Metal-edged touring road case with riveted corner hardware and a recessed handle, photographed in black and white.

STORIES AND FIELD NOTES

A point of view.A record of the work.

Publishing, technology and the decisions in between. Notes from an independent company building in public.

THE INAUGURAL EDITIONHISTORY / THE LABS / WHAT COMES NEXT

01 / FROM THE DESK

An Excellent Time to Procrastinate.

I've been meaning to refresh Blistering's websites for ages. Naturally, I picked the week of post-election chaos, AI panic and roughly $3 trillion disappearing from the markets to finally get around to it. The actual AI products we're building? They'll survive a little procrastination.

Blistering started as an online music magazine in the late ’90s, then found its way into advertising, decentralized networks and now AI. Not exactly a straight line, but we've never really worked that way.

So here we are. A fresh look and a place to open up our labs, share a few experiments, admit when things go sideways and hopefully meet some interesting people doing interesting things.

Our kind of people. The curious and the builders.

Founder & CEO, Blistering Media Inc.

02 / THE COMPANY

A few chapters. More to come.

1998
Turn it up.
Blistering.com begins life as an independent online metal magazine.
2004
Enter Fixion.
A vertical advertising network for heavy music launches, connecting independent publishers with advertisers across the scene.
2006
Officially official.
Blistering Media Inc. incorporates in Canada.
2009
Rue Saint-Jacques.
A company office in the heart of Old Montréal.
Rue Saint-Jacques, Old Montréal / The office years · Photograph by Robert
2013
End of an edition. Not the company.
The magazine signs off. Advertising and media carry on.
Read the original 2013 announcement.
2021
A decentralized world.
Exploring blockchain, decentralized networks and new ways to connect.
2025
Enter the AI era.
Learning, experimenting and rethinking how we build.
2026
First labs.
AI-powered publishing, advertising software and tools for independent businesses take shape.
11.11.2026UTC
THE FRONT DOORS ARE OPEN.
Twenty years in business. Six websites built from the ground up. Now the work is out in the open.
Five Blistering family properties, each with a distinct role: the corporate home, technology and intelligence, networks and connectivity, advertising and media, and this journal. Alongside them, the separately branded Fixion Media website carries on the commercial work.
Six websites. One established independent company bringing its work into public view. The front doors are open; the work behind them continues.
Sites checked
6 / 6
Launch verified (UTC)
2026-11-11T06:08:45.984Z
Elapsed infrastructure build
8d 4h 3m 29s 251ms
2027
Out of the lab.
First product launches planned for Q1. The next chapter begins.
ON THE ROADMAP

Repeating concrete supports beneath Montréal’s Samuel De Champlain Bridge, photographed by the founder after 2020. — Montréal / after 2020 · Photograph by Robert

03 / FROM THE LABS

A few things in the works.

Two significant projects are taking shape behind the scenes, alongside a growing set of tools born from our own daily work. Some of it is ready to talk about. Some of it isn't. That's what the labs are for.

01PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT

SIGNAL

[REDACTED]

Less noise. More usable intelligence. AI-assisted publishing, with people responsible for the decisions.

02ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT

SWITCHBOARD

FIXION AI

Advertising operations, from the first question to the work behind a campaign. Software in development; a distinct role from the Fixion Media business.

03EARLY EXPLORATION

BLISTERING WORKS

TOOLS FROM THE WORKBENCH

Modular tools born from our own publishing, advertising and operational needs. First useful to us. Perhaps useful to other businesses next.

EXPLORE THE LABS ↗

04 / FIXION MEDIA

Very much in business.

More than two decades after its early network days, Fixion Media is still doing what independent media needs: connecting publishers with advertisers. Today the work spans direct campaigns, programmatic advertising, sponsorships and custom formats—including exclusive worldwide representation for Blabbermouth.net.

New website. Same business. Plenty left to do.

VISIT FIXION MEDIA ↗

Concert audience silhouettes and an open-armed figure beneath atmospheric stage lighting. — The Fixion Media website

05 / THE NEXT CHAPTER

OWN YOUR STACK. ON YOUR TERMS.

We're building more of the tools we wish we'd had, starting with our own publishing, advertising and operational needs. Some may eventually become useful to other businesses too. Own your stack, on your terms—whether that means running the tools yourself or having someone help.

06 / BUILDING IN PUBLIC

Figuring it out as we go.

We're opening up the workshop.

Not just to announce what we've finished, but to share what happens along the way. The experiments, the wrong turns, the occasional breakthrough and the things we wish we'd figured out sooner.

Expect field notes from our labs, company milestones, industry observations, practical demonstrations and maybe even a few live builds. Some things will work. Others will make for better stories.

Curious? Follow along.

A point of view.A record of the work.

Turn it up.

Enter Fixion.

Officially official.

Rue Saint-Jacques.

End of an edition. Not the company.

A decentralized world.

Enter the AI era.

First labs.

THE FRONT DOORS ARE OPEN.

Out of the lab.

SIGNAL

SWITCHBOARD

BLISTERING WORKS

MEET THE FAMILY.