"A Word" With Chad Bowar !

First of all Chad Bowar's Guide to Heavy Metal over on about.com is one of my personal favorite sites for quality heavy metal !

A few years ago Chad's list of "Best Swedish Heavy Metal Bands" introduced me to one of my favorite progressive power metallers Evergrey, and ever since I've been a constant reader.

Chad has been a writer for over 20 years and specializes in Heavy Metal music. Writing for magazines like Outburn, Hails and Horns, AMP, Lollipop, Loud Fast Rules and more. Interviewing hundreds of bands over the years such as Judas Priest, Metallica, Cannibal Corpse, Queensryche, Sepultura, and In Flames to name a few. aside from writing for magazines he's been doing radio for the past 25 years.

I had more then a couple of questions I wanted to ask Chad from his favorite moments on the job, his favorite bands, any other genres he's into, and alot more.
Here's how it went:

TMR: You've been a music journalist for over 20 years, whats some of your
personal favorite moments on the job ?

Chad: Getting to go to countless concerts has been great, and I've had the chance to interview some of the legends in metal. Some of my favorite interviews have been Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy), Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) and Tom Gabriel Fischer (Celtic Frost).

It's always rewarding when someone takes the time to email about an interview, article or review I've done. There are some unbelievably hostile ones, but the great majority are very well thought out and reasonable, some agreeing with what I've written and others disagreeing. The things that generate the most emails are my yearly best metal CD lists. People have strong opinions about which CDs should and should not be on those lists, and it's great to get the feedback.



TMR: Which bands got you into heavy metal ?

Chad: For me it all started with Metallica's "Kill 'Em All." A high school buddy of mine was into heavier bands and introduced me to them. I also was into groups like Judas Priest and Dio and of course hair bands. My tastes later expanded into more extreme genres.



TMR: Is there a big difference between heavy metal fans back in the 80's and
today's metalheads ?

Chad: The passion is the same, but today's fans have so much more access to information. We had tape trading via snail mail and communication took a lot of time. Now with the internet you can hear and find out about bands anywhere in the world. It's made the world a lot smaller and really expanded access to metal.



TMR: From all the genres emerging today, who are some of the bands you enjoy
personally ?

Chad: When I first started writing about metal, traditional and thrash were the styles I liked the most. The last few years I've been enjoying a lot of folk metal. I like bands in pretty much every genre of metal, from doom to black to death to power to progressive, and I dislike bands in every genre, so it's really more about the individual band that what genre they fall under.



TMR: Besides heavy metal do you write/enjoy other kinds of music ?

Chad: At one time I wrote quite a bit about punk and hardcore bands in addition to metal, but since I've been the heavy metal editor at About.com I've had to cut back. I write for Outburn, Hails and Horns and a few other magazines, but About.com takes up the great majority of my writing time. My day job is radio, which I've done for nearly 25 years now.

I have a varied musical taste. In addition to metal I listen to bands like U2 and R.E.M. and have a strange affection for female singer/songwriters.



TMR: Who's your biggest idol ?

Chad: I'm old and jaded and don't really have a musical idol. I have a lot of respect for many musicians, but they are just people like you and me.



TMR: Which bands are you currently listening to ?

Chad: I still listen to old school bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and groups like that. Opeth, Evergrey and In Flames are also in heavy rotation. Some recent CDs that I've really enjoyed include Gojira, Enslaved, Abigail Williams and Amon Amarth. I'd also like to recommend a book that came out this year. Swedish Death Metal by Daniel Ekeroth is an essential read for fans of that genre.

Metal Reporter sidenote: ( check out my previous interview with Daniel *shamelessly plugging material* ) :P


TMR: What are some bands you would recommend for a metal newcomer ?

Chad: It depends on what brought them into metal. They probably became a fan of a particular band, and I would initially recommend bands similar to that. Then I'd slowly introduce different styles so they could get an idea of the huge variety within metal. Once they found the genre or genres they liked the most I'd be able to recommend bands within that genre.


TMR: Would you like to add anything ?

Chad: This is a great time to be a fan of heavy metal. Some of the best bands of all time are still around and making great music while a constant supply of exciting new talent is emerging. Support your favorite bands by going to their shows, buying their merchandise, and helping spread the word. That will help keep metal growing and flourishing. Thanks for the interview, and I invite everyone to check out heavymetal.about.com. Sign up for the weekly newsletter to receive updates on the latest articles, or add the blog to your RSS feed.

And remember, we're all here because we love metal. We may have differences of opinion, but keep things civil and ignore the trolls. Metal fans are the most passionate and knowledgeable in all of music, and let's use that passion and knowledge to build things up, not tear them down.


I'd like to thank Chad Bowar for taking the time to answer my questions, and for all the great articles over the years ! Bookmark heavymetal.about.com today and enjoy some of the best reviews and interviews !