New Book Announced On The History Of Metal Titled "Louder Than Hell: The Unflinching Oral History Of Metal"
Authors Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman have issued the following announcement about an upcoming book on the history of metal:
"'Louder Than Hell: The Unflinching Oral History of Metal' by Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman will be a comprehensive, informative and entertaining history of metal told by the people who created it. In addition to talking to a broad range of artists, the authors will interview industry professionals, music insiders, journalists, filmmakers, and others to reveal the social and musical history of the genre that has transformed so many lives over the decades. Harper Collins Publishers will release 'Louder Than Hell' in 2011.
"For the book, Wiederhorn and Turman will include quotes from over 100 artists from the past and present, ranging from cult heroes to mainstream stars. Members of Black Sabbath, Twisted Sister, Slayer, Metallica, Dokken, Def Leppard, Pentagram, Judas Priest, Lamb of God, Mastodon, Slipknot will collectively reveal the evolution of metal from the ‘60s to the present, in all its explosive, ear-bleeding, hedonistic glory. 'Louder Than Hell' will also include over 100 rare and never-before-seen photos, flyers and illustrations, which will complement the compelling text 'There have been some excellent books about the history of heavy metal, but never one as indepth and revealing as ‘Louder Than Hell,' says Wiederhorn. 'Instead of bombarding readers with our opinions and analysis, we’re letting the musicians do the talking.'
"Turman adds, 'I’ve been a metal and hard rock fan forever, and as a longtime music journalist and also an inveterate reader, I’m so excited to help tell the definitive story of metal.'"
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21 Comments on "New Book Announced On The History Of Metal"

6. writes:
I'll probably give this a shot. For all the sh!t I talk about Slipknot, I still enjoy Iowa and of course regarding the bands I could care less about (especially their opinions), I will easily skim over their interviews.
KK: Lol. LOG and Mastodon ain't metal? All this time we've been duped into buying their albums too. Damn...
NP: Digital B!tch - BS
9. writes:
13. writes:
I haven't yet no. I only started reading books again for the first time in years a few months ago when I was in hospital. I read Charlie Bronson's book, "Bronson" and from there read his books, "Insanity" and "Me and the Krays." I've also read Lenny McLean's autobiography, "The Guv'nor". I ordered Chopper's first book yesterday along with Frankie Fraser's autobiography. Is John Douglas an ex-gangster or something? I tend to stick with true crime books.
14. writes:
The best metal book I've read was Ian Christie's 'Sound of the Beast.' The rest have been sheer drivel focused largley around c*** rock and nu-metal.
Hmm...Ya know Oz, that gives me an idea. Maybe I should write a book about how to classify metal? 'Idiots Guide to genre-ing and subgenre-ing metal acceptably and in accordance with the impossible standards of a perfectionist, purist, elitist'. (Also available in Just for Dummies version).
BUT WAIT! There's more. WATCH as the UPC code on the back TRANSFORMS into a convenient label maker Of DEATH! This fantastic time waster can be yours for the everyday low price of one soul (+ shipping, handeling and sacrificing)! (due to Gene Simmons owning a copyright on money, I can't charge dollars)
15. writes:
Lol go for it mate. I myself have been drawing up plans to produce a documentary on British thrash. Britain had some great thrash bands but we tend to get overlooked for some reason, so I wanna go into the history of bands like Venom, Onslaught, Xentrix, Sabbat and Lawnmower Deth and what the scene was like. It could be some time before it comes to fruition though.
17. writes:
Probably because the NWOBHM influenced thrash bands started up the bay scene in the states and got all the glory. That was where it was at when Thrash was flourishing, so those thrash bands elsewhere were largely underrated and unheard of in comparison. Or at least in the states.
Look at the BM and DM scenes. Even though there are a million black metal bands in the US, the ones from Norway tend to get recongized more easily. Then go back and look at hardcore and metalcore - most of the bands you hear about are in the US (NYHC and the northeast) even though there are others in Europe (Germany has a pretty sizable hardcore scene it seems). So that's my guess as to why British Thrash has been somewhat overlooked relative to other bands.
19. writes:
Europeans don't seem to be as "good" at hardcore as you Americans I've found.
But anyway, writing a book on something so diverse and sprawling as the metal scene is pointless, so much stuff will be missed and its just going to be about the same old sh** we all know.
20. writes:
Yeah I've never seen a good European hardcore band. But there's probably quite a few out there.
I see what DB is saying about how music is associated with certain areas, but alot of people also think of Germany for thrash too with bands like Kreator, Assassin, Destruction and Sodom. Ah well. Maybe thrash is one thing the Germans did beat the Brits at! (I'm just joking Gerry, I love ya.)
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1. keisha189 writes:
sounds interesting. I havent found many books on this subject. Mostly short articles in magazines.I look forward to reading it when it's published.