"Metal Maniacs," "Metal Edge" magazines are the two latest industry casualties

Metal is so often ignored by everyone in the press that any publication willing to acknowledge that heavy music doesn't start with OZZY and end with METALLICA is a welcome addition. But with the economy diving further down the collective toilet and the internet making everything more accessible, it's no easy task to maintain a music magazine. Metal Edge and Metal Maniacs are the latest to bite the dust, as recently reported here on Blabbermouth. Both publications have been dishing out metal news, reviews, gossip and interviews since the '80s, at a time when people discovered new bands on a printed page and Rolling Stone was still terrified of putting JAMES HETFIELD on its cover. Despite some questionable creative choices over the past few years, which a former scribe offers some insight into here, Metal Edge and Metal Maniacs have both been welcome contributors to the metal world for as far back as I can remember. Their loss, plus the thought of all staffers who will be preparing their unemployment claims, hits us all. Thanks for everything, dudes, and good luck.