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

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 more than thirty 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 more than a quarter-billion albums and breaking into new markets wherever it can be heard, metal has never been given a complete overview of its dark, powerful, and untamed history -- until now.

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 Ozzy Osbourne and Ozzfest.

Plus, readers will get: Twenty chapters based on interviews with Black Sabbath, Metallica, Slayer, W.A.S.P., Slipknot, and more than one hundred other great heavy metal bands. A timeline of the most explosive happenings in metal from 1970 to 2002. Never-before-published color photos and more than one hundred images from the metal revolution. A list of twenty-five heavy metal masterpieces that changed music history. Genre boxes breaking down dozens of metal styles, from thrash and black metal to avant-garde and beyond, including essential CDs. Exclusive insights from Chuck D of Public Enemy, Iron Maiden artist Derek Riggs, the directors of Paradise Lost, and more. With hair bristling and fangs bared, Sound of the Beast is the must-read story of heavy metal for diehard fans, fresh converts, and musical thrill seekers alike. Hear the call of the wild as this dark, 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.