The Holy Bible for Metal Diehards and Music Fans alike!

books:


	• Sound of the Beast : The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal Ian Christe HarperEntertainment, 2003 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 50 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

This is my new Bible

Now, see, this book is not your run-of-the-mill factual information book. It can be clearly seen that pictures and interviews were carefully taken and meticulously collected. Dates and sources were painstakingly gathered and verified. Yet, even then, it still goes beyong a simple book of information. The descriptions used within the text lets the reader know that the author, Ian Christe, is passionate about the allmighty genre of metal and all the subgenres it holds. From its early beginnings with Black Sabbath, till the turn of the 21st century, Christe goes beyond the imagery and music and delves into the very mindset of the artists of each time period. Any one that is an avid metal fan and eager to learn more about the history of the ever-revolutionary genre should definitely pick this up, as well as self-proclaimed aficionados, for they too will be taught many things from this fantastic book.

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The Holy Bible for Metal Diehards and Music Fans alike!

This is a must read for anyone interested in rock music. It dives deep into the world of heavy metal by interweaving the most obscure with the most transparent. Sound of the Beast connects metal to other underground genres like hardcore punk, thrash and rap, as it thoroughly narrates the history of heavy metal.

For anyone interested in learning about how Celtic Frost connects to Black Flag or the history of black metal versus thrash, it is a must read. For anyone interested in how the Internet has shifted the face of the music industry, it is also a must have.

This book as something for everyone -- part time rock music fans or committed tape traders from the days of yore will both find this book enjoyable.

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Metal History Lesson

It was ok. If you are looking for a book about hair metal it is only a small part of this book. It gets into harder stuff like death metal, speed metal, etc. It reads like a history book and does not really contain stories, but more facts. It is very thorough though and if you are looking for a perspective on all types of metal, you can't go wrong.

After all, 'art' is so subjective

This is about as concise a 'history' of Metal as you are likely to find anywhere. All the favorite bands are here. All the different periods are covered. And yet it's still compact and concise enough to not be boring. Can you imagine long-haired headbangers slogging through a HISTORY book the size of 'War and Peace' without falling asleeep ? This book comes close, but redeems itself through some interesting features, such as interviews with key Metal men and interesting lists and boxes of Metal facts. Some of Dee Snider's insights are priceless.

This book has several weaknesses:
- Ian Christe seems to be in love with himself and his own writing. He over-indulges in flowery prose, seemingly using grand words just for the sake of seeming clever. Come on. Sometimes this seems like an English Literature essay, when it really should be just a passionate account from one Metal-head to another.
- Ian Christe also fails to hide his own biases and prejudices in musical tastes. It's so obvious that he is a fan of Black Sabbath, Metallica and Black Metal bands. The bulk of this book revolves around these. Everyone else in the Metal scene appear only incidentally, as background providing context only for the rise of these idols. Ian Christe's history of Metal is mostly the history of the rise of Metallica. That's fine if you worship Iommi, Hetfield and Euronymus. If you like Van Halen, Maiden, Anthrax and others, expect to feel like second class citizens. If you have the misfortune to like Stryper, Slayer or even grunge, then spare yourself the humiliation and stay away from this book.
- The photos are very 'run of the mill'. No pleasant surprises. And again, there are more photos of Metallica than anyone else.
- The descriptions of the music are all given in glamorous hyperbole. Christe's aim seems to be delivery of verbose ravings about his own favorites and semi-witty snipes at Metal bands he dislikes (especially Glam Metal and grunge). If you are a musician yourself, you'll miss some sort description of the technical innovations each Metal era brought. If you are a serious fan, you'll miss a more critical appraisal of the songs and riffs.

And yet, despite these gripes, overall I liked the book. It's still quite readable. Even if you didn't know most of the bands mentioned before, this book will still interest you enough to want to go listen to some of their music. Personally, I like Metallica and didn't mind the obvious bias by the author at all. But even if you do find the bias irritating, just remind yourself: music is an art. And after all, appreciation of 'art' is inherently subjective.

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Interesting genre examination

Sound of the Beast is subtitled The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal and as such it certainly sets itself up as having a big task ahead. Ian Christe has here compiled a book of almost 400 pages in it's hardcover form and he has a fair crack at trying to encapsulate many things about the entire hard rock/heavy metal genre and the book does flow quite well from the discussion of the early history of metal through to the bands of the 70's, 80's and also the 90's. He touches down on most of the main points of the music`s history by looking at the reasons the music`s fans like it, the way they have been treated by society at large and also looks at how metal has treated society.

Christe definitely gives the appearance of liking metal himself. For me this was a big plus as it meant he has some empathy with his subject. It meant that he could make fun of metal which is something it quite roundly deserves, but it also means that when he is taking the mickey out of metal he is laughing with you, not at you. And that's an important distinction for anyone trying to connect with their readers.

Christe has split his book into twenty different chapters and each is quite well defined and the book certainly flows making for a brisk and easy read. The book contains a number of stand alone boxed sections and quick discussions of various metallic sub genres as well as a number of colour and black and white photographs that document the history of metal along with the text.

Personal likes about this particular book is the empathy Christe has with his subject matter and the fact that he doesn't come across as some sort of star struck fanzine writer but a person with some perspective. The extensive and judicious use of quotes by a varied range of both band members, managers and record company types gives a broad range of viewpoints and certainly speaks of some extensive research undertaken by the author. Some of the bands quoted and/or interviewed were only bit players but it's his desire to use quotes by such bit players as well as the more bankable megastars of the genre that also gives the reader the feeling that in most of the areas under discussion they're getting the real deal, a fair and balanced overview. His views of the grunge revolution are interesting though since this book is from 2002 it's a tiny bit dated as I write in 2007, as it fails to fully take into account the death of nu-metal, the brief fluttering of metalcore and it also fails to encompass the massive metal explosion that occurred in Europe during the 00's, not to mention the female fronted metal phenomena. Still, to be fair the book came out in 2002 and it's not to be held against the author that his work has become a touch dated.

Besides, I particularly enjoyed being reminded of bands whose existence I'd utterly forgotten about and it also got me digging in my collection to re-listen to a number of discs that I'd let sit around collecting dust for way to long. And that is perhaps what I thank the author for the most.

Dislikes however are also present. Christe focuses on metal. Taking a leaf out of Manowars book he barely deigns to cover the false metal that has populated the hard `n' heavy spectrum throughout it's life. And it's this refusal to adequately cover the very music that so many people associate with metal in the first place that is a major failing of the book. Whether he chose to denigrate them or not, the Hollyrock bands deserved a far larger slice of the pie, especially as Christe champions so many bands that were bare blips on the radar even in their heyday. And the amount of time he spends discussing the extreme end of the metal spectrum throws the book out of balance somewhat despite it's pleasant writing style.

In summation I'd heartily recommend this book as an interesting read for any fan of metal though fans of the more hair band sub genres may find less here for them than they'd like. And given the sales figures for hair metal were so massive perhaps Christe has misjudged his audience. Still, more power to him as he's come up with one of the few decent studies of heavy music in the written form and for the most part he's avoided hysterics while also giving his opinions in an open and forthright manner.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Welcome, all ye who dare enter Sound of the Beast, the first definitive look at the madness and mayhem of heavy metal. From its cataclysmic beginning with Black Sabbath over 30 years ago to the hyperactive nu metal bands ripping apart the charts today, heavy metal has become the dominant musical force around the globe. Yet despite selling over a quarter-billion albums and breaking into new markets wherever it can be heard, there has never been a complete overview of metal's dark, powerful, and untamed history -- until now.

Pieced together through countless hours of research and first-hand accounts from the masters of met al themselves, Sound of the Beast reveals the underground history to the first three decades of headbanging mania. Included here are heavy metal's primitive origins; the rise and fall of MTV hair metal; Metallica's successful quest for world domination; the devilish frenzy of Florida death metal; the church-burning fever of Scandinavia's morbid teen terrorists; and metal's return to center stage at the hands of Ozzfest and Ozzy Osbourne. Plus, readers will get:

20 chapters based on interviews with Black Sabbath, Metallica, Slayer, W.A.S.P., Slipknot, and over 100 of heavy metal's greatest bandsA timeline of the most explosive happenings in metal from 1970 to 2002Never-before-seen color photos and over 100 images from the metal revolutionA listing of 25 heavy metal masterpieces that changed music historyGenre boxes breaking down dozens of metal styles, from thrash and black metal to avant-garde and beyond, including essential CDs Exclusive insight from Chuck D of Public Enemy, Iron Maiden artist Derek Riggs, the directors of Paradise Lost, and more

With hairs bristling and fangs bared, Sound of the Beast is the must-read story of heavy metal for die-hard fans, fresh new converts, and musical thrill-seekers alike. Hear the call of the wild as this extreme, elusive, and ear-splitting form of music finally gets its justice, and leaves everyone in its wake banging their heads and flipping the devil sign for years to come.

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