Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History [Paperback]

Martin Popoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2006

Nearly 40 years of drugs, depression, booze, the Beast, and paranoia are laid out in unflinching detail in this journey into the wicked world of Black Sabbath. With numerous albums that are routinely on "best of" lists, an influence on contemporary acts that cannot be overstated, and an original lineup—fronted by the infamously addled Ozzy Osbourne—that continues to tour, Black Sabbath still fills coliseums and amphitheaters all over the world. Through rare and previously unpublished interviews, documents, and artifacts spanning the band's entire career, readers get an all-access pass to Sabbath's manic history, from bat-biting to rehab. The book contains new and never-before-seen photos and conversations that shed more light on metal's dark forefathers. Every album is cataloged, every song pored over, and every tour deconstructed—making this headlong rush down metal-memory lane the definitive reference to the band.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A great book, easily leapfrogging past other Sabbathologies to the head of the field."  —Ink 19 Magazine

"His book goes deep, but never leaves the reader bored or overwhelmed. The excellent photos give reinforcement to the story Popoff reveals."  —Maximum Ink

"A thorough history of the band and the music. . . . A must-read for new and old Sabbath fans."  —Universal Wheels

"A must for Sabbath fans . . . all fans of rock literature should check this out."  —PiercingMetal.com

"Popoff's look at [Black Sabbath] takes on a slightly new perspective, and that makes it a worthwhile read."  —Curled Up With a Good Book

About the Author

Martin Popoff is the author of 14 books, including two volumes of The Collectors Guide to Heavy Metal, Contents Under Pressure, and The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: ECW Press (August 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550227319
• ISBN-13: 978-1550227314
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #521,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Periodical Journalism:

Editorships: HardRadio - Reviews Editor and Writer (Hard Reviews), Interviews Editor and Writer (Hard Views); bravewords.com: Senior Editor.

Contributing Writer: Goldmine, bravewords.com.

Past Work: Amazon.com, musicmusicmusic.com, hmv.com, metalshop.com, CMJ, Chart, chartattack.com, Outsider, VH1.com, Glass Eye, Maximum Guitar, Guitar World, Lollipop, Record Collector, Revolver, Live Wire, Enrage, Radio M.O.I..com, Juggernaut, Classic Rock, bwbk.com, lollipop.com, seaoftranquility.com, interview radio show called BraveWords Radio at internet station VirtuallyCanadian '96 - '98, BBC doc on heavy metal, long-form reviews and features for special edition metal Hammer mags on AC/DC and Iron Maiden, Foreword in Neil Daniels' book, All Pens Blazing: A Heavy Metal Wwriters Handbook, Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles ('94 - '08): Editor In Chief and Writer, Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage feature film and DVD - Researcher, Metal Evolution (11 episode series on metal genres for VH1 Classic), a Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen production - Researcher.


Books:

Riff Kills Man! 25 Years Of Recorded Hard Rock & Heavy Metal (1993)
-1,945 album reviews, 440 p.

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal (1997)
- update of Riff Kills Man!: 3750 album reviews, 540 p., 600,000 words, full-length CD sampler, in fourth printing

Goldmine Heavy Metal Record Price Guide (2000)
- 11,800 entries, 300 photos, 368 p., best of list, essays, full-length CD sampler

Heavy Metal: 20th Century Rock And Roll (2000)
- part of series, themed as The Fifty Most Influential Bands In Heavy Metal, essays, interview segments, discographies, best of lists, 190 p.

Southern Rock Review (2001)
- 410 southern rock record reviews, 150 album cover shots, 200 p., 10 tr. CD sampler, appendices

The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs Of All Time (2003)
- poll winners, reviews of each, artist quotes for approx. 460 of them, singles shots, artist lists, 486 p.

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal - Volume 1: The Seventies (2003)
- 1162 reviews of '70s hard rock albums, most not in original '97 source book (and those that were, expanded/rewritten), 188 album cover shots, seven appendices, 12 tr. rarities sampler, 344 p.

The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time (2004)
- Like the Songs book but better, longer quotes and reviews, longer overall, due to 7" x 10" page size (450 p.). New appendices etc. Winners from a poll, reviews by me, artist quotes for almost all entries.

Blue Oyster Cult: Secrets Revealed (2004)
- A 193 p. bio of the band (focus on albums and songs); original interviews with Buck, Eric, Albert, Joe, and Bobby, plus Greg Scott, Ioannis, Murray Krugman, Sandy Pearlman, Richard Meltzer, John Shirley, Helen Wheels and David Roter.

Contents Under Pressure: 30 Year of Rush At Home & Away (2004)
- a 230 page book with 270 photos (most quite rare) authorized by the band, with fresh interviews, to be sold in bookstores and on tour; full colour throughout, 7" x 10" format.

The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal Singles (2005)
- 580 reviews, 424 pictures of rare singles, prices, catalog #s, dates, label info, 192 p.

UFO: Shoot Out The Lights (2005)
- album by album, song by song "bio" of the band, much new interview footage, 257 p.

Rainbow: English Castle Magic (2005)
- album by album, song by song "bio" of the band, much new interview footage, 228 p.

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal - Volume 2: The Eighties (2005)
- 2,528 reviews of '80s albums, Metal Blade CD, album cover shots, two appendices, 432 p.

Dio: Light Beyond The Black
- album by album, song by song "bio" of the band, much new interview footage, 207 p.

Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose
- all eras covered in detail, full colour throughout, large format, 1 kg of doom, 355 p.

Run For Cover: The Art Of Derek Riggs (2006)
- full colour, large format, high quality art book, with loads of chat from Derek, 180 p.

Ye Olde Metal: 1968 to 1972 (2007)
- full trade 6" x 9" format, 231 pages, essays with interviews on classic old hard rock albums.

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal - Volume 3: The Nineties (2007)
- 3,073 reviews of '90s albums, Metal Blade CD, two appendices, 518 p.

Ye Olde Metal: 1973 to 1975 (2007)
- full trade 6" x 9" format, 232 pages, essays with interviews on classic old hard rock albums.

Judas Priest: Heavy Metal Painkillers (2007)
- album by album, 541 pictures, 8" x 10", full colour throughout, 380 p.

Ye Olde Metal: 1976 (2008)
- full trade 6" x 9" format, 241 pages, essays with interviews on classic old hard rock albums.

Ye Olde Metal: 1977 (2008)
- full trade 6" x 9" format, 247 pages, essays with interviews on classic old hard rock albums.

All Access: The Art And History Of The Backstage Pass (2008)
- full colour, hardcover, with nearly 1000 photos of passes.

Gettin' Tighter: Deep Purple '68-76 (2008)
- my 250 page book looking at all the records through Mk. IV; lots of pictures too

Ye Olde Metal: 1978 (2008)
- 250 action packed pages on Starz, Boyzz, Godz, DMZ... all the "z" bands.

Blue Oyster Cult! Secrets Revealed! (2009)
- new 2009 edition: new cover, 100 more pages, 174 pictures.

Worlds Away: Voivod & The Art Of Michel Langevin (2009)
- hard cover, full colour throughout, a mammoth compendium.

Goldmine Price Guide To 45 RPM Records, 7th. Ed. (2009)
- front essays, collectible info, 700-odd pages of listings, lots of pictures

Goldmine Record Album Price Guide, 6th. Ed. (2009)
- front essays, collectible info, 700-odd pages of listings, lots of pictures

A Castle Full Of Rascals: Deep Purple '83 - '09 (2009)
- book on Purple covering second half of career; tons of new interviews

Goldmine Standard Catalogue of American Records, 7th Ed. (2010)
- front essays, collectible info, 1344 pages, lots of pictures

The Collector's Guide To Heavy Metal - Volume 4: The '00s (2011)
- 3,367 reviews, 572 pages, Metal Blade sampler included

Black Sabbath FAQ (2011)
- 400 pages of trivia, odd topics, cool interview footage, memorabilia shots

The Deep Purple Royal Family - Chain Of Events Through '79
- 280 pages of detailed timeline and 542 memorabilia shots



Miscellaneous:

Record Label biographies: approximately 72.

CD liner notes: approximately 30, including work for Dio, Danzig, Testament, Montrose, Molly Hatchet, Love/Hate, Mahogany Rush, War Babies, Badlands, Moxy, Razor, Anvil, Twisted Sister, Blind Vengeance, Nasty Savage, Love/Hate, Kraken, Trouble, Nevermore, Stuck Mojo and various metal and southern rock compilations

Interviews completed, fully transcribed: 1475

Rhino/Warner Heavy Metal Box liner essay: My contribution is approximately 75 or 80, 100-word "reviews" pertaining to the track selection.

AC/DC - High-Voltage Rock 'n' Roll: The Ultimate Illustrated History. Contribution of long-form reviews of The Razors Edge and Black Ice. In production is a similar coffee table book on Aerosmith, for which I contributed reviews of Draw The Line and Rock In A Hard Place.

Metal Blade box set: one 5000 word history of Metal Blade

My Sabbath, Rainbow and UFO books are available in German. The Sabbath is also available in Czech. The two Deep Purples will soon be out in German. These are all through Matthias Mader and Iron Pages, at www.ip-verlag.de. The Dio book will soon be issued in a Bulgarian edition.


In A Previous Life:

Born and raised in British Columbia, Canada., B.A. In English, M.B.A. in Marketing, Xerox Corp. (Rookie Of The Year in '88: Yay!), nine years as co-owner of The Perfect Page, graphic design, print brokering.


Coordinates:

Martin Popoff,
P.O. Box 65208
358 Danforth Ave.
Toronto, Ontario
M4K 2Z2

[e-mail] (PayPal also accepted with that address)

www.martinpopoff.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable read and unique Black Sabbath Book, August 26, 2006

By 

Eric D. Sweetwood (Normal, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History (Paperback)

In another "unique" style of presentation, Martin Popoff has taken a critical and enjoyable look at a hard rock/heavy metal group. In his latest book, Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose, Popoff has given the reader a clear and logical presentation of the band in a straight-forward and enjoyable style. As a signature of all of his books, Popoff adds unique stories from the band members and recreates the time periods of each album with critical reviews and recollections of the band members to give the reader a feel of the history of the band and how the music related.

The quality of the paper, the presentation of the material, the unique photos and the enlightened prose has made this a high quality book and a more than enjoyable read. There are fantastic photos of unique bits and pieces of memorabilia from Black Sabbath archives.

What I personally appreciate is how Popoff shows all incantations and line-ups of Black Sabbath. His volume is one of the band, not simply the Ozzy years--and all have equal weight in his eyes and are worthy of consideration by the hard rock/metal fan. Popoff's thorough look at the Gillian years, as an example, give a comprehensive look at how the band truly could have thrived under Ian Gillian's voice; but with the Deep Purple being reformed, such things could not be.

I highly recommend this book to more than the Black Sabbath fan--although the Black Sabbath fan will undoubtedly love this book. Doom Let Loose is a book for anyone who enjoys rock music; especially hard rock and heavy metal. I would also recommend Popoff's UFO book Shoot Out The Lights, his Blue Oyster Cult book Secrets Revealed, his Rush book Contents Under Pressure, and any of his guides to Heavy Metal.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on Black Sabbath, March 20, 2007

By 

Christopher Fryer (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History (Paperback)

The latest book from Martin Popoff covers every era of Black Sabbath from Ozzy to Tony Martin. There are plenty of entertaining stories and each album is explored. This is definitely the highest quality book that Martin has put out. The quality of the paper is very good and there are plenty of excellent pictures of current and former band members as well as pictures of Sabbath memorabilia. If you are a fan of one or all of the eras of Black Sabbath you should get this book!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete Sabbath History in Detail, July 23, 2007

By 

Domenic Vitanza (Cleveland,Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History (Paperback)

Martin Popoff knows his hard rock and heavy metal and this book is excellent. He goes into detail about every lp ever released and goes into depth about the songwriting at the time the songs were written. Tony Iommi's riffs are legendary and so are the details about the history of Black Sabbath in this book. This is a must read for any Black Sabbath or hard rock fan, it has everything, from Ozzy to Tony Martin from Dio to The late Ray Gillian to the legendary Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillian.
This book is the best Black Sabbath book out there bar none and Martin Popoff did a wonderful job. Buy this book.