“I remember now, I remember how it started”
Seriously, I really do remember how all of this began and I hope that no one minds my borrowing the famous opening line from Queensryche’s magnum opus “Operation: Mindcrime” because it was either use something profound as my lead off statement or be corny with something like “five score and seven beers ago”. Truly one can never go wrong with following in the footsteps of Metal greatness so thanks to Mr. Tate and the boys for giving me something to work with in this commentary as I reflect upon running this website for five years now.
So here we are in 2010 on 4/4, the exact date that five years ago found me announcing PiercingMetal.com to the general public and I have to admit that it seems like only yesterday that the idea was actually put into production. There are many who’ve already heard the story about its humble beginnings and I’ve lined all of this out in one of our very first blog posts which can be used to refresh some memories or those who are new to the mix. Just click “The Origins of What I Do” as that sums up a lot of the things that took place and led me to where we are today. Of course I didn’t fill the world in on every single minute detail because at the time of that blog’s posting, I was hardly viewing them as relevant to the dialogue and much of the back and fourth’s which had been omitted were standard bar conversation & brainstorming that was done with those who I would often seek counsel from. I’ve always been someone who liked to get a different set of eyes looking at an idea before it was run with. To recap very briefly, when the idea had first dawned upon me I was a new writer to the mix of existing sites online and I had begun my own adventures almost by accident after seeing a concert held by Nightwish at the long shuttered L’Amour in Brooklyn. The show led to my becoming a US Correspondent for a popular Spanish Metal web-magazine and one of the key discussions was that a US Format would be a possibility and I would be one of the key players in guiding the ship to better focus in this part of the world. When that failed to come to fruition based on logistics and time, I found another quality US based site called Maximum Metal who were very interested in my work and a decent contributing relationship began once again. I really enjoyed my views being presented on an English site as opposed to being the only person speaking it on a presence that was 95% Spanish language site like The Metal Circus. Fast forwarding a little bit found me meeting the esteemed publisher of Sea Of Tranquility who quickly snared me to be one of their Metal maniacs but it was also around this point that my quest to be a louder “voice” for my for my views began to manifest all the more strongly. As you might expect the ideas for my own launch were met with mixed opinion and while some friends encouraged my running with the ball there were others that felt that there were already too many websites in existence to compete with for my words to even make a difference in the long run. I would move on from the Maximum folks but remain with the SoT team to reach a different reader base from what I knew my own plan would be targeting. Designs were designed and ideas were turned into something more tangible and on 4/4/2005 we started telling everyone about it. The site went live with every piece of writing that I had ever done and in many cases expanded upon the original ideas and found us delivering them in a slightly different fashion.
Without going too much into it I like to think that the catchy brand name of “PiercingMetal” along with an intense zeal for this kind of music helped me bypass the naysayers and provide a whole lot of cool stuff to those that found our narratives of interest to them. We’ve also tried to keep this interesting by offering a number of different things on a very regular basis and it appears that for the most part it that it has worked. The humble web calendar that originally featured a handful of spaces and shows now is something loved by the New York region Metal faithful and features a few dozen venues, and as many releases as we are asked to list along with special appearances. There might be many imitations to this by now but we are happy to be one of the originals in keeping your own concert itinerary mapped out. Our concert coverages have been quoted on fine sites like Bravewords.com and MelodicRock.com and we know that as a result there are even more fans seeing what happens at our regions shows. The Gallery is enormous and should pass 1000 unique photo gallery presentations by the time that the summer hits us. Our premise of giving all performing bands some attention have helped this region grow substantially. The main aspect of the site in terms of product reviews is closing in on 2000 searchable articles at the time of this writing and while we had wanted to surpass this by the anniversary, we were very honestly doing too many other things to keep your Metal impulses served to hit it. There is no need to worry of course because we are doing conventional reviews all the time – just keep checking the main page to see what has new dates next to it for easiest reference. The other thing we are doing a lot of is blogging, and we are rather into this as it lets us enjoy a different side of the fence as a media professional and also lets you offer up your own commentary to the mix where possible. It’s become a very important part of the main site initiative and we welcome your participation in it. I will work my way to the closing of this little announcement, and save any additional meat and potatoes of it for the annual editorial – This was just put together quickly to get some important thanks out to the public and take a deep breath as I look back upon the PiercingMetal past and map out its future as a web-presence.
The goal is and has always been to entertain your Metal minds, and hopefully encourage you to look into a majority of what we are talking about and perhaps even find you compelled to attend shows and supporting these hard working artists. We’ve seen a number of sites and blogs come and go, and the same applies to the popularity of some of the mediums that serve us the Metal goods. Despite the consistently changing geography of the online world we must say that we shall happily continue the process going forward and plan on being around as long as possible. We’ve met some amazingly talented people over the past five years and learned a lot of lessons from this kind of work. It’s not always been a cakewalk, but it has always been an education in human behavior. We feel that we have knocked down some doors in terms of the amount of content that you will find on the site and since it never gets recycled you can count on it being a historical archive for you to check again and again. Having it all at hand is one of the many goals that we have set for this stuff and the rest, well, you don’t need to worry too much about that stuff since its all administrative things for the most part.
Super Powered Thanks and Invisible Gold Stars To: Anyone outside of my cabal of resources who has found some pleasure in reading our words or looking at our photographs. We are here to entertain you and we appreciate you helping to spread the word. Our Media Illuminati believers who make my hard work all the more rewarding and the awesome artists that we sometimes meet. I will always do my best to make you proud of your association with our brand name. The Metal genre of music that keeps it oh so fascinating to report upon and document. Thank you for making me proud of my belief in this music enough to be it’s scribe to the masses.
So What’s Next?: I guess I shall just say that “a lot” is next. More of whatever I can wrap my thoughts around is what is forthcoming and you will just have to trust me on my keeping it as interesting as possible. Given my long time appreciation for the Metal genre you will have to let me run with that as the revelation. For now at least.
Congrats Brother of Metal !!! Good seeing you at Immortal !! I hope I never step foot in that dump again !! LOL
Congrats!!!!!
Congrats my friend for reaching this milestone 🙂 Many more years of metal to come!
Congratulations. Can’t believe it has been 5 years.
One of,if not the BEST Metal sites out there… period.
Keep on doing what you do. Always great to see you at the shows!
Ah, you had me at “I remember now” 😉 Much congrats and may your Metal remain ever “Piercing” for the next 50 years ……..
Awesome; keep it up Captain! Beers on me next time…
As always , thanks a million for all your great support both for our World Entertainment Inc bands as well as all our artists through Knifefightmedia. g
PS great seeing you last night covering Powerglove / Sonata Arctica…
Happy 5th year anniversary, Piercing Metal! Let more good times roll. I always go through PM when I make an amazon purchase, I hope many others will do the same.
Happy anniversary, Piercing Metal!! Great reviews, news, pictures and so much more! Keep it going Ken!!
Yay!!! Congrats, Ken, of hitting the Five-Year-Mark! I know how much time, energy and effort that you invest into this “little” venture and while it has not always brought you personally the biggest ROI, I know it brings a smile to the faces of your loyal readers/followers. Much love.
Happy 5th anniversary PiercingMetal!!! HAILS!
one of my favorite Metal sites to visit for the best info photos and reviews!!! And I ALWAYS come here to know what is going to be my next show…so its THANKS to YOU Ken that I go to many great Concerts.
Congratulations!
PiercingMetal (which is a great name and play on words) has allowed me to further my Metal education…where else can you read about Viking Metal and the Brooklyn adventures it inspires? I love your “musings” and your reviews and I hope they keep coming.
HAPPY 5TH ANNIVERSARY Ken and Piercing Metal. I love reading the reviews of shows I’ve been to and especially the reviews of those I missed. Ken is a great fan of metal and he is keeping metal alive with his reviews of shows he’s been to. I wish there were more sites and fans like Ken and Piercing Metal. Cheers to five years and hopefully many more to come.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! I can’t even begin to express my gratitude to you (Ken) & this site.. it has ultimately been beyond beneficial. Unfortunately, my responsibilities (as far as work is concerned) make it so difficult to get to most of these shows but thanks to each and every one of your reviews, sometimes I can swear it feels as though I was there. And let’s not forget to mention your mind blowing, up close and personal shots! It’s very rare in life that you find people who love what they do and truly get to experience it on a daily basis. My congrats to you on capturing both these talents and having the ability to transgress them into this magnificent blog.
Good luck to you and ALL of your future endeavors~
FIVE HORNS UP!
Happy 5th! Thanks for being awesome for half a decade.
Congrats on your longevity!
Happy 5th Anniversary!!
It’s always a blast see what’s Kenny been up to. From Absu to ZZ Top Piercing Metal covers the whole spectrum of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal with some nice surprises thrown in there every now and then; Viking Park and KISS Wal-Mart reports being good examples of my favorite articles. And how about that loooong & interesting story about Metallica in Madison Square Garden? Even if our man did not see more than 3 songs the report it self was very entertaining and interesting reading! Here’s at least for another 5 years: KIPPIS! Oh I almost forgot to mention the Concert Calendar+++.
PS: How about an article about N.Y Rock Bars.)
I’ll reiterate the CONGRATS! Your prolific outpouring of Metal news and doings has been an inspiration. I know how hard it is to keep up with a blog and you’re doing a great job. Ditto on the calendar. I no longer rely on Pollstar and sift thru a ton of crap to get to the Metal, I just come here 🙂 Thanks, Ken, see ya!
Sir Pierce – Five years goes by quickly, eh? (Assuming you’re not in prison I suppose) After years of working in music content syndication, I’ve always been involved in shooting, writing, reviewing and covering events.
I found the internet a great outlet for me to share my personal opinions.
Then I found PiercingMetal.com -A place where I’d get turned on to new music, catch up on what a good time I missed at the most recent gigs and catch the buzz on what’s coming up. Most important, it was clear that there was a sincere appreciation and love for the genre. Most sites are too busy appeasing advertisers, management and the like – and aren’t honest in their write ups.
Here, it’s clear you’re a music fan and that makes all the difference for us as music fans.
Congrats on the first 5 years – we look forward to the next 5!
Cheers,
Dano – EastCoastImages
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PIERCING METAL!!!
Ken, I have always admired your hardwork & dedication. You are one of the few people that I know who works 24/7 on the site and just in metal. Everything is always updated & the content is new..keep it coming!!!!!!!
I love the photos and reviews!!!
I hope that we can see some interviews here in the future.
I think that would be excellent especially since you have a great way with artists and also the best photos I have seen!!
Keep up the great work, Kenny!!
Everyone knows where to go for the best pics in metal & very updated stuff!!
Five years!!! The Maestro did it. Here’s to fifty more! (As long as you keep covering my stuff) 😉
5 years? Has it been so long? Great ride, Ken. May it continue for many more. Metal can never have enough banner-waiving fiends (yes, fiends) in it’s corner, and you certainly are one of us. Keep up the good work, and we’ll see you at the barricade soon.
The little noise that grew 😉 Nicely done old man. Keep the concert updates coming and ye shall be rewarded, but don’t forget the frickin’ pictures 😉
Congrats!
Carl
http://www.carlbegai.com
Congrats on five years! Many Heartfelt Thanks for all the work you have done over the years supporting a scene that I deeply love. It is because of people like Ken and his dedication to all things metal that keeps the Underground going! Hails and Keep it Metal!
5 Beers?? Oh wait, no that’s what we have at Duke’s before the shows. Truly awesome my man! Congrats on doing something that you LOVE for 5 years. Not many people can honestly say that. And I know for a fact that you honestly love the music, love the bands, love meeting the fans, and love writing about your experiences. Cheers to you for that! Meeting you and becoming friend with you has been such a cool experience for me. Being from a different generation hasn’t enabled me to see a lot of the great shows and meet the great people that you have. So to hang out before the show, drink a few beers and listen to your stories is such a fun thing for me to do.
Here’s to 5 more years, 5 more beers, and 500 more shows together my friend! Hails and cheers!