By Nicholas Pendergast
Katherine Ludwig and Metal Maniacs introduced a broader spectrum of the extreme music scene into journalism starting in 1989 when the Metal Maniacs magazine was first published. The stereotype of what constitutes a metalhead still exists today: Yeah, we wear denim vests. Yeah, some of us like to get drunk. Some of us wear skinny black jeans that may not look comfortable, as cool as they look. Even some of us may have a demented sense of humor. For many of us though there is something truer than all of that which stirs in our hearts and pulls at our strings. I think Metal Maniacs was at the forefront of shattering that image of a shallow metalhead, not just for people on the outside but for the people within. We were able to expose to ourselves that we cared about sexism, racism, the destruction of the environment, and radicalization of politics in America. Metalheads were suddenly able to share with each other what an album like…and Justice For All meant to them. Of course there are so many extreme metal bands from Kreator to Dark Angel that really deserve to be acknowledged as a stage for social justice to take place. There’s just not enough space or time to talk about them all.
We can however talk about Katherine Ludwig, and her passion for bringing those types of bands to the table as editor of Metal Maniacs.
The parent company of Metal Maniacs owned a lot of other magazines, and they were very successful in chain stores throughout the country. They could afford to reach out to thousands and thousands of people, but Metal Maniacs didn’t compromise their roots just because they belonged to suit-and-tie guys. The team behind MM was drafted from the extreme metal and hardcore scene. People who liked Anal Cunt and Sepultura were able to talk about those type of bands and the topics relating to those bands on the time and money of a fairly successful business.
Prior to Metal Maniacs publication of serious social points of interests there was no space for that sort of stuff in extreme music media. It was regarded as taboo especially in metal which at that time was still dominated by the fluff of hair metal and its typically misogynistic themes. Extreme music was presented as a type of tongue and cheek thing for teenagers who had not fully conceptualized a serious world yet. The industry as a whole was failing to grasp that there was a very serious anger rooted in real world problems connected to extreme music, and in part this is what made it so extreme. If there was anyone out there who understood this and printed it their existence remained confined to the limited world of underground zine sub-culture. This was reality before Katherine Ludwig changed that as the co-founder and editor for Metal Maniacs.
Politics and music are inseparable going as far back as anyone can remember. Blues provided an outlet for black people suffering the oppression of racism and segregation. Before that it was a way for musicians to channel their social ills through folk music. From the first Black Sabbath record the importance of politics became intertwined with heavy metal, and down the line social justice never parted from the themes of extreme music. Somehow it took almost twenty years for someone to step forward and introduce that important relationship to the media in a magazine that was massively distributed.
Katherine Ludwig presented the launch platform for journalists and musicians to put their opinions out there in the letters section. Metal Maniacs was a place for musicians to really get the chance to vocalize their political opinions in a way that may have been shunned previously by mainstream metal magazines. Her tenure as Metal Maniacs editor and chief helped shine a light on bands that may have mistakenly been seen as foolish gimmicks, and her prominence as a writer allowed her to expose those very important values in broader areas, such as in a 1991 article about death metal still available for viewing by the Chicago Tribune. She afforded her writers the opportunity to express their values, and candidly pointed out the importance of extreme music as a way to vent out darker feelings and frustrations in a way that wasn’t harmful but fun, exhilarating and enlightening.
For years Metal Maniacs remained the only front for fans of heavy metal to escape to for this very real and confrontational form of journalism.
Corrosion of Conformity’s Reed Mullin goes on to say that without Katherine’s help the band would not have found the success it did on the Blind album, and that without the success of Blind there would have in all likelihood never been a Deliverance album. The influence of C.O.C is not something anyone should take lightly so in part what we are seeing here is Katherine’s importance on several musicians and genres as a whole by preserving the existence of Corrosion of Conformity.
Of course anyone might say music and politics do not belong in the same category, but it’s really untrue to insist that the entire scene lacks any political make up. As I said, music and politics are like eternal bed buddies, and this is especially true in the rebellious world of extreme music. I also think it’s a little unbecoming of the culture as a whole to shun those views where they are directly related to the culture. I mean, one can’t talk about a band that writes about leftist topics without bringing up those topics. It’s just unfair. Yeah we can talk about the ferocious vocals, and the really cool sound of a guitar solo. At some point though we have to realize that these are vehicles for something else driving the spirit of the band. Not only could the relationship between politics and metal be voiced in Metal Maniacs, but it was also a safe haven for anyone to write letters associating their politics with hardcore or punk as well. Finally someone in the scene understood that it was okay to point at the point of a lyric like “money tips her scales again/make your deal.” Yeah, there’s a reason why the statue of Lady Justice is holding a scale of justice filled with money on that album cover. It’s not just to look cool!
Eyehategod vocalist Mike Williams enjoyed some time as a contributor to MM, and he is quoted in a 2010 interview as saying that he and 13’s Alicia Morgan (Morgan was KL’s assistant-editor and editor in the ’90s) was really the first avenue for black metal musicians to get exposure in the States. MM was also an important avenue for Swedish bands like Amorphis and At The Gates. It really cannot be expressed enough how important the magazine was for launching so many careers that are still relevant today, either as existing acts or as bands which totally inspired the modern bands.
In this way I believe that Katherine Ludwig really formed a foundation for those of us in the music industry who share the same beliefs and passions in music. Whether or not you are a metalhead, a punker, or even someone like me who had not even known of her influence until after her death, you may want to consider that if you feel a connection to socially charged bands than this person was really vital to keeping that voice alive in a dark time for that sort of publication.
Katherine Ludwig lost her life to cancer on Friday, January 30th. I caught word of her passing through my friend George Pacheco on Facebook. George worked closely with Katherine on Metal Maniacs. His tribute to her and the way he articulated the importance she had on his life resonated on me and inspired me to learn about her. I hoped to write this article to share her story with those of us at New Noise Magazine who may also resonate with her story and passion.
If you feel something in your heart that should explode don’t restrain it. People are going to nitpick and complain no matter what you say or do, and restricting your political or social concerns for someone else’s comfort isn’t worth it. We have so little time on this world, and there are so many things we can draw attention to with the voices we share. Put yourself out there and expose what you believe in no matter who you piss off.
Shortly after the idea for writing this article came to mind I had also heard that Heavy Blog Is Heavy editor Brian Shields had also passed away. I would like to dedicate this passage to him, and as well to anyone else who lived and died to bring real shit to your attention.
Keep your horns and hammers high. m/
– Nicholas Pendergast
