The last vestige of heavy metal on mainstream television is no longer. That Metal Show, which ran for eight years and 125 episodes, hosted by Eddie Trunk and comedians Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine, will not be renewed for any further production by Vh1 Classic.
Eddie Trunk broke the news on his blog moments ago:
We are sorry to report that VH1 Classic will not continue to make any new episodes of That Metal Show. It has been an incredible run of eight years, roughly 125 episodes and some really cool specials. The global response to TMS has been simply amazing, and we will be eternally grateful for the support from the rock and metal fans that have showed us so much love. We truly would have never made it as long as we did without you! A huge thanks also to the great crews we had over the years both in NYC and Los Angeles, to our producer Jeff Baumgardner, and to all the executives at VH1. And finally, thanks to the hundreds of artists that joined us on our set, had fun with us, shared their stories and many, many laughs. From the biggest names in rock history, to the up-and-comers: we thank you all for being a part of it.
Good news for fans of the show, Trunk and his partners are able to shop the show around and figure out another way to keep it going:
Of course we very much want to keep That Metal Show alive, and with the blessing of VH1 Classic, we’ve got the keys to the show and are currently searching for a new home. We’re not sure where we’ll land, but we hope to be back in our studio and your living rooms as soon as possible. In the meantime, keep an eye out for us on the road and come say, “Hello.”
That Metal Show was, in a way, a successor to the old Headbangers Ball show on MTV, where guests from the metal world would come in and chat. The difference, of course, is that the Ball played music videos, which this show was all talk. But, to be fair, the channel would usually program "Metal Mania" video shows in between episodes, so you'd have an hour of hair metal videos to gear you up for the talk.
What this means for the future of metal on Vh1 Classic is unclear. The channel would host a trimmed down version of the Reolver Golden Gods, although that award show did not happen in 2015. There are rumblings the award show might happen in 2016, but Vh1's involvement remains unknown.
Here's an interview we did with the hosts of That Metal Show, ironically at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in 2010. At the time, I asked why they haven't featured more modern bands, an issue they have rectified in the five years since this interview aired:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQobtycvHcA[/youtube]
Also, here's Don Jamieson, along with Metal Blade CEO Brian Slagel, talking a bit about how That Metal Show got started.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8PfLJneVo8[/youtube]
