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Programmer Profile: PowerChord on Vancouver's CiTR

By Magnus Thyvold

Metal may go in and out of style but it is always there. Serious metalheads won't be swayed by the whims fashion or what is cool this week. That's why you can always find metal shows on campus/community radio. PowerChord on CiTR 101.9FM has been assaulting the airwaves of Vancouver since the 1980s. (Saturdays 1 P.M. to 3 P.M. and streaming and podcast at www.citr.ca) and is still going strong.

Vancouver's longest running metal show was started by Metal Ron and Gerald Rattlehead. More recently they have been joined by Geoff - The Metal Pimp. Geoff was a fan of the show long before I got into Metal at the tender age of 8 or 9 years old he got involved. "I got into Metal at the tender age of 8-9 years old," he recalls. "I started off with bands like Twisted Sister, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, etc. Then I discovered SLAYER." he recalls. PowerChord opened up a whole new world of metal for the young headbanger. "Thanks to the show, I got introduced to so many bands I never even knew about." When he grew up, a desire to do more to help promote and expose the underground metal bands he loved inspired him to join the show.

PowerChord features two hours of metal in all its varieties: Thrash, Black, Death, Noise, Grind et al. Some recent favourites on the show include new releases from Dark Tranquillity, Anaal Nathrakh, Blood Tsunami, Dodheimsgard, Susperia and The Sound of the Swarm. With 20 years of rockin' behind them already, they have no plans to stop the noise anytime soon.

Below are a few more metal shows across the country and online:

Fire on the Mountain on 92.5FM theX in Kamloops, BC
Wednesday from 10 P.M. to 11 P.M. PT
Online at www.theX.ca

The House That Metal Built on CFRC 101.9FM in Kingston, ON
Friday from 12 A.M. to 2 A.M.ET
Online at www.cfrc.ca

Mutants On Parade on CKDU 88.1FM in Halifax, NS
Friday from 8 P.M. to 9 P.M. AT
Online at www.ckdu.ca

Underground Metal Massacre on CJSF 90.1FM in Vancouver, BC
Saturday from 8 P.M. to 10 P.M. PT
Online at www.cjsf.ca

Metal Without Borders on CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg, MB
Mondays from 12 A.M. to 6 A.M. CT
Online at www.ckuw.ca

For more information about Canadian metals shows check out the myspace page for the Canadian Association of Radio Metal Programmers at http://groups.myspace.com/CARMP.