Customer Reviews

Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this back to back with _Sound of the Beast_ by Ian Christie and was pleased to find that they (mostly) cover different material. The first thing you'll notice is that except for obligatory coverage of Black Sabbath, Zepplin, AC/DC, Kiss and Metallica, this book focuses mostly on the LA metal scene, AKA the MTV Bands. This may leave you wondering, "Where the heck is the Black Metal?" even though Konow does cover Venom somewhat, as the progenitor of this style. Europe is pretty much ignored, and it'll probably feel like your favorite band got short shrift. Furthermore, the writing isn't very smooth - the book is mostly a collection of anecdotes and factoids. X did this, Y said that, Z was released and did well but not well enough...

With all that said, though, I enjoyed the book quite a bit. The fact density means that you're learning new things every page, at least if, like me, you weren't really into the scene itself, just the music. And if the book had been as wordy as _Sound of the Beast_, it would have been twice as large without giving you much more information. I had no idea Gene Simmons was born Chaim Witz in Israel. Funny bits like Henry Rollins's description of how bad Venom was on tour ('I expected them to break into Sex Farm Woman at any moment') amused me quite a lot.

Furthermore, Konow's concentration on a smaller population of LA Bands gives this book more depth than Chistie's in several areas. _Sound of the Beast_ just mentions that Quiet Riot's first cd sold 4 million, their second 1 million. Finis. _Bang Your Head_ goes into all the scheming and politics behind this, why their second record doing 'only' 1 million was a disaster, and how Quiet Riot leader DuBrow shot himself in the foot repeatedly.

Even though I never particularly cared for the hair bands (which is what most of the LA Bands were, especially in the tarnished Golden Age of MTV Metal), you certainly couldn't escape them, and it's quite fascinating to find just /how/ self-centered and talentless a lot of them were. Find out just /how/ bad a bass player Nikki Sixx was. Learn why Guns 'n' Roses hasn't released _Chinese Democracy_ yet after almost a decade, though Axl's put $8 million into it. Konow also touches on bands that never quite broke through, like Dokken and Armored Saint, and the whys and the wherefores.

So read _Sound of the Beast_ for a global but shallow view of metal, and then _Bang Your Head_ for a more in-depth focus of a few of the bands and more of the Why instead of the What. I had a hard time setting either down.

The best parts in this book are the stories and anecdotes about the bands or the individuals in the bands. Vince Neil is protrayed as the butt of a joke and David Lee Roth is portrayed as a spoiled rich kid turned professional jerk. The stories of the bands are entertaining, because it allows the reader to see just how ridiculous some people can be. However, the book falls short on many levels. Some of the most talented bands of Metal only receive very small sections of the book. I believe that Iron Maiden has a page. Judas Priest has a paragraph. Motorhead, while very influential is only mentioned in sections. The core of the book is made of the L.A. scene, focusing on bands such as Ratt, Motley Crue and Guns and Roses. While these bands were good, they were not the only Metal around in the 80's.
Another disturbing aspect of the book is that Konow claims that Metal was wiped out by the Seattle scene. This is untrue. Konow ignores that Pantera's album, "Far Beyond Driven" debuted at number one the week it was released. Konow also fails to acknowledge that Slayer released some of their most ferocious work in the 90's. I will say that Metal was not as mainstream in the 90's, however to say that it was dead is preposterous. David Konow has written for Guitar World magazine, which I used to read. The late Dimebag Darrel once wrote columns for the magazine well in to the 90's. Dime once said something along the lines of, "Some people think that Metal is Dead, but Metal ain't all assed up yet." I would say to potential readers, that this book is fair. If you want a better read then first check out, "Sound of the Beast" first. That book covers all genre's of metal fairly well and you get more of a history as opposed to the tabloid feaud-like rivalry that "Bang Your Head" offers.

Konow's exploration of the rise and fall of the heavy metal scene is a rich social and cultural exploration that reads like an oral history, which, in many respects, is exactly what the book is, given the voluminous musicians and social observers that Konow had access to in preparing his opus. It's fascinating to see how metal became, in the 80s, a parody of itself with the emergence of the "hair bands". And, as if that wasn't enough to ensure the demise of the metal sound,the Seattle grunge musicians were lurking in the background, about to unleash their own musical revolution with a little help from MTV. A swift read that should appeal to any reader with an interest in the pop culture of the 1980s.

Although some have criticized Ian Christe's book "Sound of the Beast" for focusing too heavily on Metallica, at least he made an effort to cover many, if not most, of the bands and genres out there, even if he just paid 30-second lip service to them. This book, by contrast, is mostly the saga of the 80s hair bands that gained popularity on MTV. It would have been fine if it had had a title that suggested that. Instead, it's represented as some sort of exploration of heavy metal generally, which it most definitely is NOT. Contrary to the title, heavy metal never really "fell", it just branched into different directions and is still very much alive today, as the plethora of European, if not American, festivals suggests. Bottom line, DON'T buy this book thinking you'll get a comprehensive history of metal. Buy this book only if you want to read gossipy stories about Van Halen and the like. Better yet, skip this book entirely and go buy Motley Crue's "The Dirt".

Good overview of the metal scene. Konow pretty much covers the most important metal bands of the last century (Black Sabbath, Metallica, Motley Crue, Led Zepplin, etc.) -- their rise, bloated excess and fall. He also gives small coverage to some lesser-known bands such as Armored Saint and Exodus, though not enough for my tastes. The problem with this book, as some of the other reviewers have stated, is that this does read more like a bunch of magazine articles strung together. Also, because there are so many bands covered here, as well as many different styles (hair metal, speed metal, classic metal, etc.) there are bands you may not care about or some that you just don't like at all. There were some bands in here that I could care less about, and that made for tedious reading. However, that's the nature of a book like this. Konow tries to cover as much ground as he can without the book growing to encyclopedic proportions. For the most part, Konow succeeds in what he was trying to do, but only on a superficial level.

Appealing history of the genre that offended critics, moved millions of units, and thrilled adolescents of all ages. Konow's debut follows a straightforward thesis: heavy metal maintained enormous and under-acknowledged worldwide popularity from the 1970s through approximately 1992, when many factors, particularly the Seattle "alternative" explosion, consigned most bands to the cut-out bin. He identifies metal's crucial elements-multi-guitar power chords, energized vocals, rebellious occult trappings, elaborate stage productions-and traces their almost accidental coalescence during the `70's as pioneers like Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, KISS, and Queen toured constantly. By the decade's end, economic malaise compelled a young generation to hurry into bands, resulting in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal: Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, and Judas Priest. In turn, these groups inspired an explosion in American "underground metal," most prominently Metallica, while pop-metal acts like Bon Jovi and the infinitely sleazier (hence authentic-seeming) Guns N' Roses dominated record sales in the late `80s. A fan first and critic second, Konow discusses the laughable (W.A.S.P., Motley Crue, Poison) and the venerable (Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Slayer, AC/DC) with the same lucid enthusiasm. He attributes metal's commercial dominance to grassroots fan loyalty, MTV's marketing savvy, and major labels' deep pockets, which enabled the profligate "hair bands" to consume huge sums while recording and touring. The ludicrous side of metal, immortalized in the seminal "mockumentary" This Is Spinal Tap, emerges in numerous hilarious anecdotes concerning the awesome egotism of figures like Axl Rose or David Lee Roth and the myopia of bands like Dokken or Quiet Riot, which expected to remain popular forever. Konow's discussion of metal's commercial decline offers shrewd analysis of cultural shifts: MTV and major labels happily dropped the metal bands once profitablility waned, while embittered musicians blamed fair-weather fans and alternative rock "nerds" rather than examining their own sordid histories (herein documented) of misogyny, thuggishness, substance abuse, and uninspired recordings. Even non-headbangers may enjoy this engaging account of an improbable musical watershed.

This is a fast, esay & fun read about the rise and fall of hard rock/heavy metal looked at in an 80's "hair-rock" perspective. Most of the material is from the major rock magazines at the time completed with the actual participants contributing their take on what it was like. If you where growing up with the scene, than you'd probably be aware of most of the storyline, but even the most hardcore fan will enjoy revisiting the era and pick up a few new tales they didn't know about. The book covers most of the bands at the time and their story of rise and fall (Well, some bands are still rocking like back in their prime!) and gives some interesting portraits of the people behind it all.

A must read for metal fans! A very funny and knowledgeable book about the most famous bands of metal and heavy metal itself. It features bands such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, KISS, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Dokken, Ratt, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Exodus, Skid Row, Warrant, Winger and More! As well it talks about Knac, MTV, the NWOBHM and the beginning of heavy metal and fall during the Grunge era.

All the other metal books I have read do not give any attention to the hair metal scene, which was one of my favorite metal scenes. Also, this is the first one I have read which mentions KNAC, a has-been heavy metal radio station in Long Beach, California. KNAC was a major part of 80's metal, and I don't think it is very nice to ignore it. And also, finally an author who agrees with me 100%: Metal died when the grunge bands came out. Many people call the garbage nu metal actual metal, but it is not. This is finally one who ignores the black and death metal scenes, which are the two most horrible types of music in the world and an embarrasment to metal. There are two minor flaws. The author does not mention Iron Maiden in the entire book, I believe, and he does give aknoweledgement to Bon Jovi, which is not a metal band whatsoever. But I feel this book is superior to Sound Of The Beast, or The Book Of Metal, because it gives quite a bit of information about the rise and fall of KNAC, and does not aknoweledge nu metal, death metal, or black metal, none of which are true metal.

This is an amazing book. If you like heavy metal, this book has inside information on all of the important events and the motivations behind them. I have other books on this subject, documentaries, behind the music episodes, music magazines, and there is info in here that you simply cannot find elsewhere, such a description of a fistfight between George Lynch and Don Dokken in a limo.

If you like Heavy Metal, YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK. I have loaned it to 4 people, and they all loved it. The people who do not like this book simply do not like 80s metal, and they are the fools for buying a book on a genre that they do not enjoy. No one who likes this music would be shallow and pretentious enough to call it "hair metal" when hair had nothing to do with the music. Notice the negative reviews below are from people who use the term. Go figure.