HM magazine, which was originally known as Heaven's Metal, was started in 1985 by Texan Doug Van Pelt.
Catalyzed by the emergence of Stryper and other Christian heavy metal acts, Heaven's Metal quickly went from a loosely-stapled
set of Kinko's paper sheets to gloss zine in a just a few years.
During the late Eighties, it became the definitive national source for Biblically-oriented headbangers, and Van Pelt's
crew covered the small and independent bands, as well as the big guys, including mainstream groups. Each issue was packed
with valuable information, interviews, and reviews.
Around 1990, Van Pelt even helped initiate Lust Control, a heavy, secret-identity band that wore ski masks during their
gigs. During the early 90s, the magazine's name was appropriately shortened to represent the evolving genre of Hard
Music, as the hair band epoch waned...and grunge took center stage.
Since then, HM has become the best print periodical for Christian rock music, let alone the
harder stuff...as other zines have gone six-foot deep from the cyber-space revolution.
