more recognition for its humour, intelligence,
creative community and it’s overall output.

Thanks and viking hails to my inner circle…. Frances, Clive, Nick,
Dee, Rachel, Stu, Jo, Rick, Sam, Mum, Dad, Julie and Sue, Allie, the
entire Kerrang team, Carmen and the stay sick rockers, Capsule ladies,
Stagecraft crew, the Moseley and Kings Heath massive, my listeners, the
brummie punks, the brummie metallers and anyone else who knows me or
voted for me…..

Hail Satan!

xx

johnny doom

Followed on Thursday by our next HOME OF METAL event at The New Art Gallery Walsall 6pm – 9pm FREE EVENT

With special live performance by Einstellung ‘… A Touch Of Sabbath’
Einstellung are proud to have the opportunity to pay homage to Sabbath and thank them for allowing four like minds to meet. For this special evening Einstellung will be performing a Sabbath inspired piece. If you listen carefully within the simplistic motorik beats and slabs of Sabbath inspired riffage you may well be raising those metal fists in the air to some monstrously well know Sabbath gems.

The evening will be hosted by Kerrang! Radio DJ Johnny Doom with special guest Nicholas Bullen (one of the founding members of Napalm Death – responsible for inventing Grindcore)

We have been lucky enough to be given a handful of ‘Halford Live at Rock In Rio III’ Promos to give away, so don’t forget to hunt out your old ticket stubs, programmes, photos and stories relating to the innovators of the genre – Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, Napalm Death and Godflesh!

The website has now been launched and over the next week or so we will be adding the digitised artefacts to the archive – check out www.homeofmetal.com

Here are a few photos taken by Naz, from the day to give you a feel for what happened;

Johnny Doom interviewing Jim Simpson

A selection of press clippings and photos on display

Adults and kids making badges & colouring in Black Sabbath picture by Aye Jaye

Godflesh  & Napalm Death related cabinet courtesy of Earache Records – included hand written lyrics, original art work mock ups (old school hand made cut n paste)

Judas Priest & Black Sabbath cabinet of treasures

Led Zeppelin cabinet with rare Russian release of Stairway To Heaven (Courtesy of Lisa Bardsley) and only known official 7″ release of Stairway To Heaven (Courtesy of Nigel Dodds)
Home Of Metal family tree created by Francesca Bunny Williams

Fascinating stuff!

A rare outing for this Robert Plant painting by John Judkins ‘Pop Star ‘73′- part of Wolverhamptons permanent collection.

Stuart Williams from Walsall local history archive

Teenage kicks!

Earlier in the week myself and two of our team Dunc and Bill went on Kerrang! Radio and did an interview with Johnny Doom, talked all about why Capsule had initiated the project and why Bill & Dunc wanted to get involved -  you can listen to here.

L-R : Johnny Dooms plastic bag(!!!!), Johnny Doom, Bill and Dunc.

Saturday 25th October : Wolverhampton Art Gallery 10am – 4.30pm
http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk
Lichfield Street
Wolverhampton, WV1
01902 552 055

We launch the first series of open days at Wolverhampton Art Gallery as part of Hello Digital Festival. Home of Metal is a brand new project aimed at creating the first digital archive of metal music, memorabilia and fans stories, to tell the story of this unique moment of Midlands’ musical heritage. Launching at Wolverhampton Art Gallery on Saturday 25 October, 10am – 4.30pm, the project coincides with the 40th anniversary of when the term ‘heavy metal’ was coined by music journalist Lester Bangs when describing Black Sabbath.

The launch event at the city centre Art Gallery encourages fans of Judas Priest, Napalm Death, Godflesh, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin to come along and share their experiences of their favourite band. Fans are encouraged to bring memorabilia along with their personal stories to the gallery to be recorded – all of which will go towards the new digital archive, which aims to tell the true story of the birth place of metal. – Think antiques roadshow for Metal fans!

Each open day will be hosted by Kerrang! Radio DJ – the legendary Johnny Doom, a stalwart of the Midlands Metal scene, accompanied by special guests from industry or genre. A selection of memorabilia will be on display as well as screenings of film documentation and interviews from the bands. Refreshments will also be provided. Dig out your old ticket stubs, T-shirts, fanzines and bring them along, its a FREE EVENT so everyone welcome, curious folks too!

Next open days: Thursday 6th November at New Art Gallery Walsall 6pm – 9pm (with special performance by Einstellung) and then Saturday 7th Feb at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.