From Classic Rock to Black Metal: Nick Barker's Metal Evolution | HIMMP Interview

Drummer Nick Barker walks from Queen and Status Quo through Maiden, Slayer, and Behemoth, and says the metal community pulled him through serious illness and mental health struggles in a way he never thought possible. He calls metal fans "the most dedicated and loyal fans in the world", a claim that lines up with the HiMMP research on heaviness as a shared, community-anchored listening experience. About the project The HiMMP team interviewed musicians, journalists, photographers, and fans at Bloodstock Open Air 2023 (11-13 August, Catton Hall, Derbyshire), one of the UK's leading independent metal festivals. Interviewees were asked what heaviness means to them and how they encounter it. The series sits alongside the In Solitude project, in which eight leading metal producers each mix the same five-minute song and discuss heaviness. Both strands are part of the Heaviness in Metal Music Production (HiMMP) research project at the University of Huddersfield. Principal investigators: Dr Jan Herbst and Dr Mark Mynett. Funded by the AHRC (grant AH/T010991/1). The book series is Heaviness in Metal Music Production, Volumes I and II (Routledge). Research findings, supplementary material, and the In Solitude multitrack: https://himmp.net Subscribe for more interviews from Bloodstock 2023 and the wider HiMMP project. #HiMMP #BloodstockOpenAir #HeavyMetal #MetalCommunity