The Book of Metal: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Metal Music Ever Created [Paperback]

Chris Ingham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 14, 2002

This authoritative, finely researched volume is the definitive encyclopedia of metal music. It draws on acts relevant throughout the genre's history from Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin through to current innovators such as Papa Roach, Cradle of Filth, Marilyn Manson, and Limp Bizkit. Bands from the genres of goth, death metal, thrash metal, glam and punk, such as the Sex Pistols, Nirvana, and Rancid, are also included. The bands are listed from each of the major subgenres as well as side genres. Nu-metal, hardcore, grindcore, industrial, and power metal all have their own sections in the book, complete with "genre traits" section and the names of bands that typify that sound. Illustrated throughout with the best color photography from the last 30 years of metal music and featuring 200 photos from the Metal Hammer archive, this is the most comprehensive encyclopedia of metal music ever created and the ultimate reference for fans of all metal music, worldwide.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chris Ingham has been writing about metal music for ten years, and has been editor of Metal Hammer for the past two. Now he shares his encyclopedic knowledge of the subject in the pages of this book. He lives in London. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (November 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156025419X
• ISBN-13: 978-1560254195
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,430,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad Data and worse taste, January 30, 2004

By 

Michael Benedict "Bonesaw" (Salt Lake City, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book of Metal: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Metal Music Ever Created (Paperback)

Just to let you know, I am a trivia freak. I love collecting useless information and storing it away waiting for the moment to dazzle someone with my knowledge of useless information. That being said, this book is full of errors...Here is a (very condensed) list of errors that I found:
1. On the Type O Negative page it states that their album called "The Origin of the Feces" is a live album when it is not. Granted, it is made to sound like a live album, but it is not, and 2 minutes of research this could have been cleared up.
2. On the Cult page, it said that they (The Cult) had an infleuence on Sound Garden. I don't know about you, I don't know of Sound Garden....I have heard of a little band called Soundgarden (one word).
3. On the Cradle of Filth page, it mentions an album called Bitter Suites to the Succubi....when it should be "Bitter Suites to Succubi."
4. On the Ratt page, it mentions a band called Kixx....maybe they meant Kix.
5. On the Queensryche page, it named an album called Hear in the new frontier.....again...no such album...it is called "Hear in the Now frontier."
So you can see my frustration...these are examples from bands that I know something about. What about the bands that I'm unfamiliar with. I don't want to be filled with bad information when I try to learn about other bands for the first time.

Oh yeah...one more thing...what the hell is up with Opeth getting 1/4 of a page when Limp Bizkit, Blink 182 and other such suckass bands get their own page, full color etc. It's a good thing that I really never read Metal Hammer magazine (Chris Ingham does something for them..I can't remember what it is...but instead of guessing and being wrong, I'll just let you know that I don't know)....If I did, I probably wouldn't know one thing about real metal...(at least anything true)

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A shameful piece of work, May 13, 2006

By 

Scott Hedegard "Scott" (Fayetteville, AR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Metal: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Metal Music Ever Created (Paperback)

To view the front cover and opening pages, one expects this anthology to be definitive and comprehensive. Instead, "The Book Of Metal" is a disgrace to the genre and music in general.
First of all, it's full of incorrect history, so much so as to be embarrassing to even read it. For example, the book says Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever" is his second solo album. Wrong. "Free For All" was the second Nuge album.
Second, the book is in dire need of proofreading. I have never seen a book in published form that was so full of misspelled words and incorrect punctuation. Ingham has no clue when it comes to contractions. A band records "its" debut, Chris, not "it's" debut. That makes it short for "it is" and you get a sentence that would say, "the band recorded it is debut album." Sound retarded? Of course it does. You should know better.
The most grating of all is the inclusion of outfits so obscure most rockers never heard of them, exclusions of metal legends except for listing a name of a band at the end of each chapter, and calling such twits as Blink 182 metal. How can an "expert" on metal include Papa Roach (gimme a break) and exclude Saxon, Budgie or Sacred Reich? And where is Norway's infamous Mayhem?
Avoid this book like bird flu laced with a touch of bubonic plague. This author knows not what he writes.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A despicable joke and a tragic insult to all human beings, January 2, 2005

By 

Invisible Pedestrian "itchyscratchy69" (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Metal: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Metal Music Ever Created (Paperback)

Where to begin? 4 blind yaks could've done a better job than this hideous, no-talent hack Chris Igham of "Metal Hammer" whatever the crap that is. I cannot believe that someone could actually earn money for this piece of garbage, let alone sucker a publisher!
To wit:
Blink 182??????Bloodhound Gang????Bush????The Queers????
Silverchair????Tura Satana????Zebrahead????
I won't go on about the sad inclusions in this disgrace.
And, what of the litany of mistakes? Just one sad example:Deep Purple. Ritchie Blackmore joined Elf, which became Rainbow? Ummm, Blackmore quit Purple and made Rainbow, originally a solo project a full-time band as he asked Ronnie James Dio to sing. Dio would only do so if his bandmates in Elf could join, and after the first Rainbow album Blackmore sacked them all anyway except for Dio. Deep Purple disbanded in 1984? Try 1976, and then they REFORMED in 1984! Their final ambum was "Perfect Strangers"? No, it was their REUNION album! And, they've been together ever since. The "Classic" line-up was Coverdale, Blackmore, Lord, Paice and Glover? Glover never played with Coverdale-and the "Classic" line-up would involve Gillan not Coverdale, though Coverdale was great.
This is just one example of the garbage that this book is. It's not even worthy of dog poop. I'm glad I only spent $6.99 on it, but I still feel robbed!!!!!