Saturday, July 20, 2013

Heavy Metal Books

Now is the time to get intellect y'all. 

As much as we enjoy listening along and head-banging to our heavy heroes sometimes its nice to sit down put on something chilled and read about them. 

I am a big fan of books about the genre and here are a few of my favourites. 

Marilyn Manson - The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell

Read this a long time ago now, but really enjoyed it, its horrible in places and hilarious in places, and you get a distinct impression Brian does not like the Smiths which is fine by me! Written by Neil Strauss of "The Game" fame (anyone not confident with the ladies check that one out too)

Motley Crue - The Dirt

So clichéd to have this here but there no denying its the daddy of the Rock biographies, tragically hilarious and unbelievable mostly. i love how at the time of writing none of them were really friends so you get each persons version of the story which is pretty funny. Hard to put down anyone not even into music would enjoy it. 


Slash - The Autobiography

The story of the guy everyone doesnt hate in Guns 'n' Roses, comes across as a really decent nice bloke who just wants to play guitar. Well worth a read not quite as crazy at the Crue but its not far off. 



White Line Fever: Lemmy - The Autobiography  


Similar lines to Slash, Lemmy comes across as a really decent guy, i dont know why i expect him to be different but he is a genuine cool guy with a really nice live and let live attitude. Good read, still cant stand Motorhead though. 


Mustaine: A Life In Metal 

This is just ok, good insight on his side of the Metallica thing, comes across as a guy who was a dick and now knows he was a dick and now isnt a dick. Worth a read though.


Iron Man - My Journey Through Heaven and Hell With Black Sabbath

Dont let the long title of Toni Iommi' book put you off this is quality, great anecdotes mixed in with intresting stories on how albums were made and certain iconic song written, if you are a Sabbath fan you have probably already read it and if you arent then its worth a go. Toni is the boss after all 


I Am Ozzy - Ozzy Osbourne

Theres no doubt about it, i am sure he was nagged into doing this, and i also have no doubt about it he cant remember a lot of the events in this book either, that doesnt make it a great read. Despite all the crazy shit he does you cant help but love him. Sir Elton, Sir Mick, Sir Paul errrrrrr why not Sir Ozzy! Probably due to a lot of the things he has done in this book. 


On Board Flight 666


Iron Maiden employ a photographer to follow them on a world tour they do on their own plane visiting places no sane band would bother with. Whats not to like and if you were at any of the shows during these tours you can spot your self in the crowd. The photos are of insane quality and really show of the band in their prime. Love this book so much. 



Headbangers Ball

Its very late! 1am on a saturday night in fact and i am not pissed. I am however watching heavy music television, Scuzz.

It got me to thinking that when i was young you would only get 1 or 2 hours a week of Heavy Music on TV int he form of Headbangers Ball then i think there was SuperRock (presented by a very hot dutch woman from memory). I used to stay up late to watch it even though i had school the next day. I am pretty sure i wouldn't be into half of the bands i am today if it wasn't for that show. I am fairly bored of music TV for our genre mostly these days, it seems both Kerrang and Scuzz play a lot of soft pop punk during the day and its extremely repetitive however you do get some absolute gems from time to time and if you stay up late enough it can be very good indeed. I am currently watching a Children of Bodom take over hour picking some of their favourite tracks which is pretty cool. 

I have had a bit of a search and it turns out Headbangers Ball does still exist as a web show somewhere so if you are so inclined check it out. 

It does appear that in this late hour i am writing this with no particular point. Anyway rather than write yet another rant about the decline of MTV and how its full of 16 year olds either pregnant or having ludicrous birthday parties  i thought i would try pick an old  school headbangers ball play list. 

So with the help of YouTube here it is! I am picking some of these on the strength of the video not that they are the best song by the bad but come on some of these videos are soooo good!!!

Please comment at the bottom your playlists. 

Also after much googling Super Rock Presenter was Julia Valet and she was German, so close!!!! Still pretty smoking....


Megadeth - Hanger 18



Alice In Chains - Would?




Faith No More - Ashes To Ashes


Deftones - My Own Summer


Korn - ADIDAS


Ozzy Osbourne - No More Tears 


Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss 


Corrosion of Conformity - Vote With A Bullet 


Pantera - Mouth For War 


Kind Diamond - Welcome Home


Exodus - A Good Day Day 


Green Jelly - Little Pig Little Pig (sorry couldnt resist) 


Helmet - Unsung


Ministry - Stigmata 



Could go on and on and on and on........