Welcome to the Blog!

Welcome to the Heavy Metal Superfan blog. There's going to be a ton of content coming in the next few days as we get this thing rolling, but for now, it seems like the best way to start is by setting down some core principles. The two big ones are:

- The operating definition of metal hereabouts is pretty broad. I love Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Napalm Death, but I also love DragonForce, Manowar, the last Stephen Pearcy (RATT vocalist) solo album, Deftones, and lots of other things that people can point fingers at and shout either "that's not metal!" or "that's cheesy!" Here's a tip for ya: Metal is often cheesy, and that's half the fun.

- I will occasionally make fun of bands. At some point, the likelihood that I will make fun of your favorite band is pretty high. I welcome comments, but it's more fun (for me and other readers) if you respond with a joke of your own, instead of getting all huffy.

With that out of the way, let's rock! Here's a question to start things off: Why aren't Manowar bigger in America, in your opinion? Is it the cheesiness? Is it their choice to almost totally ignore the U.S. touring market for going on three decades at this point? Is it American metalheads' inability to decide whether the band is joking or not?