Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal | 
|  | | | Title: | Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal | | Author: | Ian Christe | | Publisher: | Harper Paperbacks | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | February, 2004 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0380811278 / 9780380811274 | | List Price: | $14.95 | | You Save: | $4.03 | | Amazon Price: | $10.92 | |
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Product Description
In this first-ever atlas of the heavy metal phenomenon, Ian Christe delivers a bird's-eye view of this dark and forbidden music. The ultimate headbanger history, Sound of the Beast reveals tales of concert hysteria, courtroom drama, and musical triumph with: Interviews with Black Sabbath, Metallica, Morbid Angel, Megadeth, Twisted Sister, Kiss, Slipknot, and many others Genre boxes explaining black metal, power metal, thrash metal, nu metal, and more More than a hundred rare and unpublished photos A thirty-year graphic timeline of metal milestones, hilarious metal lists, and the twenty-five most original recordings of all time
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Customer Reviews:
• Metal History Lesson 19 November, 2007
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.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AD60UI75B8LZE
• This Is My New Bible 26 October, 2007
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.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1TNI99JRO4PHI
• Interesting Genre Examination 22 October, 2007
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.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A5R3U8ZSFKAL4
• The Holy Bible For Metal Diehards And Music Fans Alike! 31 March, 2007
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.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1ACVCPYUG2WI7
• Great Resource 23 November, 2008
i had to write a research paper about Heavy Metal and i used this as my main source. Has everything you ever want/need in a heavy metal history book. After i was done with my paper i finished the book just for personal pleasure. Buy it
- Reviewed by customer ID: AZUJ8F7XP7GKZ
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