You know what’s really funny? The last time we published a call for writers was in 2017 and almost every single thing I wrote there is still true! More than that, the main thing in there is even more true; in the age of the clickbait and of the immediate, we here at Heavy Blog are more committed than ever to write the longform and the extensive. We don’t post daily anymore for that reason exactly; the kind of content we want to write doesn’t happen on daily schedules and the kind of lives we want to lead (sane, stress-free, creative) aren’t created in the shade of such schedules. This is why we post once a month, to give us time to craft our words but also to give us time to live our lives. It is, after all, from those lives that our writing comes from and neglecting that life is a great way to lose the passion for writing.
Last time, it took me way too long to get to the bottom line, so here’s the bottom line right here and now:
We want you to write for us.
Who is “we”?
To quote my self of four years ago, the current ethos of Heavy Blog is focused around the strength of the unique body of individuals we have gathered around us as staff members, which is not the strength of immediacy or “the scoop”. Instead, our strengths lie in thoughtful analysis, long articles, and our passionate dedication to the ideas behind the music we all love. We love music and we love writing about it, at length. We give our writers complete freedom to write about anything they’d like, as long as it’s interesting; hell, it doesn’t even have to be about music! Anything that’s adjacent to music, like films, books, games, and more are all free game here. If you have a passion for it, and it fits the Heavy Blog aesthetic (which is really broad), we want to read it.
One last, but very important note: we are all volunteers here at Heavy Blog. No one makes any money from this thing, it all goes back to the blog. As such, our writers are also volunteers and we do not pay for writing. Yet.
Who is “you”?
To once again quote myself, we’re looking for people who are as passionate as we are (and more so) about any genre of music. We’re looking for people who like working in a team and are able to collaborate. We’re looking for people who want to put their passion into words and lots of words to boot. We’re looking for people who come from groups that are usually under represented or outright ignored in the metal/music community and who want to make their voices heard.
Last time, I added a note about that last part and how it’s important. It’s even more important now. The last four years have seen phenomena that have always existed within metal enjoy a redoubling of energies under the Trump administration, the ever-spiraling nature of capitalism, and the rebirth/resurgence of fascism. More than ever, the voices of the oppressed, the marginalized, and the subaltern are being silenced in mainstream metal and we want to do our part to fight this. If you’re a non-cis person, non-binary, BIPOC, outside of the Northern Hemisphere, a woman, or belong to any other group that is ignored under today’s stifling cultural regime, we doubly and triply want you to write for us. We would love to work with you on making your voice heard and your perspective visible in our community. It’s more important to us than anything else and we will do what it takes to ensure your safety and that you flourish.
No clever title here, it’s tl;dr time
If you want to write for Heavy Blog, send a 500+ word submission (notice that there’s no maximum limit) to eden[at]heavyblogisheavy[dot]com. Add “Clarion Call” to your subject line so I can find you with my new-fangled filters and technology.
Your submission can be about anything related to music (we mean that) but we encourage you to write a review or a short analysis article.
Listen, if you love metal, if you love music, if you want to take that love and write it way, way large in giant flaming letters, if you want to defend to the death the community you love, you belong with us. If you want a group of people who all listen to dozens of albums a week, who discover new music, if you want to use that group to broaden your horizons and then turn around and broaden someone else’s, you belong with us. Let’s do some crazy stuff together; the future is ours to demand.
Here’s a song to get you pumped while you write your (excellent) submission. We love you.