There are plenty of blogs online about metal music, but they only tell half the story. On this blog, we don’t just review metal bands, we talk about what it means to be a metalhead. If you think metal is more than just a musical genre, if you eat-sleep-drink and LIVE heavy metal, if you wake up every day with a song on your lips and a blastbeat in your heart, than this blog is for you.

If you’re a metalhead, thinking about becoming a metalhead, or just curious about what makes metalheads tick, Steff Metal is a great place to hang out. It’s written by me, Steff, a legally-blind writer, blogger and metal maiden living in New Zealand with my cantankerous drummer husband and our medieval sword collection. I love metal, archaeology, travelling, sausage rolls and ducks.

I update the blog 3-5 times per week, so there’s always something new to read. Start at the very beginning, with Metal Lifestyle 101, to learn a little more about what this site is about.

Next, you might be interested in a new feature I started this year: Metalheads 101. It’s a primer for metalifying your life – we talk about everything from what makes a band metal to what classic metal albums are the best to how to survive your first metal show. If you’re new to metal or looking to become one of those super-awesome metal know-it-alls, the discussions on these posts will give you heaps to think about.

Here are the current Metalheads 101 articles:

Metalheads 101: Surviving Your First Metal Concert
Metalheads 101: What IS Metal, Anyway?
Metalheads 101: Is this band metal? Is that band metal?
Metalheads 101: What is a Metalhead?

Then, head over to some of my favorite articles:

42 Ways to Krieg up Your Life
10 Ways to Get Involved in Metal Subculture WITHOUT Being a Poser
101 Ways to Cheer Yourself Up
Halloween Costumes for Metalheads
Promoting Your Metal Band Online
A Brief History of Christian Metal
Folk Metal: Origins, Theory and Discussion
How Did You Discover Metal?
10 Totally Metal First Date Ideas
Metalhead’s Guide to Interior Decorating
Bang the Head that Will Not Bang: Headbanging Techniques
25 Things a Metalhead is Thankful For

If you’re after more specific advice, my advice column Ask a Bogan tells it like it is. If you want help with a certain problem, email me on steff @ steffmetal DOT com

Metal Up Your School Uniform
I Got Dumped
She Won’t Stop Copying Me

Every metalhead knows aesthetics are important. Hence, my column Kvlt Fashion contains some of my most popular articles:

Black Metal Fashion
Folk Metal Fashion
Death Metal Fashion
Power Metal Fashion

Want some music recommendations? I am starting to write a few reviews, and my weekly metal mixtape often has a few surprises:

Top Ten Metal Albums of 2010
Pirate Metal Albums Reviewed
HP Lovecraft Metal Albums Reviewed
Steff’s Top 5 Black Metal Albums of All Time

And, if you fancy yourself a bit of an intellectual history buff, my occasional forays into my archaeological past reveal some metal history:

History of Beer
Emperor Caligula
History of Runes
HP Lovecraft’s Influences on Heavy Metal Music

For metalheads with wanderlust, Grymm & Frostbitten Lands (the metal travel column) gives you all the advice you need for exploring grymm and frostbitten lands

Surviving Summer Metal Festivals
5 Metal Things to do in Hamburg
5 Metal Things to do in Egypt

You can read about some of the other popular columns in the Columns tab, but if you like what you’ve seen so far, why not sign up to read Steff Metal on your RSS? Or, you can join me on Facebook or Twitter for bite-sized bits of metal awesomeness.

Thanks for reading. Stay Grymm \m/