HAPPY NATIONAL METAL DAY LEGIONS!!!!!

I know that you just shook your head to make sure you heard me correctly, but according to some broadcast mediums that I monitor here at the PiercingMetal Command Center, today November 11, 2011 is “National Metal Day”. This will be the first year that I have ever heard of this particular event but I am surely not against it at all. As a matter of fact, in my humble opinion every day should be National Metal Day when it comes down to it. The reason that I am saying this is based on Metal being more than just the music that you are listening to and instead being a part of your overall lifestyle and the way that you think about things. These aspects are just as important as the incredible musical genre which has really sprouted a lot of branches since we first heard its crushing notes when Black Sabbath came into our lives back in 1968. While I was far too young to enjoy them at this early time, I still can proudly say that I am a dedicated and practicing Metal head since the mid-seventies and that is not too shabby considering my actual age.

This VH1 sanctioned event will likely have the network showing all kinds of concerts as well as at the broadcast of continual episodes of Eddie Trunk’s “That Metal Show” and that will definitely keep the homebodies amused for the course of twenty four hours. Yet as someone who considers himself a man on the street when it comes to my journalistic pursuits for Metal, I have some recommendations of my own on how you should honor this special event.

Suggestions For A Productive (and Fun) National Metal Day:

1. Listen to some Metal – I know that this one seemed kind of obvious, but I am not making this task easy for you at all. Don’t just dig out the old Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest records and expect your friends to be impressed by your doing so because that is the stuff that EVERYONE is fully aware of at the end of the day. Instead, I say expand on this and dig deeply into your music library and pull out stuff that you might have accidentally forgotten about a long time ago. If for some reason all that you own is the legacy stuff, then I strongly encourage you to seek out something on the current side because while the Old School support is nice, it does not help the proliferation of the genre in today’s scene much at all. The new bands are the ones that really need our dedication the most. They are holding up the torch.

2. Read up on some historical Metal facts – I know full well that the Metal heads are readers and there are a shit ton of Heavy Metal band biographies out there and even a number of tomes that guide you safely through numerous genre styles that you might otherwise tread lightly upon. With so many interesting stories out there to be told, why not learn a few more of them.

3. Are You A Musician? Then Play Your Instrument Today: You might very well do this anyway if you are a six-string slinger or skin basher, but in the event that you don’t hone your craft every single day, let “National Metal Day” be the day that you pick up whatever tool is under your command or being learned and try to knock out some riffs. If you are in a band perhaps you can organize a practice for your group or even do a last minute gig. Bring it to the people in the best possible fashion.

4. Go To A Metal or Hard Rock Show: Depending on your location, there should be something brewing in the live sense even if it takes some looking into. PiercingMetal resides in NYC so we are very fortunate with all the venues and happenings that we can discover at the turn of the page. Remember that supporting the shows allow these bands to continue doing their

5. Remember the Metal Heroes whom we have lost: It would be respectful to raise a glass and toast a word of thanks to the champions of the craft who have moved on from the physical realm and left us with some amazing music that will forever find them remembered in our Metal hearts. While the list is too massive to list here a quick choice bunch includes “Dimebag” Darrel, Ronnie James Dio, Peter Steele, and so many more. Do this part one better and play some of their tunes at maximum volume. Let them hear you.

6. Be the best Metal head you can be. Don’t worry about the naysayers to the genre. We know the kind of work and heart that it takes to do this stuff right. Let them have their Pop or Rap drivel. It does not change the way we feel about our music.

7. Support the Social Networking side of the Metal scene: It’s without question that Facebook, Twitter and Blogging have become tools of the trade for the Metal realm nowadays. As a fan you can do your part by “Liking” the resources for Metal that interest you most in Facebook or “Following” their Twitter accounts and comment on their blogs. Today’s dynamic finds the bands, press outlets and review mediums all using these items to their advantage and hopefully also engaging you as the fan.

8.  Buy something related to Metal whether it be some new or old music, a Metal t-shirt from your favorite band or some kind of cool memorabilia.  There is a LOT of great music to grab from labels like Nuclear Blast Records, Spinefarm Records, Metal Blade Records and Road Runner and the wonderful thing is that these particular enterprises actually cater to the genre on the whole.

9. Try to embrace the whole Metal genre and not just a segment of it. You can have personal preference but nothing about Metal should be dismissed by you.

That should be enough to keep you busy and while I am not sure if we shall find the same event occurring in 2012 (unless they change it to 12/12/12), we can at least say that we did a bang up job for this one. Keep the horns raised high for the Metal Republic. I will see you at the shows.