Remember when record shopping was fun? City Weekly sure does—we do it every week! We’ll even show you how stopping into a locally owned and operated music store can be as easy as—but much more fulfilling than—a robotic mouse click on iTunes. This month, we turn our ears towards one downtown fixture (a bona fide institution) for the latest on new releases and thoughts on Salt Lake City’s music climate.

The Heavy Metal Shop
“Peddlin’ Evil Since 1987”
63 Exchange Place
Salt Lake City

After 21 years in the local music scene you can pretty much write your own rules, and the Heavy Metal Shop is no exception. Here are some tips on what’s current with the nationally renowned store, as told to us by Kevin Kirk, its original, and still very metal, owner.

Current favorite album to sell: Alice Cooper’s latest and 25th (!) release, Along Came a Spider.

Current local act selling well: Thunderfist, Too Fat for Love.

Recent in-store concert that made a stir: Michael Dean Damron in mid-October.

Heavy Metal Shop current favorite picks:
(in no particular order)

Alice Cooper
Thin Lizzy
Cheap Trick
Drive-By Truckers
Motorhead

Top national acts right now: “We go deeper into the catalogue stuff. We don’t really compete with the big stores in terms of new releases. We still bring them in though, the big metal bands.”

Thoughts on the scene: “The worst thing about the current local scene is that people are listening to everything on their computers and not listening in the stores, which is critical for supporting the local music economy. People need to get out more and support local businesses.”

Things to check out: The Heavy Metal Shop merch. You aren’t really a fan of the hard side of music in Utah unless you’re rocking the classic half-skull logo.

What should Jon Paxton spend his hard-earned money from this assignment on? Michael Dean Damron’s Bad Days Ahead. It’s only $10 right now.

Only reason to go online: Search YouTube/HeavyMetalShop and you’ll find all the chock-full-o’-evil in-store performances you can stomach.