I installed the shaker motor which is awesome with the game and I also installed pinstadiums they are the neo version. The one thing that you will need to know if you decide to get pinstadium lights is that heavy-metal doesn’t come with the plug for the auxiliary in the cabinet head so you will have to wire one in I didn’t realize that until I had already made my purchase so what I ended up doing was taking the plug out of my iron maiden which I don’t have pin stadiums installed and just swapped it with heavy metal. Game looks killer with the light upgrades. I also hooked up the ultra violet portion of the lights to the Taarna Flasher in the back board. Makes for amazing effects. Oh and the shaker motor is a must have.

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I also decided to put clear rubbers on the machine but I will tell everyone this if you decide to do what I did and change them all out you need to leave the ball lock rubbers the same I’m gonna have to go back in and change them back. standard rubbers are too bouncy and the balls just won’t stay locked in. Just a little FYI

Yeah I thinks it's just the best bet to use it. i've not played Iron Maiden since I got Heavy. Not a bash to Maiden, just really enjoying HM.

#73 arrived Today...completes the my Ultimate Music Pin Collection. Super impressed with the Sound Quality!

AC/DC Luci
Aerosmith Pro
GNR CE
Heavy Metal LE
Iron Maiden Pro
Kiss Pro
Led Zeppelin LE
Metallica Pro
(not shown Beatles Gold)

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Whole Pins (resized).jpeg

Damn! Sweet machines.

Totally awesome line up. Heavy Metal will hold its own in the music department next to the others for sure.

What's the game off to the left, looks like a heads up football game?

It’s a Namco Classic NFL Football. Was a 2002 Reissue and updated version of the 1979 Atari Xs and Os Football.

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I ordered a Stern Spike 2 Headphone jack for the Heavy Metal. All installed up front and ready to plug in the backboard and guess what??? It’s not a Spike 2 board. It is the same board as my Kiss a Spike 1. So pissed. Also the game code is not updating so I also can’t use the shaker motor I installed. Ughh

Thank you, I did some googling and ran into the 1979 Atari Xs and Os, didn't find the Namco! Off to googling!

So I got to put a half dozen games on Heavy Metal today. Is it the deepest game in the world? No. Was it enjoyable? Yes. The ramps are satisfying, the rule set simple to understand, and I love the ball lock/steal feature. All in all: pleasantly surprised. Sounds were great. I didn't know it was going to have a DMD instead of the color LCD. The place also had the new Led Zeppelin LE new on the floor, and I bet I played more games of HM than that. How long would it last in a collection? Have no idea, since it won't be entering mine, but I'm looking forward to playing it again.

Any way to only lower voice callouts in favor of higher music from the soundtrack?

I want louder music and lower voice callouts.

You should probably check menu settings for the sound. There are a lot of settings on a modern Stern.

Already did that. Nothing jumps out at me as being able to accomplish that.

Figure someone else has already investigated this.

Question remains... Can it be done?

Anyone know if PinSound is doing a mod?

Well I finally got the unboxing vid up on YouTube.

I have to say I really like this game a lot.

Metal option #29 set it to negative attenuation -60 seems to make the call out and music more balanced. Increase #30 attenuation to about +15.
=)

So on the code update. I originally used a USB 3.0 drive to no avail. I switched to a 2.0 USB drive and that immediately worked properly, granted a little slow though. Also shaker motor works with Game Code update but no software settings to verify it is installed or ways to modify it. Oh well, works great regardless. Ordered a Pinnovaters PinPAC 4 Headphone jack too. The Stern Spike 1 just is okay. I like to be able to kill the sound or decrease the cabinet volume from outside. That's coming soon.

MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT...this is not Jason's fault from Classic Game Rooms, but they did not include the Heavy Metal "300" Magazine they said the would include in their original ad from Incendium. Jason is checking, but he feels they are probably not going to give them to his customers. It is just a matter of principle to me.

Still on the fence...

What do you guys who have one think? Decent enough to pick one up?

How is the music except the two original songs? Not really digging the bands of the other songs. Is it possible for someone to do a new code with the original songs put back in like The Beatles pin?

Is this Spike 1 or 2?
Edit: NVM, someone mentioned it above. I thought the rethemes were the same boardset.

Had 16.6MM just fooling around and drained.. Did not realize I had 15MM in Super Jackpot on the table in Nelson and didn't realize... Dang! Need to figure out how to build that sucker intentionally!

Wasnt near my HS so I let it go aargh!

I personally think the music is awesome. Now to be fare I'm a Metal fan of all kinds, but also love bands like Dream Theater, Rush, and of course Blue Oyster Cult. Mode changes in the game does reset the music, unlike say...Iron Maiden where the song picks back up from where it was interrupted. I do know that other than just going for score, I have played the game to start a particular "song" and played shots to keep the song alive. Just another fun challenge for personal game play. But even without doing that and just playing normal pinball "going for the points" I find the music tracks play plenty long enough and I feel the need to always play one more game just because of the music. Getting to the final wizard mode (Heavy Metal Meltdown) generally means you have sampled nine of the 12 songs available on the pin. Four from character qualifying, One for Double scoring, then one for each multi ball (Nelson, Heavy Metal, Taarna) and finally the Heavy Metal Meltdown wizard mode. I've gotten to HMM several times but have not completed it ( had one shot left when time ran out) so maybe another song triggers on completion. All in all, this is great music pin. Even better if you're a fan of the genre. Don't forget - it has DJ mixer built in, so all the music is right there in our own personal Juke box.

Thank you.

..

Heavy Meltal Meltdown ends when you've completed the last shot in wizard mode, then ya get a single ball back to keep playing.

I would love that too. The original score was amazing. The music is good. The covers sound really good. Is it a LED ZEP LE or GNR CE...not even close, but I like the more traditional play too. Just straightforward pinball with some cool ramps and tricks. It would not be for everybody, but I have 9 pins and I would not want them all to be the same. I just collect music pins, so I love it for the music especially. But I love playing this and it arrivde with my new LZ and GNR all in the same week. If finance or space is a concern, there are "better" machines I guess. I am fortunate to have the space (though I am running low lol)

Spike 1. Ordered a Spike 2 headphone jack ahead of time, ran it to the back and it is NOT a Spike 2. I checked ahead of time through Jason who the Stern Sales guy said Spike 2. It is not. Maybe a hybrid, but the board with the SD Card and Sound connections is identical to my Spike 1 KISS

So is the "home" angle just the playfield and/or ruleset or the construction and build quality? Is Heavy Metal a true home pin that's a particle board special or are the construction and materials standard-issue Stern Pro?

I bought from Sparky here on pinside https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1132-sparky-pinball one of his mini display mods. Super cool guy to work with. I made up a quick cut of the Heavy Metal movie to be played as the game is powered on. Awesome thing about Sparky is he will give amazing technical support for getting your content on the display. I have access to printing decals etc, so I had him send me a blank version of the display on which I added my mashup version of the back glass art for the boarder. Have to say it really ties the room

Going to need a "thinner" washer. Post popped out of threaded rivet. Threads fine without washer.
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Heavy Metal is the only game that I keep in my living room. Other games (20 games) are elsewhere in the house.
I just enjoy the music and sounds of this pin connected to stereos. It is AWESOME. This is a keeper.
GC score is 45 M.

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**************************************************************************
* *
* STERN PINBALL, INC. *
* (C) COPYRIGHT 2020 - 2021 STERN PINBALL, INC. *
* *
**************************************************************************
* *
* Heavy Metal *
* *
**************************************************************************

HELP US, HELP YOU! If you have any suggestions, questions, need technical
advice, find errors or have comments, contact us through our website:

http://www.sternpinball.com/contact.shtml

or call 1-800-542-5377. You can also email [email protected] to
report any software problems.

This text file and all other documents relating to this product, playfield
components, features, rules, programming and operation are subject to change
without notice (Service Bulletins, if applicable, available through our
website).

Installation notice:
The code release is in SPK format.

Update instructions:
Download the spk file.
Copy the file to the root level of a FAT32 formatted USB
stick.
Power the game off.
Insert the USB stick.
Turn the game on.
After the game boots up, there will be an option for software update.
The volume buttons change options for full or quick update. The enter button
selects the option and starts the update.
Once the update is completed, turn the game off and remove the USB stick.
Turn the game on and the game will be running the new code.

V1.02 - March 26, 2021
=======================

- Added Electronic Coin Mech functionality.
- Modified pop bumper rule to disassociate Taarna hurry up with award for bonus time to Heavy Metal Meltdown. Now, pop levels only increase on successful Taarna Hurry Up Completions. Heavy Metal Meltodown bonus time awards occur after every 50 pop hits.
- Fixed an issue caused by catching a ball in metal mayhem during stacked multiballs with Nelson and/or Taarna. This would allow the multiball to continue in 1-ball play. Now, a new ball is added to the playfield to continue play.
- Fixed an issue where some speech was not playing properly.
- Fixed an issue in Heavy Metal Meltdown start where it occasionally said player tilted.
- Fixed an issue in Heavy Metal Meltdown where some lights were out of sync.
- Fixed centering of mystery is lit text.
- Fixed some ambiguous text for Heavy Metal Meltdown bonus time.

V1.01 - January 18, 2021
=======================

- Added Shaker Motor functionality.
- Fixed an issue where hitting Nelson Super Jackpot would advance the next Nelson Multiball as well.

V1.0 - November 23, 2020
=======================

- Initial release.

Hey gang, all of these posts and videos are awesome. I've been eyeballing this machine for a while but have been hesitant as there are just so many choices out there and this is not a cheap hobby, so I want to make good choices. This pin is right up my childhood alley, 80's metal all the way...

I'm one step closer to pulling the trigger on this one. Just love the theme, artwork and music. I like what I like, loud fast games are my thing.
Shots seem fun enough and looks like a good change up that moderate players like myself can actually get deep into the gameplay. Want to hook up to stereo and sub too. Is there a kit for that? I would need a Spike 1 shaker motor right? And a 12V plug for pinstadiums. Question: does it have an empty box with the wires in it? Are they capped? I literally just need a single plug? I like the Prophets set up, very nice display!!

I'll post if it happens.

Thanks again, Dave

I had a little hick up with the main board, got it replaced and am also now running 1.02 "lost my Previous Grand Champ Score " The code update is a real improvement and worth the clean slate on the scores. If you played on the older code a lot then you will notice the massive improvement with timing and syncing of events with sounds and callouts etc. makes the game "feel" smoother. One improvement is that if you where in a multibal with the older code and completed all the shots to start heavy metal meltdown, your Multiball would drain due to the flippers dying as part of the HMM mode start. Now the game lets you play out the MB until one ball is left, then it kills the flippers to start the Wizard mode. I have to say, this is a great game.

Shut the coin door after going into test mode. Or pull the white button out (that the coin door bracket depresses when shut).