Heavy Metal and College Radio

There's an extensive article in the Vancouver Sun today about the vitality of the heavy metal music scene, especially in terms of live tours.

According to the article:

"Musical styles come, musical styles go. Except for hard rock and heavy metal, which seem to be as big as ever. Iron Maiden sold out the Pacific Coliseum June 3. Judas Priest will probably do 12,000 at GM Place July 24. Motley Crue will probably sell out GM Place August 11. In many cases, these bands are selling more tickets today than in their heyday, and at a much higher ticket price (the top ticket for Judas Priest is $343). And they're doing it even though their album sales are a fraction of what they were in the 70s, 80s and 90s."

Hearing about this metal resurgence makes me wonder how much airplay hard rock and metal music are getting. In the 1980s, I remember metal-themed panels at the CMJ conference and in the 1990s when I was at college radio station WBGU, we aired metal programming and had a Music Director who was exclusively focused on metal (and it looks like they still have a "metal" director today).

What do you think? Are there a smaller number of DJs playing metal music today? CMJ has "loud rock" charts, so there are definitely stations reporting airplay. How much metal does your station add (and play) and do you have a special music director devoted to the genre?