Burrn!
| Editor-in-Chief | Kō Sakai (1984–1993) Kazuo Hirose (1994–present) |
|---|---|
| Categories | Heavy metal music |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Publisher | Shinko Music (1984–1990) Burrn! Corporation (1991–2013) Shinko Music Entertainment (2013–present) |
| First issue | 5 September 1984 |
| Country | Japan |
| Based in | Tokyo |
| Language | Japanese |
| Website | burrn |
Burrn! (Japanese: バーン, Hepburn: Bān; stylized as BURRN!) is a monthly Japanese magazine for fans of heavy metal music, published since September 1984.[1] It is the major publication on heavy metal music in the country.[2] As of 2013, it is published by Shinko Music Entertainment in Tokyo. The magazine's content is in Japanese and largely focuses on Western artists, while the covers are predominantly in English.
History
[edit]Despite being a Japanese magazine, a Japanese musician was not featured on the cover of Burrn! until the January 2016 issue featured Akira Takasaki on its cover.[1] This does not include the separate Burrn! Japan magazine, which was published for six volumes between 1987 and 1990 to focus on Japanese artists, before being revived in 2016.[3] This has been said to have been the policy of Burrn!'s editor-in-chief from 1984 to 1993, Kō Sakai.
Burrn! has held a readers poll annually since its founding in 1984. In 2019, Mari Hamada become the first Japanese musician to top the vocalist category in the poll's 36 year history.[4]
Mark Joseph documented the magazine's commercial influence through the example of American Christian metal band Stryper: critic Masa Itoh's positive review of their 1984 debut EP The Yellow and Black Attack, combined with airplay on his radio show, resulted in the band outselling Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, and other mainstream metal acts on Japanese charts, an outcome Joseph attributed directly to Itoh's standing as "the man who ruled the Japanese hard rock/metal scene."[5][6]
Metallion is a special issue of Burrn! first published in 1986 before being suspended in 1991.[7] It is now published irregularly since 1999.[7]
In a now-infamous November 1985 review, Sakai gave Seikima-II's debut album, Seikima-II ~ Akuma ga Kitarite Heavy Metal, a rating of 0.[8][9] For the next 35 years, the band did not have any contact with Burrn!.[8][10] At the end of 2020, current editor-in-chief Kazuo Hirose went to a Seikima-II event and offered to interview them for the magazine.[10][11] They were subsequently featured on the cover of and interviewed for the March 2021 issue.[8][11]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "日本人初！LOUDNESS高崎晃「BURRN!」の表紙に". Music Natalie (in Japanese). 30 October 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ↑ Jeremy Wallach; Harris M. Berger; Paul D. Greene (27 December 2011). Metal Rules the Globe: Heavy Metal Music Around the World. Duke University Press. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-8223-4733-0.
- ↑ "「BURRN! JAPAN」26年ぶり復刊、表紙はLOUDNESS". Music Natalie (in Japanese). 10 November 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ↑ "浜田麻里が日本人初快挙、メタル専門誌「BURRN!」読者人気投票でヴォーカリスト1位に". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 6 March 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
- ↑ Joseph, Mark (1999). The Rock & Roll Rebellion: Why People of Faith Abandoned Rock Music and Why They're Coming Back. Broadman & Holman. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-8054-2061-6.
- ↑ Joseph, Mark (18 March 2010). "Stryper: The Band That Rocked for God". HuffPost. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
- 1 2 "ジャパニーズメタル専門雑誌・ムックの歴史を振り返る シーンを活性化させたのは『ヘドバン』!?". Nikkan Spa (in Japanese). 5 May 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- 1 2 3 "聖飢魔II、HM／HR専門誌『BURRN!』初登場の表紙を公開 有観客での大黒ミサツアー開催＆新教典の発表も宣言". Spice (in Japanese). 24 January 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ↑ "聖飢魔II、ヘヴィメタルをお茶の間に 布教させた初期の傑作『THE END OF THE CENTURY』". OK Music (in Japanese). 17 February 2016. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- 1 2 "聖飢魔II、HM／HR専門誌『BURRN!』初 登場の表紙を公開 有観客での大黒ミ サツアー開催＆新教典の発表も宣言". OK Music (in Japanese). 24 January 2021. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- 1 2 "聖飢魔II、有観客での大黒ミサツアー開催と教典の発表を宣言". Music Voice (in Japanese). 2 January 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
External links
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