Yes, I broke my publishing cherry with a review of the first Mercyful Fate EP that was released on Rave On Records in 1982. Not bad for a pimply-faced teenager, right? It was printed in Issue #9 of Ron Quintana's legendary Metal Mania fanzine. Thinking back, eventhough I was very excited and proud about this, I didn't show my parents because they never understood how their son could listen to such "horrible' music. However, I do remember how amazing it was to see my name and writing in print... Trivia: For the next issue of Metal Mania I reviewed Venom's 2nd album (click for a larger image):
(Note: All of the misspellings can be attributed to the typesetter at the printer. Back in ancient times before personal computers and self-publishing, you had to have the text of your publication formatted by a typesetter at the printers. If they didn't give a shit, like the person who typeset Metal Mania, you were at their mercy regarding misspellings and typos.)
Yeah, Umlaut was into Satanic Metal back in its infancy... and it's comforting to know that I still have so much in common with my teenage self here in the 21st Century. Hope I die before I get old.. The more things change, the more they stay Satanic.
