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

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 416 pages
• Published by: Harper Paperbacks February 17, 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0380811278
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0380811274
• Book Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Weighs: 1.4 pounds

From Publishers Weekly
Few books on heavy metal music can compare to Christe's thoughtful and passionate history of the music of the beast. There is little argument that heavy metal began in earnest with Black Sabbath (though the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" is considered by some to be the first heavy metal song), and Christe holds to convention and begins his metal timeline in early 1970. Following in the jamming, bluesy tradition of the Yard Birds and Cream, Sabbath (then called Earth) wrote "Black Sabbath"-a song that changed not only the band's name, but the face of rock and roll. Black Sabbath set the pace, but bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple "fleshed out the edges and gave it sex appeal." The next wave, the new wave of British heavy metal, saw the emergence of Motorhead, Saxon and Iron Maiden among many others. The movement then spread through America and found most bands cropping up out of L.A. (although many migrated from the Midwest). Van Halen, Ratt and Motley Crue grew out of the then underground club scene. Christe doesn't get bogged down in anecdotes about bands and their groupies, but instead documents the music and its different genres. Each chapter contains helpful "genre boxes" giving a brief description of the style (e.g., Power Metal, Death Metal and Nu Metal). If Christe is to be faulted, it is on the grounds of hero worship: he's a metal fan, scribe (a music writer living in Brooklyn) and practitioner (in a digital metal band called Black Noerd), and readers might wish for more critical analysis about the culture of fans. But this is a minor point in a book otherwise worthy of having its dog-eared and beer-stained pages passed among friends and placed in motel-room bedside drawers. 94 b&w photos, and 16-page color insert not seen by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-MTV's Headbanger's Ball, which debuted in 1987, was canceled in 1995-metal was officially "over." But it has returned to the schedule, and metal is making a comeback. In Christe's exhaustive history, readers watch metal rise, fall, change, and splinter into a massive number of genres (death metal, black metal, thrash metal, and more). As in David Konow's Bang Your Head (Three Rivers, 2002), the story begins with Black Sabbath (as if there would be any other choice); but while Konow kept to the well known, Christe gives just as much attention to the fringes. Also unlike Konow, he eschews gossip for almost scholarly explanations of the musicians' creative process and their works. Through it all, he shows the impact of competing forces (like punk, grunge, and rap). Chapters are arranged chronologically but also by genre, and each one is packed with black-and-white photographs and "genre boxes" that list the definitive recordings, ending with the author's choice for the 25 best metal albums of all time. The book is well indexed. New metal fans will run to the music store not only because of the knowledge gained from this volume, but also because of the enthusiastic (though sometimes a little overwrought) way the author shares it.
Jamie Watson, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal (Hardcover) Having read quite a few music histories and biographies, the one thing that really stands out about Ian Christe's book is the writing; in a word, superb! Many of the reviews of this book that I've read miss this and gripe, simply because their favorite bands did not get enough coverage. Sure I could complain that Black Flag or the Obsessed or Corrosion of Conformity doesn't get enough coverage, but that wouldn't change the fact that Metallica is simply the most important band in metal. Doesn't mean they are the best, but they, more than any other band, are responsible for metal being as popular as it is today. Christe nails it on the head that heavy metal really started with Sabbath (I like Zeppelin, the Who and Hendrix too, but they were rock bands and spawned an entirely different generation of music). EVERY metal band around owes a debt to Sabbath (for the heaviness, the look, and the orchestration). In addition, he does an excellent job of covering the whole metal scene and a brilliant job in breaking down the genre by sub-genre. The fact that bands such as the Accused, Die Kreuzen and Exodus are mentioned is awesome and the depth and breadth of metal knowledge that Christe has accumulated over the years is impressive. If you are interested in the hard rock-punk evolution, read Rock and the Pop Narcotic (Joe Carducci). For metal, this is the book. Hats off to you Ian! Great book!