HEAVYCORE HISTORY LESSON


Pete Altieri - Heavycore Founder

 So why did I start Heavycore?  Well, it was 1999 and I was totally sick and tired of the metal scene.  I was born and raised on the east coast, but moved to Illinois in 1990 and the local scene was pretty fucking lame.  In 1998 I got back into music and formed my own band, Low Twelve, and we hit nothing but road blocks.  There were a lot of bands in the area who thought they had control over the clubs.  I realized that these radio-safe pussy bands would never want to share the stage with some serious metal heads that could not only play our instruments, but throw the fuck down and get a crowd rowdy as hell.

That's when I realized that instead of fighting the system . . . I would organize like-minded metal heads all over the globe and turn the tables.  I set out to find other metal bands struggling in their own lame scenes, with similar problems.  It was amazing how fast things moved, and in just under five years we grew the organization to just under 1,000 bands!

Needless to say I've made a lot of enemies in our area, as the radio-safe pussy bands fell by the wayside one by one amidst a sea of thriving Heavycore bands doing big shows, putting out release after release, and basically running the posers out of town.  It was a beautiful thing!

Here in Illinois, where Heavycore was conceived - we do lots of Heavycore shows.  There are many member bands in this area and so it's always a great brothers helping brothers atmosphere at shows.  Bands helping each other load in and out, running each others merchandise tables, buying stuff from each other, getting in the pit when the other is on stage, and an awesome camaraderie.  It's amazing to see such unity among metal bands, in a world of vicious back-stabbing and arguments over petty bullshit.  Not in Heavycore!

Since Heavycore had always been free to join, I hoped to bring in some money from selling merchandise on the website.  The problem is that most bands today think that everything on the internet should be free.  No one was buying stuff and without the funds I needed - I couldn't do much more than run the site and post band links.  It wasn't what I wanted out of the Core.  I wanted to be able to sponsor Heavycore tours, offer streaming audio on the site, expand the merchandise, and much more.  The problem is - you can't do any of that without money.

So in late 2003 I sent out a survey to the membership - asking them if they would stay in Heavycore if we charged a nominal fee each year.  About 200 bands answered the survey and nearly 85% of them said they would either pay the $10 annual fee or buy $15 or more in merchandise each year to stay in the Core.  So that's what we decided on and gave the bands until 12/31/03 to sign up and pay their dues for the next year.

Less than 100 bands signed up and so you will see a dramatic drop in the membership from our original 950 strong.  That's ok.  I know that the bands who have decided to stay are committed to the cause and aren't afraid of tossing in a few bucks to help the greater good.  When Heavycore succeeds, so does each and every member who enjoys the privileges.  Uniting real metal bands, with a brother helping brother attitude, has been the life blood of Heavycore since our inception in 1999.

When bands sign up that aren't Heavycore material - we politely tell them "no thanks".  If they get pissed off and lash out at me, well . . . then I just tell them to "fuck off".  Heavycore wouldn't be anything if we let every band in.  We seek those who buck the trends - and want to do nothing but play real metal from the gut.  That's what we're about here.

Core til death!