New Website Asks Ultimate Question: Is This Heavy Metal?

Online, July 27, 2011 (Newswire.com) - A new website has been launched that answers the question that rock fans constantly bicker about: What's heavy metal and what isn't?

The site - located at http://www.isthismetal.com - offers opinions about what musicians can be considered metal, but the decision ultimately lies with the readers. Visitors are able to cast votes about whether bands are heavy metal or not and sound off in the comments section.

A new entry is posted daily. Artists that have been scrutinized about their metal credentials so far include Rush, Evanescence, Pantera, Kid Rock, Iwrestledabearonce, The Bunny the Bear and Jimi Hendrix. The post about whether Jimi Hendrix is metal has already proven controversial.

The site was conceived and developed by Boston area resident Mike Kahop, a lifelong heavy metal fan. For now, Kahop is the one writing the daily posts. In the future, the site may hire new writers and touch on different topics.

"Man, I grew up listening to Slayer, Megadeth, Testament, Kreator, Nuclear Assault, Obituary, all that kinda stuff," Kahop, 30, said today. "Me and my friends would always argue about what counts as metal. We still do. This is just to end the argument."

Kahop said that bands shouldn't take it personally if it's determined that their music is not heavy metal. Awarding of metal status is not an endorsement on the site's part nor is a classification of the other way a denouncement, he said.

"One of my favorite bands is Rush," Kahop said. "They're not metal. They might've been metal for a few minutes in the 70s, but that doesn't make them metal. People argue all the time about whether the'yre metal or not. They're not."

He added: "My point is this: Rush is awesome. Just because they're not metal doesn't mean they don't rule. That's all. Oh, and Dream Theater definitely is metal. Just saying."

About IsThisMetal.com

Is This Metal - located at www.isthismetal.com - is a website that's updated daily that asks the ultimate question: What's heavy metal and what's not.