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Book Reviews:

Sound of the Beast - The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal

By Ian Christie

Harper Collins - 2003
ISBN 0-06-052362-X
$24.95, 400 pages

I love this book.  What was the coolest thing for me was bringing the realization that I have lived through the entire history of my favorite type of music.  Not only that, but being so much into the music, it was fun reading how the genre came together and all the bands I grew up (and continue) to listen to.

The band that established Heavy Metal was Black Sabbath.  Author Ian Christie trace's the band back to it's origin.  For me, I remember getting those early Sabbath records in the mid 70s and listening to them the first time while I was playing football with my brothers in our back yard.

What's also neat about this book is it doesn't discriminate within the genre.  Every form of heavy metal; from hard rock to hair metal, power metal, thrash, death metal, speed metal, black metal, nu metal it's all talked about and given the same importance.

Though I bought Metallica's first album Kill 'Em All in 1983, before I had even heard them (they had a striking cover and were on Megaforce Records) I had never read how they came to be.  Beginning in LA as metal fans, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield cultivated the band becoming more successful once they relocated to the bay area.  Metallica's evolution is notated and for good reason.  They've been the most successful HM band over the past twenty-five years and their moves have impacted metal the greatest.

I learned about a lot of the bands I'd never heard of before and the history of the heaviest forms of metal is interesting to say the least.  Going back over the deaths that were blamed on heavy metal music is unjust.  It reminded me of the witch hunt in Salem, MA where people were looking for a scapegoat for a crime and heavy metal music seemed the obvious answer.

The Norwegian criminal actions in the 90s that revolved around competitive speed metal band members was disturbing and stupid.

The book made me intrigued to see the two "Paradise Lost" documentaries about the "Memphis Three."  It sounds as though three metal rockers were unjustly tried and convicted for he death's of three Memphis boys.  Apparently because of the type of music they listened to.

If you are a metal fan of any kind you'll enjoy this.  If not, you might be surprised at the history of a form of music that morphs & spreads out in many directions and will never die.

www.soundofthebeast.com

www.harpercollins.com