''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'' (''BW&BK'') is a Canadian heavy metal magazine. Although based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, Canada, ''BW&BK'' features writers from the US, Germany and the UK, allowing the magazine to represent metal music from an international prospective. Covering many facets of extreme music, ''BW&BK'' features a reviews section which reports on current records circulating through the underground metal world, a Metal Forecast section which tracks the release date of upcoming recordings, and a website (named just BraveWords) which reports current metal news. ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'' was founded by former ''M.E.A.T.'' magazine staffer Tim Henderson and author

Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has additionall ...

in 1994.

History

Early 1990s

Henderson, who had published several photocopied issues of a newsletter called ''Metal Tim Bits'' (the title a play on the Tim Bit donut served at the popular Canadian coffee chain

Tim Hortons Tim Hortons Inc., commonly nicknamed Tim's, or Timmie's is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain. Based in Toronto, Tim Hortons serves coffee, doughnuts, and other fast-food items. It is Canada's largest quick-service rest ...

), encountered Popoff in the Toronto HMV's metal section and Popoff began discussing his first metal book, ''Riff Kills Man''. The two subsequently plotted a magazine creation based on ''Metal Tim Bits''; the ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'' title was based on

Agony Column Agony column may refer to: *''The Agony Column'', a novel by Earl Derr Biggers *A column of a newspaper that contains advertisements of missing relatives and friends *''The Agony Column'', an alternative title to the 1918 film ''The Blind Adventu ...

's 1990 album of the same name.

March '94 – first issue

200 copies of ''BW&BK'' #1 were originally printed, and its cover price was $1.95. HMV stocked the magazine and other record stores followed suit. Issue #1 was 16 pages, and featured interviews with

Pantera Pantera () is an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-known lineup consist ...

, Entombed,

Gwar Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. After the ...

Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1988, now based out of Tampa, Florida. The band has released fifteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little rad ...

and Geezer Butler of

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...

. No ads appeared in the inaugural issue.

1994–1997

BW&BK continued to grow, reaching 48 pages by October 1997. In the interim, the magazine had interviewed Slayer,

Alex Lifeson Aleksandar Živojinović, (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that wo ...

of Rush (an interview conducted in Lifeson's living room),

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instru ...

's Jason Newsted and

Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wi ...

Mercyful Fate Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen, formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Influenced by progressive rock and hard rock, and with lyrics dealing with Satan and the occult, Mercyful Fate ...

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

Fear Factory Fear Factory is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of ...

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their l ...

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a ...

, Annihilator and others. By this time, current writers

Carl Begai Carl Begai (born December 1, 1968, in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian music journalist, and author. Life Begai was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He attended York University in Toronto and received a B.A. in History in 1993. Begai ...

, Chris Bruni, Mark Gromen, Allan Grusie and Aaron Small had joined the team.

Late 1997

BW&BK #21 was the first issue of the magazine to feature a colour cover. Inside the issue, interviews with

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

and AC/DC were featured, while Metallica's ''

ReLoad Reload or Reloaded may refer to: Film * ''Reloaded'' (2009 film), a Nigerian film * ''Reloaded'' (2017 film), a Hindi-language film * Reload (film), a 2019 Sri Lankan comedy thriller film Music * Reload, project by Mark Pritchard Albums * '' ...

'' was chastised in BW&BK's Cross-Fire review section.

1998–1999

A new layout team, Hugues Laflamme and Angie Aue, joined the magazine. Events in this period include interviews with Slayer, Sepultura, Gene Simmons of

KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, Morbid Angel,

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

In Flames In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal. During t ...

(in celebration of Gothenburg, Sweden's then-rising scene), Rhapsody, Hypocrisy, Witchery and a chat with Janie Hendrix (administrator of the Jimi Hendrix vaults). A large piece focusing on Canadian metal bands was also printed, a reflection of BW&BK's Canadian roots. A Top Metal Albums of the '80s feature also surfaced around this time. The magazine also included a CD, ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles Proudly Presents Blood Tracks II'', with the February 1999 edition.

2000–2001

Chronicling the rise of

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

, BW&BK printed interviews with Rob Halford, Demons & Wizards, Stratovarius and Eidolon. Entombed's comeback album, '' Uprising'', put the band on the cover of issue #39. AC/DC was once again featured in the magazine, while Iron Maiden, In Flames, Rob Halford, Hypocrisy, Nevermore, The Haunted,

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic ...

, Annihilator and Dimebag Darrell all featured on the magazine cover throughout the year. Current writers David Perri and Greg Pratt also joined the fold.

2002–2003

BW&BK was by this time distributed in 23 countries. Cover features included

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...

, Metallica and Rush alongside mainstays Opeth, Dimmu Borgir and Slayer. BW&BK debuted the Brave Picks soundcheck in its reviews section, asking individual writers to rate the month's most relevant albums, and then publishing average scores based on all the writers' grades.

2004–2005

In 2004, BW&BK celebrated its tenth anniversary. The covers over this annum included first-time appearances from

Children of Bodom Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of Alexi Laiho (lead guitar, lead vocals), Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henkka S ...

(one of BW&BK's top-selling issues),

, Behemoth,

Soulfly Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1997, and later based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 1 ...

Kataklysm Kataklysm is a Canadian death metal band. They have released fourteen studio albums, one EP and two DVDs as of 2020. Kataklysm won their first Juno Award (Canadian equivalent of the Grammy) for best album of the year in the "heavy metal" categor ...

, Candlemass and Gene Simmons of KISS. Classic strongholds

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

and Black Sabbath were also given the main page. In 2005, ''BW&BK'' once again spotlighted Canadian metal, this time creating an incomplete A-Z list of all active, signed Canadian metal bands. Current writer Dom Lawson began contributing to BW&BK.

2006–present

The 100th issue of the ''BW&BK'' was released in October 2006. Filled with personal reflections from Henderson and the rest of the magazine's staff, issue #100 also included a congratulatory autographs from some of well-known metal musicians (all autographs were requested in person by BW&BK staff members). In addition, issue #100 showcased a re-print of BW&BK #1, a nod to the magazine's roots. Issue #100's cover featured

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...

frontman

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he w ...

cutting a BW&BK birthday cake. In conjunction with ''BW&BK'' #100, the magazine held a birthday party at Montreal's

Les Foufounes Électriques Les Foufounes Électriques is a club and concert venue located at 87 Saint Catherine Street East in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada in a neighbourhood known as the Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter).Voivod, Sepultura and

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...

appeared on the covers, and

Lamb of God Lamb of God ( el, Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Amnòs toû Theoû; la, Agnus Dei, ) is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God wh ...

and

Trivium The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The trivium is implicit in ''De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii'' ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but t ...

's faces closed out the year. 2007 began with a piece on Heaven & Hell and commercial black metallists Dimmu Borgir gracing the cover of the magazine once again. The final print issue of the magazine was published in 2009, but the website BraveWords kept going.

6-Pack Festival

''BW&BK'' organized and put on the BW&BK 6 Pack Festival in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

, USA in the spring of 2003, 2004 and 2005. The festival featured, over the years, Falconer, Katatonia, Candlemass, Trouble,

Soilwork Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name ''Inferior Breed'', the band changed their name in late 1996 to ...

, and

Shadowkeep Shadowkeep are an English heavy metal band formed in Guildford in 1999 by guitarists Chris Allen (ex-Intense and Sire) and Nikki Robson (also formerly of Sire). History Early recordings In October 1999, Shadowkeep recorded their debu ...

. 2006's incarnation of the 6 Pack Festival was held in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Canada on October 14 at Le Medley. The line-up included

Testament A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament. Testament or The Testament can also refer to: Books * ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book * ''Testament'', a thriller nov ...

, Brutal Truth, Dismember,

Grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

, Camilla Rhodes and Torn Within. The pre-show party was also held in Montreal on October 13 at Foufounes Electriques, and the Foufounes event also celebrated the 100th issue of ''BW&BK''.

References

External links

*
Carl Begai Interview - A Conversation With The Heavy Metal Writer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brave Words And Bloody Knuckles 1994 establishments in Ontario 2009 disestablishments in Ontario Defunct magazines published in Canada Heavy metal publications Magazines established in 1994 Magazines disestablished in 2009 Magazines published in Toronto Online music magazines published in Canada Online magazines with defunct print editions