Death to False Metal, Boyee!

"Metal music kept me going for a lot of years," says Tom Wren, creator of locally based online 'zine Metal Nightmare (www.metalnightmare.com). The thirtysomething software engineer published the first print edition of Metal Nightmare in 1997.

"I decided to be a fist in the face, a 'nightmare,' if you will, to all bands that are tarnishing the once-great and true name of metal," says Wren. He stopped publishing the newsstand editions in 2000, a year after he launched his website. Today, the online editions can feature upwards of 100 CD reviews.

For his website, Wren interviews A-list metal acts, including King Diamond, Bathory, Manowar, and Ronnie James Dio.

Wren invites local metal bands to send CDs or sound files for review, but with this caveat: "My focus on what is 'metal' and what is not is pretty well defined and, yes, narrow. That means if you're in some baggy pants wearing, woolly hat sporting, yo yo boyee crap band that thinks you play metal but are really just a hardcore band, then don't waste my time. There is no way you can convince me that you're any good, not even with donations of large sums of cash...death to false metal!"