OUR MISSION
The London Metal Coalition will improve the London metal scene and boost the bands within it by providing a network of likeminded individuals within our industry at varying levels of professionalism, as well as developing this network into a functional body for outside of our group. This will allow us access to opportunities that would not normally be available to a single band or artist.
This is the core of everything we do as the LMC - unity through community,
community over competition
OUR HISTORY
The story begins with a mish-mash of bands spread across London with ideas and a desire for success. Passion, creativity, all boiling away in the mixing pot of London, but the whole time it felt like something was vanishing. Connections were being lost, networks dying out, and the scene turning into empty venues and band unsure of their future.
The bands that would eventually form the LMC had all come from different routes into the metal scene. Some had come from other scenes, some had been friends or fans of each other for decades, but everyone came with the same raw passion. Enter the competition that brought the first batch of LMC members together, Metal to the Masses.
Odd, that we started a community out of direct competition, but we've never been afraid to make our own rules!
Metal to the Masses, the competition to win a slot at Bloodstock festival was a galvanising force at pushing bands to the top of their game. It was as it stretched to the end of the initiative that the bands playing started to realise they were building a community. Rapports and friendships were growing and even though the bands were in direct rivalry for the coveted prize, what was more important was boosting each other. It was following one stage of the competition that two of the founding members (Casey and Laz) formed the idea of what would become the core of the LMC over a can of half-finished cider.
Even without a community, we wanted to build something that would draw everyone together. Our thought process was, if we build it - they will come!
THE LMC WAS BORN
The initial bands merged together and London's best and fastest growing melting pot began to bubble and brew. Bands were no longer competing for a foothold in the scene, suddenly - almost overnight - bands grew a vital connection to 50+ band members and all their fanbases. The scene was set for the LMC to spiral into obscurity, so we needed to put some ground ideas into place.
At the core of the LMC, we wanted to set some ideas is stone for how we wanted to act:
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All bands working on an equal footing - no pay to progress!
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All bands working together - everyone makes whatever effort they can manage
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All bands gaining - whatever you need that the LMC can give, you should always have access to for free
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All bandmembers being part of a wider community - not just their own band's, they belong to a bigger family and network of likeminded people who want to boost the creative scene for metal in London
This was how we initially began the LMC, these are our core values, and since the birth of the LMC not much has changed!
Not a management company, not an agency, not a promoter, we didn't want anyone left out from access to the tools and resources the LMC has to offer. Our talent base gives us the best tools in the trade and EVERYONE deserves to use them, if they are willing to give their resources back as needed!
A TRUE COMMUNITY!
With the LMC growing exponentially, things started to take better form. Bands started to push their talents (film makers, producers, voice coaches, a plethora of talents) and even began to offer more grounded help like mental health support. Things were heading the right direction, but a problem that was growing was channelling some of the greatest ideas and suggestions into a form that we could all get behind.
A thousand ideas from a hundred voices started to become a bit of a blur, and we didn't want to lose that excitement -
ENTER THE FORGE!
The Forge group came together when Morten, who had become a force for keeping focus during meetings with a raised hand or a gentle touch on the knee (to Casey) realised that we needed a group of people who could focus the LMC into what it needed to be. Rather than managers, rather than owners, the Forge group is first and foremost a focal point for the ideas given up from the LMC chats and community.
If you want more info on the Forge group and what we do, head to the FORGE page!
From the ideas given to the Forge, we helped push the LMC in the right direction to achieve some of the biggest shows and successes and make us the widest reaching community of talented musicians inside London!
We have more history to write, but that's it for now...
WILL YOU BE PART OF THAT HISTORY?
