Historically, heavy rock and metal music seems to have had a somewhat uneasy relationship with what became understood as rock radio. Deena Weinstein (2000) notes that during the late 1970s in the USA when bands such as AC/DC and Kiss were enjoying substantial success in terms of concert ticket sales and album sales, heavier bands were largely exiled from major radio formats such as AOR and classic rock. Even during a period of vast commercial success in the 1980s, exposure for metal artists on radio was mixed, with big selling artists such as Metallica largely achieving success in spite of a lack of airplay (Weinstein, 2000; Walser, 1993).
Nevertheless, the contribution of radio shows, stations, and DJs in promoting metal music should not be underplayed. The relatively scarce research available has indicated that they can become crucial to the formation of scenes and communities (see for instance, Baulch, 2007; Varas-Díaz, Mendoza, Rivera-Segarra, & González, 2016). In addition, oral testimonies have emphasized the role that influential DJs like Tommy Vance (who fronted the long running The Friday Rock Show for the BBC in the UK), played in providing widespread exposure to influential movements like the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (Hann, 2022). However, in a contemporary digital climate with a multitude of FM, digital, online, independent and community stations, alongside a growing number of podcasts, a special issue of Metal Music Studies assessing the relationship between heavy metal and radio is timely.
The special issue, Heavy Metal on the Airwaves seeks to receive main section and short articles from scholars and practitioners interested in examining different aspects of this relationship. Potential topics might include but are not limited to:
- the historical significance of radio for the development of hard rock and metal;
- the nature of radio as a medium for disseminating metal music and culture;
- the significance of online radio stations as platforms for metal;
- challenging underrepresentation within radio industries;
- critical examinations of the representation (or non-representation) of metal within mainstream radio;
- the role of underground and pirate radio;
- metal’s place within contemporary rock radio industry;
- the relationship between metal music radio and podcasting.
For those interested in contributing material for the second section, please note that, in addition to short articles, we would welcome pieces such as interviews, reviews of relevant books, or of interesting radio stations, programmes etc.
In the first instance, in order to gauge interest in contributions for the special issue, please send proposals of no more than 250 words, together with a brief biography to Holly Royle (1500443@chester.ac.uk).
Deadline for article/second section content proposals: 30th November 2026
Deadline for final submissions: 31st August 2027 (this is a strict final deadline that would enable us to get the completed articles out to peer review, which can sometimes be time consuming)
If we receive an abundance of articles that successfully pass through peer review then it may be the case that certain articles may need to be published online, rather than in the physical version of the journal.
Manuscripts for first section research articles should be no more than 8000 words and prepared using the MMS notes for contributors: https://www.intellectbooks.com/asset/104583/1/MMS_NFC_Jun_26.pdf
Manuscripts for second section short articles, reviews or interviews should be no more than 3000 words
Final versions of content must be submitted via the MMS webpage: https://www.intellectbooks.com/metal-music-studies
For questions regarding submissions or enquiries regarding the journal please contact Dr Nedim Hassan. Email: n.a.hassan@ljmu.ac.uk.