Metal Injection

Last updated

Metal Injection
Metal Injection Logo.png
Type of site
 Online music magazine
Music, news and media
Available inEnglish, Italian, French, Russian, Spanish
Founded2003;21 years ago (2003)
Country of originUnited States
Owner The Orchard
Founder(s)
  • Frank Godla
  • Robert Pasbani
EditorGreg Kennelty
CEOFrank Godla
URL metalinjection.net
CommercialYes
RegistrationNo
LaunchedJanuary 1, 2004;20 years ago (2004-01-01)

Metal Injection is an American online music publication focusing on hard rock and heavy metal. It was founded in 2003 by Frank Godla and Robert Pasbani in Brooklyn, and officially launched on January 1, 2004. It was initially established as a public-access TV show, but quickly transitioned to online video interviews and content. Since 2022, the site has been owned by The Orchard, a subsidary of Sony Music. [1]

Contents

History

2003–2005: Formation and launch

Metal Injection was established in the summer of 2003 by Frank Godla and Robert Pasbani in Brooklyn, New York. [2] [3] Godla first became immersed in heavy metal culture through his father's record collection and decided he "[wanted] to be a part of it" after seeing Guns 'N' Roses perform on their Use Your Ilusion Tour in 1991. [4] Pasbani got into rock music through watching wrestling, and majored in TV & Radio production. [3] Both had known each other in high school but did not reconnect until many years later, when Pasbani accompnied a friend to a job interview at a telecommunications compnay Godla worked at. [2] Pasbani later approached Godla with the idea of establishing a public access TV show focusing on heavy metal, and the two formed a partnership. [2] [3] Pasbani came up with the name Metal Injection. [2] "I just tried to come up with a name that had the term 'metal' in it and sounded cool, and including 'Injection' evoked so much imagery that I thought it would be perfect." [2]

Metal Injection was officially launched on January 1, 2004. [2] Godla and Pasbani launched the site DIY-style, with no startup capital; the former initially promoted the site by handing out flyers outside of shows. [4] The TV show originally aired on Saturdays at 3:00 am, whilst its website was originally a news site. [3] The programme featured music videos, live footage from VHS tapes, and some skits between videos. [3] Godla said that he "borrowed my mom's Hi-8 camera, made some trade deals to get a few things along the way, and slowly bought everything else needed to be a self-sufficient TV studio on the cheapest budget ever." [4] A few weeks after its launch, Godla and Pasbani decided to move the Metal Injection show online and began uploading the full 30-minute episodes to the website after realising its "reach on the Internet was far greater than a local public access channel", according to Pasbani. [3] Metal Injection soon stopped publishing episodes and began focusing on uploading clips instead. [3] Running the site online proved to be expensive in its early stages due to the high cost of renting servers at the time. [4]

2006–2021: Continued growth and expansion

In August 2006, Metal Injection launched the first-ever 24-hour "broadband network for extreme music", Overdose. [5] In January 2007, over 30 hours of archival footage was uploaded to Metal Injection "Video Vault" for a limited time. [6] In April 2008, the site was relaunched featuring a new forum and gallery, alongside the ability for users to upload their own videos onto the site. [7] [8] The site's user community was affectionately known as "junkies". [3] In 2010, six years after its launch, Metal Injection finally became profitable operation, allowing Godla and Pasbani to quit their daytime jobs to focus solely on running the website. [3] [4] By 2012, the site had developed its own 24 hour radio network, Metalinjection.fm, [9] and expanded into audio podcasts (such as the weekly Metal Injection Livecast) and had an iPhone application. [2] [3]

In 2008, Metal Injection launched the New England Metal Fest TV series to provide coverage of the 2008 New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. In 2012, Metal Injection partnered with fellow heavy metal blog MetalSucks to hold a CMJ showcase featuring Pig Destroyer, KEN Mode, Early Graves, and Encrust. [10] From April 2012 until May 2015, Metal Injection produced the On the Record series, which focused on the impact of the internet on heavy metal music and culture. [11] [12] [13] In May 2016, the site launched the "Taste of Metal" series with chef Brian Tsao, in which featured artists prepared meals inspired by their music. [14] In 2017, Metal Injection partnered with MetalSucks to launch the advertising network Blast Beat Network. [15] [16]

Between 2020 and 2021, Frank Godla organized the monthly Slay at Home "virtual music and art festival" series amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. [17] [18] The first edition of the festival took place between May 29 and 30, 2020, and was livestreamed on the Metal Injection YouTube channel. [18] [19] A second edition of Slay at Home was held in December 2020, and its third and final took place in June 2021. [20]

2022–present: The Orchard acquisition

In early 2022, Metal Injection, MetalSucks and Blast Beat Network were acquired by The Orchard, a subsidary of Sony Music. [1] [21] As a result of the acquisition, Godla became the overseer of both Metal Injection and MetalSucks, and Pasbani and MetalSucks co-founders Vince Neilstein and Axl Rosenburg all moved on from their sites. [22]

In 2023, Metal Injection held the first-ever Metal Injection Festival, which took place between September 16–17, 2023, at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California. [23] A second edition of the festival will take place in September 2024, headlined by Jinjer and Converge. [24]

In June 2024, Metal Injection launched their own Pilsner brand, Neck Breaker, in collaboration with Thin Man Brewery. [25]

Recognition

In 2012, Metal Injection won the "Beyond the Blog" award at the MTV O Music Awards. [26] LA Weekly listed it as one of the ten best "Online Resources for Metal Knowledge" in 2013. [27]

Staff

As of 2024, the staff of Metal Injection consists of the following personnel: [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamb of God (band)</span> American heavy metal band

Lamb of God is an American heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1994 as Burn the Priest, the group consists of bassist John Campbell, vocalist Randy Blythe, guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler, and drummer Art Cruz. The band is considered a significant member of the new wave of American heavy metal movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hatebreed</span> American metalcore band

Hatebreed is an American metalcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album Satisfaction is the Death of Desire in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universal Records and released Perseverance in 2002, which hit the Billboard 200. Combining elements of hardcore and heavy metal, the band is often described as a metalcore, hardcore punk, and beatdown hardcore band. They have played a major role in the Connecticut hardcore scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volbeat</span> Danish rock band

Volbeat are a Danish rock band formed in Copenhagen in 2001. They play a fusion of rock and roll and heavy metal. Their current line-up consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Michael Poulsen, drummer Jon Larsen, and bassist Kaspar Boye Larsen. The band is signed to Dutch label Mascot Records and has released eight studio albums and one DVD. Their second album Rock the Rebel/Metal the Devil received platinum status, and their 2010 release Beyond Hell/Above Heaven was subject to widespread international critical acclaim, receiving triple platinum in Denmark and Austria, double platinum in Sweden, platinum in Canada, 5x Gold in Germany, and gold in both Finland and the United States. Volbeat's most recent studio album, Servant of the Mind, was released in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dig (Mudvayne song)</span> 2000 single by Mudvayne

"Dig" is a song by American heavy metal band Mudvayne, released in 2000 as the band's debut single. It appears on the band's debut studio album L.D. 50 (2000). A music video was released for the song on April 10, 2001, and it later won the first ever MTV2 Award. It is also one of the band's most well-known songs, being certified gold in the United States. A live version of the song taken from the Tattoo the Earth tour appears on the live album Tattoo the Earth: The First Crusade. The song also appeared on the compilation album WWF Tough Enough. The song has also spawned an Internet meme known as "Brbr Deng", which bassist Ryan Martinie has expressed some ambivalence about.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Job for a Cowboy</span> American death metal band

Job for a Cowboy is an American death metal band from Glendale, Arizona. Formed in 2003, the band's debut album Genesis was released in 2007, peaking at No. 54 on the US Billboard 200 and selling 13,000 copies in its first week of release. The second album, 2009's Ruination, sold 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week to debut at position No. 42 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band comprises vocalist Jonny Davy, guitarists Tony Sannicandro and Al Glassman and bassist Nick Schendzielos. Davy is the only remaining founding member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In This Moment</span> American rock band

In This Moment is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed by singer Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth in 2005. They found drummer Jeff Fabb and started the band as Dying Star. Unhappy with their musical direction, they changed their name to In This Moment and gained two band members, guitarist Blake Bunzel and bassist Josh Newell. In 2005, bassist Newell left the band and was replaced by Jesse Landry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Briggs (musician)</span> Musical artist

Daniel Hanford Briggs is a musician from Erie, Pennsylvania, best known for playing bass for the American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me.

MetalSucks is a heavy metal music-themed news website. The site features reviews, interviews, information on latest metal releases and blog-like posts from the writers, most notably Vince Neilstein and Axl Rosenberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navene Koperweis</span> American drummer

Navene Koperweis is an American drummer, best known as the former drummer of Animosity, Hoods and Animals as Leaders. He currently plays for Entheos, and serves as session drummer for Job for a Cowboy and also Machine Head.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Code Orange (band)</span> American metalcore band

Code Orange is an American metalcore band that formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2008, while the members of the band were still in high school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igorrr</span> French musician

Gautier Serre, better known by his stage name Igorrr, is a French musician. Under the Igorrr alias, he combines a variety of disparate genres, including black metal, baroque music, breakcore, and trip hop, into a singular sound. Serre is also part of the groups Whourkr and Corpo-Mente. The Igorrr project became a full band with the addition of vocalists Aphrodite Patoulidou and JB Le Bail, drummer Sylvain Bouvier, guitarist Martyn Clément and bassist Erlend Caspersen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batushka</span> Polish black metal band

Batushka is a Polish black metal band based in Białystok, founded by Krzysztof Drabikowski in 2015. Their music and lyrics, which are written exclusively in Church Slavonic language, are inspired by the Eastern Orthodox Church. The band members wear religious habits and Eastern Orthodox schemas during live performances to conceal their identities. In contrast with many other black metal bands, they use eight-string guitars.

Andy Gillion is a British-born multi-instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter. He is best known as the former songwriter and lead guitarist of the melodic death metal band, Mors Principium Est.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloodmoney</span> 2019 single by Poppy

"Bloodmoney" is a song by American singer-songwriter Poppy. It was released through Sumerian Records on November 6, 2019, alongside an official music video, and it served as the third single from her third studio album I Disagree (2020). It was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, making Poppy the first solo female artist to be nominated for the award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Scallon</span> American musician and YouTuber (born 1990)

Robert Andrew Scallon is an American YouTuber, musician, and multi-instrumentalist based in Chicago, Illinois. He is best known for several viral videos featuring his music, including heavy metal songs played with traditionally non-metal instruments.

Sarah Longfield is an American YouTuber, musician, and multi-instrumentalist based in Madison, Wisconsin. She is known for her two-handed tapping style of playing and the use of an eight-string guitar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spiritbox</span> Canadian heavy metal band

Spiritbox is a Canadian heavy metal band, originally from Victoria, British Columbia, publicly established by guitarist Mike Stringer and vocalist Courtney LaPlante in October 2017. The band's full lineup comprises married couple LaPlante and Stringer alongside drummer Zev Rose, and bassist Josh Gilbert. The band's style incorporates electronic elements and draws from a variety of influences, crossing multiple metal subgenres with its roots in metalcore and progressive metal. Their music is currently released through their label, Pale Chord, via a partnership with Rise Records.

<i>Moon Healer</i> 2024 studio album by Job for a Cowboy

Moon Healer is the fifth studio album by American death metal band Job for a Cowboy. The album was released on February 23, 2024, through Metal Blade Records. It is the band's first album in over nine years, marking the longest gap between releases in the band's history.

<i>No Clean Singing</i> American heavy metal website

No Clean Singing is an American heavy metal news and media website based in Seattle. The website primarily covers extreme music, and "bands with vocalists who exclusively scream, growl, or otherwise avoid melodic, 'traditional' singing". Islander is the site's owner.

References

  1. 1 2 Thrashnkill, Joe (February 16, 2022). "Toilet Radio 355 – Now Owned By The Orchard Entertainment Group". The Toilet Ov Hell. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Islander (May 3, 2012). "Keyboard Video Warriors: Robert Pasbani and Frank Godla". No Clean Singing . Archived from the original on May 6, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ramirez, Carlos (March 2, 2012). "MetalInjection Co-Founder, Sirius XM DJ Robert Pasbani: Noisecreep Interview". Noisecreep . Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Friedman, Michael (August 16, 2016). "How Frank Godla Has Injected Heavy-Metal Music Into Our Lives". Hardcore Humanism. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  5. ↑ Blabbermouth (August 14, 2006). "'Metal Injection' Launches First Extreme Music On-Demand Broadband Network". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  6. ↑ BraveWords (January 8, 2007). "Metal Injection Uploads Video Vault With Over 30 Hours Of Footage". bravewords.com. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  7. ↑ MetalSucks (April 25, 2008). "Metal Injection: Now With 110% More Awesome". MetalSucks . Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  8. ↑ BraveWords (April 29, 2008). "Metal Injection Launches New Website Focusing On Community Features". bravewords.com. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  9. ↑ Neilstein, Vince (August 23, 2012). "Metal Injection Launches 24/7 Streaming Radio". MetalSucks . Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  10. ↑ BrooklynVegan Staff (September 5, 2012). "Pig Destroyer, KEN Mode, Early Graves, and Encrust confirmed for CMJ". BrooklynVegan . Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  11. ↑ MetalSucks (March 28, 2012). "Metal Injection Captures the Metal Industry "On the Record" in New Video Series". MetalSucks . Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  12. ↑ Keene, Jamie (April 2, 2012). "'On The Record': how the internet changed heavy metal". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  13. ↑ Shotwell, James (May 21, 2015). "MUST WATCH: Season Finale of Metal Injection's On the Record Explores Record Labels Versus DIY Culture". Haulix Daily. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  14. ↑ jpdeuce73 (May 4, 2016). "Metal Injection Launches "Taste of Metal" Series With Chef Brian Tsao — Watch". I'm Music Magazine. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ Bellino, Emily (January 9, 2017). "Blast Beat Network Offers Unsigned Band Promopalooza". Decibel Magazine. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  16. ↑ Olsen, Hanna Brooks (September 3, 2014). "How the Co-Founder of MetalSucks Made His Dream Into His Day Job". CreativeLive Blog. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  17. ↑ Staff, NextMosh (December 16, 2020). "'Slay at Home' announces December 2020 edition". NextMosh. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  18. 1 2 Bellino, Emily (May 29, 2020). "Interview: Slay at Home Festival Organizers Discusses Planning, Livestreams and Collaborations". Decibel Magazine. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  19. ↑ Skinner, Tom (May 27, 2020). "Trivium, Megadeth and Stone Sour for virtual metal festival Slay At Home". NME . Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  20. ↑ Neilstein, Vince (May 28, 2021). "Final 'Slay at Home' Streaming Festival Lineup Announced". MetalSucks. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  21. ↑ Robb Flynn (February 18, 2022). "Frank Godla (Metal Injection Website)". No F'n Regrets (Podcast). YouTube. Event occurs at 31:30. Archived from the original on June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  22. ↑ Robb Flynn (February 18, 2022). "Frank Godla (Metal Injection Website)". No F'n Regrets (Podcast). YouTube. Event occurs at 31:58. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  23. ↑ Moore, Theron (June 19, 2023). "News: Metal Injection Announces Festival In September". New Noise Magazine. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Jinjer and Converge to Second Annual Metal Injection Festival". Knotfest. May 15, 2024. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  25. ↑ Keenan, Hesher (June 4, 2024). "Our Friends Over at Metal Injection Now Have a Beer You Can Buy". MetalSucks. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  26. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (June 29, 2012). "MTV O Music Awards: Recapping 23 Awards In 24 Hours As The Flaming Lips Break A World Record". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 15, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  27. ↑ Roche, Jason (March 21, 2013). "Our Top Ten Online Resources for Metal Knowledge". LA Weekly . Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Contact Us". Metal Injection. Archived from the original on June 1, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.