Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History (Paperback)

~ Martin Popoff (Author)

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

Product Description

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 Through rare and previously unpublished interviews, documents, and artifacts spanning the band's entire career, readers get an all-access pass to Sabbath's manic history, from bat-biting to rehab.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.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Ecw Press (August 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550227319
• ISBN-13: 978-1550227314
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #275,330 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 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)

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 (Colorado United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!

4 of 4 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)

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.