Tales Of A Ratt: Things You Shouldn't Know

Blotzer, Bobby & Clayton, Jim
Released: 2010, Blotzer Brothers Publishing
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: JP

I’ve read many of the ‘rock star’ autobiographies, most of them in fact, and is really eye-opening. Not necessarily for the shock value of a book like the THE DIRT or the depressing tone of autobiographies by Mustaine or Ozzy, but for it’s open and honest portrayal of the life of one of many rockstars.

Bobby Blotzer is the drummer for Ratt and he leads us on his life’s journey from his simple beginnings in Pittsburg in ’58 (Born in a mining town in ’58!) all the way up to 2010. This independent publication is a sizeable 375 pages with lots of black and white photos, candid and otherwise. His writing style is a bit crude, but it’s conversational, entertaining and at times witty. It’s not going to win any literary wards but it’s fun and readable.

Blotzer’s tale is one of triumph and tragedy, sometimes self-induced and sometimes not, and is a very entertaining read. He describes in detail, his family, his career, his various wives and girlfriends and his friends. Bobby is a music fan, he loves The Beatles, The Stones, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith and many more and often uses musical moments to help recollect his personal history, where he was when John Lennon was shot, or what he was doing when Michael Jackson died, these kinds of things. You can tell he is a music fan as by his own admission of one of his bad habits of getting drunk and playing music very loudly at 4:00am much to the displeasure of his various wives over the years.

At times he comes across as this big, dumb, loveable puppy-dog, bouncing along with little regard for the feelings of others, the rules or even consequences as evidenced by his various brushes with the law. He has a love for life that is enviable and beyond the reach of most of us. However, like most dogs he seems sincere, loyal and hardworking. His ego is fully intact as well! Blotz seems to have been the financial brains behind the Ratt machine, moreso than many realize.

One of the features he talks about very often in the book is money. That may turn some people off but in this case it adds something to this bio that many other bios avoid…namely money issues. I’ve read lots of bios that never talk about money, how much was made and/or lost, but Bobby tells all. It’s refreshing and eye-opening. He discussed in candid detail lawsuits, merchandise, expenses, bills, salaries, mortgages, lawyers fees all that stuff that generally gets avoided. He doesn’t gloss over the fact that back in the day they did blow through a ton of money having fun buying boats, houses and cars but he is also honest enough to admit that when times were tough he would be living in a one bedroom apartment or cleaning carpets for a living. One thing you have to say, that when times were tough, Blotzer worked very hard, opening and owning a number of businesses over the years to support his family when the Ratt thing was a little meager.

For the pure music fan there are many, many celebrity rockstar stories, such as shooting at sharks off the side of a boat with Jack Russell (Great White), arguing in a bar with Don Dokken about his ex-wife, baby-sitting a drunk Jani Lane (Warrant) in Texas and many more. None of it is mean-spirited or malicious. There are lots of interesting things I didn’t know such as Mike Vescara was the producer/engineer on Blotzer’s ill-fated solo album or tales about Blotzer’s early touring history in Germany in the very early 80’s with Vic Vergat and the truth about Robbin Crosby’s final sad days.

TALES OF A RATT is one of the more sincere, honest and open rockstar autobiographies I’ve read. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I believe that everything is gospel truth. As the saying goes, There are three sides to every story. The book gets bogged down near the end 2003-2009 or so as many of the stories are less about Ratt and more about his variety of (allegedly) crazy ex-wives, fiancés and girl-friends. He seems to get sued a lot! One of my most common complaints about these types of stories is that they tend to glorify the golden years and skimp on info about the recent history. Blotzer avoids this common pitfall and his engaging narrative brings us to speed on Ratt all the way up to 2010, even if details are a little thin on the writing and recording of INFESTATION. Judging by the world-wide critical acclaim for that album, the timing is perfect for you to get the inside story by picking up a copy of TALES OF A RATT.

Capper, Andy & Sifire, Gabi - Heavy Metal In Baghdad - The Story Of Acrassicauda (Book Review)

Released: 2009,
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: JP



Preface. This is Part I of a two-part review (Read Part II here).

This is a very interesting book, one sure to go down in the annals of metal history. In case you are not familiar with the story I’ll give you a quick recap. Back in 2003 or so some young dudes living in Baghdad decided to form a Heavy Metal band called Acrassicauda, which means ‘Black Scorpion’. Because of the political climate in Iraq, creating a Metal band was quite an unusual move and the story caught the eye of a journalist writing for Vice magazine. The magazine article appeared in January of 2004. The band established a relationship with the magazine and the story eventually evolved into a three-part TV series that aired on VBS in 2007. The editors felt there was enough original material to warrant a full-length feature film. The footage was re-cut, edited and released at the Toronto Film Festival in September of 2007. The story kept growing and eventually it was released on DVD in 2008 with bonus footage and eventually the book came out in 2009. This story became a bit of a Frankenstein’s monster and the band became minor celebrities in the eyes of the international media despite having virtually no recorded output of any kind other than two demos. At one point one of the members expressed annoyance at the media for asking questions about their personal circumstances and nothing about the music!

The book essentially reaps the story of the band through a series of interviews spanning 36 hours conducted by Caper in 2008. It’s a nice looking book, just over 287 pages with lots and lots of black and white photos. HEAVY METAL IN BAGHDAD is not a book in the traditional sense, but rather a large scale collection of interviews with many people involved with the band from journalists, ex-members, immigration people, the movie producer and of course the band. The story itself covers the first 200 pages and then added on the end like a ‘bonus’ feature is the transcription of the film. Since I own the DVD I didn’t really see the need to read the screenplay but I suppose it could be interesting from a technical point of view.

The story of the band is the key point of interest although not really from a purely Heavy Metal perspective. The story follows the band from some early childhood recollections and up into the early days of 2003 when they formed the band. The war broke out in and the band eventually scattered in order to survive. They ended up in Syria and eventually reunited in Turkey and eventually arrived as refugees in the United States. The band never really recorded anything except a demo and they played perhaps a dozen concerts in their entire career. In terms of originality and output the band didn’t really accomplish much in their first six years. However, that’s not really the point. The story of their struggle to survive a hostile environment playing western music is the compelling part of the tale. The fact that they are a Metal band is secondary, they could have been a country band or a jazz band for that matter. The fact that they ARE Metal makes it that much cooler. If the band was playing another form of music I wouldn’t have bothered watching the movie or reading the book. It’s like a little success story for the power of Metal, I doubt other forms of music would have provided such dedication and willpower to overcome the odds. Most other bands would have simply given up.

The heart of the tale is the friendship and the drive to play Metal that helped the band endure some extremely arduous times and hardships that most (probably all!) western musicians cannot really comprehend, such as having your practice space being hit by a Scud missile or receiving death threats because you have long hair and wear a Black T-shirt. It’s a compelling tale that is inspiring and helps many of us realize how truly lucky we are to be able to be free to listen to, enjoy and create Metal without fear of violent retribution or vicious oppression. HEAVY METAL IN BAGHDAD nicely encapsulates the history of the band from creation to oppression and eventually to freedom. It is a great companion piece to the DVD. Please feel free to click here to read my review of the DVD.

All Pens Blazing: A Heavy Metal Writers Handbook Volume II

Daniels, Neil
Released: 2010, Indie
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: JP

This is the second book in the series ALL PENS BLAZING. APB is essentially a collection of interviews with Metal journalists about Metal journalism. The popularity and demand for a second book sees Daniels releasing part II. Some of the minor flaws that just slightly marred the first edition have been corrected. The print is much larger and easier to read. The book is a bit bigger, there is a nicer cover, the font is easier to read and the whole thing is just a bit more professional.

Daniels has expanded the scope of the second book. Instead of just authors from England and North America, this time he has interviewed authors from Europe and Australia as well. He has also included authors who specialize in the more melodic genres writing for various webzines and magazines. There were a few more women this time around but it still seems to be a man’s game overall. It was nice to read about Gerri Miller and Amy Sciaretto for example.

The first edition had 65 interviews and Part II added another 69 interviews. Will there be a part three? One can hope! Daniels was kind enough to include me in his book (Interview #69 by virtue of my surname, not my sexual habits) so that’s a good reason to not buy it! Ha! Seriously, chop off that last interview and you have a damn decent book that is mandatory for anyone who wants to write about the rock.

Snakes Eyes: Confessions Of A Replacement Rockstar

Blades, Stacey

Released: 2009, Indie
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: JP

This is the autobiography of Stacey Blades. Who the hell is Stacey Blades you may ask? Well, he is a guitarist. He was in Roxx Gang for almost a decade and is currently in (the fabulous) L.A. Guns.

I have a little bit of a personal connection to this book. I’d heard through the local music community that some famous LA guitarist used to live in Calgary. Now I know who he is. Stacey’s early life has a few similarities to mine. We are about the same age. He grew up in Calgary, Alberta. So did I. We both moved to Toronto. We both used to hang around a killer rock bar called Rock ’n’ Roll Heaven. He was in a band called Fraidy Katt who I actually saw but I didn’t know who he was at the time. That’s where the similarities end. I moved to Vancouver, went to university, got married and got a job. He moved to Florida, joined Roxx Gang and his career took off, he joined L.A. Guns, toured the world five times and now he has written a book and I’m writing a review of a book.

SNAKE EYES falls into the same category as many other independent, self-published autobiographies, like those of Blotzer, Vollmer, and Diesinger. Either you know who they are and care, or you don’t. Well, I happen to like Roxx Gang and L.A. Guns quite a lot, so I was quite curious to read this guys life-story.

Like many of the other autobiographies, this is a little rough around the edges; things like spelling, grammar, syntax, flow and editing are not as high a priority. It’s a standard 225-page book, divided into 13 chapters and quite a few black and white photos. Another interesting feature is that there are quite a few guest quotes about Stacey from friends and family who have contributed a memory or two. It adds flavour to writing.

Stacey is a pretty good storyteller. He writes like people many people speak, informal, casual and full of energy. His life follows a standard tale of early memories, families, vacations, first girl, first guitar, parties etc. It sounds like he had a pretty stable normal life growing up but he got bitten by the rock ‘n’ roll bug early and never lost that drive to succeed.

The story really gets going when he moves to Florida after getting the gig with Roxx Gang. Then we get many chapters of parties, strippers, couch-surfing, drugs, alcohol and all the related elements of the rock and roll lifestyle. Around 2001 he ended up in Los Angeles and ended up replacing Tracii Guns in L.A. Guns around 2003. He has held his position in the band ever since.

There are many stories about traveling, lots of vivid detail written with a compelling enthusiasm. Blades, despite many hardships seems to have had one hell of a ride and seems genuinely grateful for the opportunities afforded him. One part I really, really appreciate is that he doesn’t cut his story short. So many biographies and autobiographies (ie. Anvil, Ozzy, Mustaine) leave out entire decades of recent (post-2000) material, but Blades keeps us going right until 2009. Its current, it’s relevant (for fans anyway) and SNAKE EYES is a great read to get a glimpse into the life or a working professional musician.

Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music

Phillips, William & Cogan, Brian
Released: 2009, Greenwood Press
Rating: 2.5/5
Reviewer: JP

In my mind the word Encyclopedia means more than just a list of facts. An encyclopedia needs to be unbiased and neutral, academic and professional and above all comprehensive. I don’t always understand why these book that come out every year label themselves as Encyclopedias. With over 200,000 bands listed in the world’s largest Metal database (MusicMight), even trying to attempt publishing a comprehensive printed version is almost an exercise in futility. However commerce prevails and gifted writers tackle these insurmountable projects with vigor and enthusiasm. That brings us to Cogan and Phillips stab at documenting the virtually un-documentable.

Published in an attractive hard cover in 2009, this book is an adequate 270 pages, with very few pictures and a simplistic, streamlined layout. The authors are academics, professors and have a reasonably good grasp on Metal, but if I had to guess, I’d suggest they probably weren’t really life-long fans. That is not not necessarily a bad thing but some of the choices included for entry betray their lack of understanding about Metal. Of course they address this very point in the preface and say they opted to be ‘inclusive’ which is the key flaw in that Metal is a very exclusive and elitist genre. They should have erred on the side of caution and not added not-Metal crap like Limp Bizkit, The Melvins, Insane Clown Posse and Nickleback. There are about a couple dozen, nu-metal, alt-metal, grunge, rap and rock bands that really shouldn’t have been in the book.

Another problem is that as outsiders they don’t truly grasp the role of many metal bands on the development of the genre, their importance and influence. They arbitrarily dismiss many bands critical to the history and development of the genre such as W.A.S.P, Manowar and Dream Theater. There are many bands that probably should not have been included, to add room for more legitimate bands. Who the hell are Zolar X, The Sword and Smokewagon and why do they take space away from bands like Angra, Rage and Blind Guardian? I’m not suggesting the former trio are not good bands but the choices for inclusion seem odd.

The authors opt to include a good number of non-bands entries into the book. Entries like ‘Cookie Monster Vocal Style’, ‘Demos’, ‘Headbanging’, ‘Tribute Bands’ and ‘Eddie Trunk’ serve to nicely add a bit more depth and substance to the book by elaborating on components of Metal culture. There are blurbs on movies, personalities in the scene, books, and clubs, all contributing to the depth of the encyclopedia.

The book has it’s fair share of mistakes both technical (dates, albums titles etc) and opinion based mistakes that again show that as academics they don’t truly have a grasp on the definitions of sub-genres and the parameters for inclusion or exclusion. Overall, it’s an average attempt to document and chronicle Metal and it’s culture. Written and presented as text book it would do well for a non-metal fan taking ‘Metal 101’ at a University but more advanced fans and critics will likely find less value.

Orgasmatron - The Heavy Metal Art of Joe Petagno

Petagno, Joe
Released: 2004, Feral House
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: JP

This book reminds me in many ways of Kris Verwimp’s excellent collection of art, THE SEVENTH SIGN. Joe Petagno, known for his iconic artwork of the Motorhead mascot Snaggletooth, has compiled some of his work and published it for our enjoyment.

Feral House, known for it’s independent and counter-culture publications presented this nice hard cover book in 2004. It’s just over 100 pages and the paper quality and colors are both excellent. The book has a brief Foreword by none other than Lemmy of Motorhead and an introduction by Steffan Chirazi. In an interesting twist the art is not explained or described on the page it is printed on but the last few pages there are smaller replications with a title.

Over the years Joe has done a ton of art for many, many bands, as well as posters, magazines and so on. This collection is subtitled, ‘The Heavy Metal Art of Joe Petagno’, which is just what it is. His work has appeared on many album covers, more than you might realize. Incantation, Angelcorpse, Abomination and a host of other bands in the more extreme genres have wisely chosen to have Joe’s art grace their album covers.

You could spend ages pouring over each plate. There is a lot going on in each picture, layers, characters, it seldom ‘just a painting’ of one dude, each pictures melds into other dimensions and planes. Great stuff. His style is instantly recognizable with his heavy use of the classic metal imagery and colours of red and black. It’s nice to see almost the entire Snaggletooth collection in one place.

I’m rating this book slightly lower than Verwimp’s collection or HEAVY METAL THUNDER, the compilation of album cover art, because there could have been some little extras to really complete ORGASMATRON. They could have included a list of dates when the paintings were done, a discussion of techniques, materials used, some stories, quotes, endorsements, anything to add content. As always, your personal preference or enjoyment of Joe’s style will determine how quickly you add this to your library.

Fück Yöu - Rock and Roll Portraits

Zlozower, Neil
Released: 2008, Chronicle Books
Rating: 2.0/5
Reviewer: JP

There are lots of these little books dumped on the market to capitalize on the resurgence of the 80’s melodic, Hard Rock/ Metal scene. These books often lacking in substance are quick snapshots aimed at an older crowd (my age!) who think nothing of dropping a $15.00 on a book they found in the bargain bin, to help relive a few memories.

FUCK YOU-Rock and Roll Portraits is a collection of photos by Neil Zlozower who along with Ross Halfin and Mark Weiss were synonymous with being the top Hard Rock photographers of the 80’s with each of their work appearing regularly in the glossy pages of Circus and Hit Parader and so on. FUCK YOU is a collection of about 200 photos of musicians. The ‘catch’ is that every single photo each person is giving Neil the middle finger! There are live shots, candid shots, posed shots from the biggest stars like Stephen Tyler and Bon Jovi to the nun who was on one of the album cover of Black Label Society’s SHOT TO HELL.

It’s bright, colorful, loud, fun and full of attitude. Neil adds a quick introduction but that’s about it, just photos on nice glossy paper. You can file FUCK YOU along with AMERICAN HAIR METAL, HOLLYWOOD ROCKS and THE WIT AND WISDOM OF THE METAL GODS as essentially collections of photos to sit on your shelf. Pull it out once a year, have a quick chuckle and then put it back to collect dust for another year.

Once Upon A Nightwish - The Official Biography 1996-2006

Ollila, Mappe
Released: 2008, Bazillion Points
Rating: 4.5/5
Reviewer: JP

Nightwish quite rapidly became one of the most successful and most influential bands in a relatively short period of time. Back in 2006 it was announced that their biography covering the first 10 years 1996-2006 would be issued in Finnish. I had hoped someone would translate and issue this book. Fast forward to 2008 and the good people at Bazilion Points have released the updated, translated edition.

ONCE UPON A NIGHTWISH is a very well put together book. The oversized paperback has dozens and dozens of photos on big glossy plates. At approx. 320 pages the book includes many, many little extras like tour riders, some technical data about stage set-ups, a detailed discography, a list of every show they have every done to that point and more. All this extra detail really is the icing on the cake. Everything is Nightwish fan could wish for is here in glorious detail. Author Mappe Ollila has unprecedented access to the band and there are interviews with a huge cast of characters.

The text of the book is really monumental. It covers in standard chronological detail, the lives of the various members. I believe people really like to read a true rags to riches success story with elements of pathos. Well, the band members may not have strictly come from rags but the author details the early lives of the various members from their humble beginnings in small towns in Finland. Founder and primary composer Tuomas seems a bit reclusive and introspective but he also wears his heart on his sleeve as he talks candidly about his comfortable and relatively happy childhood to his inspirations, hopes and dreams.

In case you are not familiar with the bands history, at a certain point while they were at the height of their power, the band very publically fired their lead singer, Tarja. This move was akin to the loss of Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson and David Lee Roth from their respective bands. It was a very public feud and it is detailed here. The author and band have chosen to be very transparent and from the very start p. 16 discuss her dismissal from the band. They even publish, unedited, the letter they wrote to fire her. That takes balls. Ollila also publishes Tarja’s response as well.

The author treads carefully trying not to choose sides but tends to lean slightly in favour of the band. According to the author Tarja is going to release her own biography detailing her version. Ollila says that allegedly Tarja’s manager (and husband) has asked for so much money for a publishing advance that no publisher has accepted the project. Reading the story Tarja comes across at times as a bit of a Prima Donna and the band come across at times, as a bunch of drunken louts. It is no wonder the two sides clashed and eventually split.

ONCE UPON A NIGHTWISH is a phenomenal book, even if you are not a specific fan of the band, this tale documents the massive rise of band and the inner workings of the ours, the recordings, the managers, lawyers, record companies and all the adventures on the road. It sounds like it was a hell of a ride. As for people who are already fans of the band, this book is an essential addition to your library.

Glorious Times: A Pictorial of the Death Metal Scene (1984-1991)

Moses, Alan and Pattison, Brian
Released: 2009, Independent
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: JP

GLORIOUS TIMES is quite an interesting and unique project. This book is an independent publication made for the pure love of metal and times gone by. Alan Moses and Brian Pattison (nope, I’ve never heard of them either) have compiled a living history, an in-depth first hand portrait of the Death Metal Scene.

As mentioned on the back cover of this 150+ page book, this is not a dry anthropological study nor an academic analysis. This is a collection of vivid first hand accounts of the metal soldiers who were in the trenches from 1984-1991. The book itself is a nice, oversized paperback with nice glossy paper that makes you high when you sniff the ink on the pages. There is a lengthy and somewhat rambling introduction by Laurent Ramadier of SnakePit.org who discusses in a highly opinionated style (most of which I agree with) the differences between the original Death Metal scene and the current scene. As a book it is a budget production and the layout and design could use some refinement but it is an excellent effort.

The book is laid out by band alphabetical order with a few pages dedicated to 48 different bands from that era. There are bands from all over the world, many of the names you would expect, Death, Deicide, Deceased and so on and some names that maybe never quite got the recognition of the others; bands like Groovy Aardvark, Hideous Mangleus and Where’s The Pope.

Each band entry has a number of candid photos, virtually all of them snapshots of the bands live, fooling around, partying etc. I can’t believe how young everyone looks! It is interesting to note that with the exception of the live photos, where the musicians are concentrating, almost all of the photos everyone is smiling and having a good time! Who said Death Metal was morbid?

Each band has a write up, mostly from members of those bands who share some intimate memories and recollections from ‘the good ol’ days’. This is not a mere recounting of common knowledge of tours and albums, this is an in-depth personal recounting of the era. It is really fascinating. I didn’t know that Pat from Hellwitch had almost cut his finger off in a bizarre gardening accident in 1986! There is enough trivia here to satisfy any Death Metal fan. There is a ton of rare material that has been captured here.

The only slightly negative I could mention is that looking at these stories and tales is the slight feeling of disconnect. As a guy, the same age as most of the people in these bands, reading GLORIOUS TIMES was akin looking at someone else’s photo album. Growing up in Western Canada these bands never, ever came up here. It is very cool but it’s like listening to (or reading about) someone’s else fond memories. If you were not actually there (and not a part of that circle or group of friends) you will always be an outsider looking in. Eg. “Remember that time that Fred got so drunk he puked on Barney’s cat? Ha! ha! That was hilarious!” Unless you were there that night or personally know Barney or Fred, it probably isn’t all that hilarious. It would be the same in reverse. If I was to compile all my personal stories of good times, parties and drunkenness, and publish it no one would care, except me and a few friends who were there. However, because these people (the Death Metal dudes) went on to become internationally famous and respected musicians there is enough here to compel the reader to identify with what it was like, even if you weren’t there.

If you happened to be involved with one of the bands or part of the tape-trading scene or ‘zine scene, then this will be the best scrapbook you could ever compile. That is what GLORIOUS TIMES really is, the ultimate Death Metal scrap-book from hell. It is raw, uncensored and authentic. A more pure history you will never find. If you are not a heavy-duty Death Metal fan, maybe you can crank this rating back a notch or two. However I am a heavy duty Death Metal fan so I really enjoyed it and you will too.

The Illustrated Collectors Guide To Alice Cooper - 10th Anniversary Edition

Sherman, Dale
Released: 2009, Collectors Guide Publishing
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: JP

Alice Cooper is one of the best selling, longest running, most prolific Heavy Metal artists of all time. Alice has produced over 25 albums in the last 40+ years. There are a few bands that are hovering in the 18+ album range like Scorpions, Rage, Loudness and a select few others, but realistically none of them have had the same commercial appeal in terms of marketing, as Alice Cooper. Truth be known, probably next to Kiss (or perhaps Iron Maiden) there is more Alice Cooper merchandise than other Metal artist. It’s not like Alice has avoided the marketing opportunities either.

About 10 years ago Dale Sherman had just finished his massive ILLUSTRATED COLLECTORS GUIDE TO KISS and decided to embark upon the equivalent book for all things Alice. Fast forward to 2009 and the good people at Collectors Guide Publishing have decided to reissue and update THE ILLUSTRATED COLLECTORS GUIDE TO ALICE COOPER-the 10th Anniversary Edition.

I don’t even know where to begin. This is the most comprehensive guide to everything to do with Alice cooper, ever. This slightly over-sized paperback is a massive 474 pages, utterly packed with information. It’s loaded with photos of all sorts of things, flyers, tour books, vinyl issues and so on. Sherman adds an interesting introduction and sprinkles some humour through the book with his comments on various phases of Alice’s career.

The book is cleverly laid out into six chapters, reach one corresponding to a phase of Alice’s career. For example there is the Alice Cooper ‘band’ phase and then his solo years, then his comeback years, then the 90’s and so forth, each roughly approximated to a decade or so. Beyond that, each chapter is laid out into five parts; an overview, Recordings, Tours, Film & TV and lastly Books and Comics. Each section meticulously documents that phase of his career.

Sherman was clever enough to include a ‘Readers Guide’ which is essentially the legend to help you navigate through the myriad amounts of technical data presented in the book. Everything you ever wanted or needed to know is included here.

Have you ever wanted to know who opened for Alice Cooper at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City on August 6th, 1980? It’s in here. Do you have a burning desire to know what colour of the label on the vinyl version of the Taiwanese pressing of the 1981 album SPECIAL FORCES? It’s here. Do you stay awake at night trying to remember the name of the character that Alice played in the NBC Television show ‘The Snoop Sisters’ which aired on March 5th, 1975? It’s here. It would take a lifetime to digest and process all this information.

Sherman should be praised for his monumental work. It’s well organized, well laid out and incredibly interesting. THE ILLUSTRATED COLLECTORS GUIDE TO ALICE COOPER is a must for all fans of Alice Cooper.

KISS Kompendium

KISS
Released: 2009, Collins Design
Rating: 5.0/5
Reviewer: JP

Wow. This is by far the biggest book I own. This thing weighs a monstrous 5 kilograms (that’s 10 lbs!) This hard cover has almost 1300 pages! This hard cover is a thing of beauty.

It’s kind of hard to rate this book because it is a massive collection of pretty much every Kiss comic book ever made. This review is going to be short and sweet because if I tried to rate each comic duplicated here based on art and storyline, this review would be 50 pages long.

Both Gene and Paul have a brief Foreword. Then the book is divided into four main sections. The Marvel Years has the two Marvel Comics Kiss Super Specials. You know the ones, back in the 70’s where Kiss added a bit of their own blood to the printing ink. What a great publicity stunt. People still talk about it today. There are a couple of articles also published about the Marvel/Kiss connection. It’s a blast to see Kiss fighting Doctor Doom and hanging out with Dr. Strange and the X-Men.

The next section is the Kiss Graphic Novel created for Kisstory project. It’s neat to have it reproduced here because if you don’t have Kisstory this is harder to find. Up next is the more popular Todd McFarlane years and with Image comics and the Pyscho Circus storyline of the late 90’s. By this time the characters have sort of transcended being (almost) human and into larger than life, demonic characters, in the long running, dark series aimed or older audiences.

Lastly the compilation wraps up with the franchise switching to the Dark Horse Comics for 13 issues early in the new millennium. Tagged on the end of the book are a couple of dozen pictures of the (real) band from all the various eras.

How much do like comics? How much do you like Kiss? Well for me the answer to both questions is off the scale, so grade this compilation accordingly to your preference, but for me, it’s perfect.

Fire And Fame

Deisinger, Joerg & Begai, Carl
Released: 2008, Independent
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: JP

My first question is… why? Why would anyone want to read the life story of the ex-bassist of Bonfire of all bands? Why did Carl Begai the respected scribe of BW&BK fame get involved? Why did Joerg Deisinger want to write the book in the first place? I’m not trying to slag Bonfire, I love the band however, I’d ask the same questions if there was an autobiography by the drummer for Fastway or the guitarist of Tyketto, for example.

Well, the answers are simple. Joerg Desinger, the ex-bassist of Bonfire was on holiday in Thailand on Dec 26th, 2004 when the Tsunami that killed 250,000 people hit Asia. He escaped with his life and it made him reevaluate his life and want to share his story. I don’t blame him. I want to write my autobiography, even without a life-changing experience. I would, but no one would read it! Joerg on the other hand has lead an interesting life and it is a great story that fans of Bonfire will want to read. I am a Bonfire fan so I wanted to learn more about this under-rated band. I spoke briefly with Carl about his involvement and the reality is that he lives close to Joerg in Germany and they struck up a friendship. Joerg asked Carl for help and the rest is history.

FIRE AND FAME is an independent publication, a simple, slightly over-sized paperback about 240 pages long, about a dozen black and white photos and a brief discography of things Deisinger has been involved with.

The autobiography, like most follows a simple chronological pattern, starting with Deisingers young life in Germany, early childhood memories, his first job, first band, first gig, first tour and so forth. The vast majority of the book covers the years 1986 to 1996, primarily the glory years of Bonfire. The band was bigger than many realize. They have about 16 albums now and in the late 80’s early 90’s they toured the world and sold hundreds of thousands of copies on a major label. I think only two of those albums were ever released in North America and that was about 20 years ago. Like many autobiographies Joerg focuses on the good times, the friends, the tours, the perks of the rock star lifestyle, visiting LA, cars, girls and so on. It’s all laid out in an easy to read, laid-back and appealing style.

The book ends very abruptly. Deisnger only spend about six pages on the last 15 years! It’s almost as if he said, “I left the band, did some other stuff for the last 15 years, but I’m not going to tell you about it”. It ended too quickly and after reading his life-story up to that point and gaining empathy for him, I wanted more details about his life after the band, and his other accomplishments.

One key area and major point that was covered was the somewhat complicated mid 90’s period for the band. I’m really glad he clarified what went on during that period. At one point it seems there were two versions of Bonfire going on, members coming and going, lawyers, lawsuits, managers, and even album being written by Bonfire but eventually recorded by another band under another name. It all wrapped up in July of 1996 when Joerg sold the rights to the band name to a couple of ex-members (who happened to be original members oddly enough). Those members continue on recording and touring today. If you have a chance to hear the Charade albums or the work Joerg did with Paul Sabu you will not be disappointed as those are some world-class albums that kinda fell through the cracks.

FIRE AND FAME is a decent autobiography, interesting, if a bit sparse in places. A good read by any standard, interesting for fans of rock autobiographies and all fans of Bonfire will want to pick this up.

Metal - The Definitive Guide

Sharpe-Young, Garry
Released: 2007, Jawbone Press
Rating: 4.5/5
Reviewer: JP

I believe that this was the last book ever written by Garry Sharpe-Young. Following his tragic and untimely death of natural causes in March of 2010, this book serves (in my mind) as his greatest legacy in the world of Rock and Metal journalism. Second only to Martin Popoff, Sharpe-Young was one of the most prolific and respected Metal journalists on the planet. This was Garry’s 13th book about Metal.

There are about a dozen books in the encyclopedia category that claim to be ‘the best’ or ‘the ultimate’ or ‘most comprehensive’, but in my mind Garry’s version comes the closest. Keep in mind I have read almost all of the metal encyclopedias printed to date (yes, I’m a metal-nerd) and Garry’s just stands out from the pack.

This book is a big, bad bomber weighing in at just under 500 pages of densely packed info and text. It looks great but doesn’t sacrifice substance over style like Ingham’s book. Looking a little more closely Garry had some heavy weight hitters with Joel McIver acting as Editor and Bernard Doe as Consultant and if that wasn’t enough the Metal God himself, Robert Halford pens the foreword.

The book is divided into 20 chapters roughly aligned along with genres or movements within the Metal world. Each chapter has a brief intro, lots of pictures, tons of quotes, limited discographies and biographies on about 270 bands from around the world. In my mind the bands that were chosen were pretty close to 95% what I would have included as the most influential, longest running, best selling, most innovative bands in the genre. It’s nice to see bands like Viper from Brazil, Bow Wow from Japan and Rage from Germany, get the recognition they truly deserve and are so often ignored by the other so-called ‘comprehensive’ encyclopedias.

A key point that I enjoyed is that Garry and his crew didn’t descend into the trap of flaunting opinion as fact. I’ve read many books that poke fun at or outright insult bands like W.A.S.P., Manowar, or Yngwie J. Malmsteen but Garry keeps it professional and neutral. There were very few technical mistakes in the book as well which adds to the air of authority and quality.

This book is utterly loaded with facts, most of them gathered throughout Garry’s prolific career as a journalist. You could literally pick virtually any band in this book, read the bio and find some interesting piece of trivia or factual tidbit that helps bring the book to life.

If you are looking to buy that one book that beautifully encapsulates the genre, forget Ingham’s book, pass on the Virgin Encyclopedia, skip Bukszpan’s Encyclopedia, and go directly to your store and buy METAL-The Definitive Guide.

The Book of Metal

Ingham, Chris (ed.)
Released: 2002, Thunder Mouth Press
Rating: 1.5/5
Reviewer: JP

The subtitle on the cover of THE BOOK OF METAL says ‘The most comprehensive encyclopedia of Metal ever created’. Well, that is simply not true. From a marketing/sales perspective I can why they might state that but off the top of my head I can name half a dozen metal encyclopedias that were published before this one, that are more comprehensive. Strike One. This book was compiled by some of the staff of Metal Hammer UK. Strike Two. This book is riddled with mistakes and flawed on many levels. Strike Three. It's not worth buying or owning.

Published in 2002 admittedly, this is a big, beautiful book. The large size paperback is big, bold and glossy, well-laid out, eye-catching fun and easy to read. It is packed with dozens and dozens of full-colour photos. They did a really good job designing this book. There are some lists, incomplete discographies, some sub-genre descriptions, and a few recommend albums as well. However, we all know that style does not outweigh substance.

The key flaw is that THE BOOK OF METAL includes dozens and dozens of non-metal bands. There are alt-metal, nu-metal, alternative, rap, industrial and grunge bands in the book. Bands like Blink 182, Creed, Nirvana, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, and Limp Bizkit are not metal; never were, never will be, and the very bands themselves would say that! To include these bands at the expense of real Metal bands like Blind Guardian, Angra and Rage is just inexcusable.

The editor says in his introduction that an exercise to classify Metal is pointless and reduces it’s value. The revisionist streak continues as he justifies the choices for bands to be included by calling it all aggressive guitar based music. Just because a band has an electric guitar does not qualify it for automatic entry into Club Metal! At least a third of bands in the book should not be here.

Another problem is that the authors focus heavily on UK bands. Bands like Vex Red, Lost Prophets, Terrorvision, One Minute Silence are all included while leaving out other far more respected and acclaimed international Metal bands. The authors need to get off their little island and explore the massive international Metal scene. The authors suggest that The Wildhearts are the greatest thing since the Earl Of Sandwich, but in reality outside of the UK the band barely made a blip on the radar. I don’t even think any of their albums were released in North America! I suppose one advantage of the UK-centric writing is that a few good bands do get some attention like, UFO, Thunder, Xentrix, and Wolfsbane but strangely enough no full entry for Saxon, one of the best-selling, longest running, most influential, British Metal bands of all time!

There are so many mistakes it’s laughable. Mistakes with discographies, release dates, album titles, this book was very poorly edited. Not only errors in the technical data but the book is loaded with ludicrous statements such as the UK band Hundred Reasons are the brightest hope for international stardom, the band Two is under-rated and Manowar is ridiculous! Encyclopedias are supposed to present fact, not uninformed opinion as fact. When I read statements such as how it’s easy to confuse Death Metal and Black Metal I cringed, as it obvious the author hasn’t got a clue about the clear and obvious distinction between the two very unique and distinct Metal sub-genres. I could go on…

It seems this book was rushed out and aimed to capitalize on a youth market by being as inclusive as possible. The editor says there will be a revised edition by about 2007 by to the best of my knowledge there hasn’t been an updated version released yet. It looks great on the coffee table but THE BOOK OF METAL is very poorly researched and edited, loaded with errors and the bands included (or excluded) means this book has no place on library shelf.

Heavy Metal Thunder

Aldis, Neil & Sherry, James
Released: 2006, Chronicle Books
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: JP

As regular readers of my book reviews on this site may know, I’m not a huge fan of Heavy Metal books that are essentially collections of photos or art, unless they add something special or extra. Why would I buy a book of pictures of album covers that I already own? I can walk over to my shelf (or online) and look at the same pictures for free! HEAVY METAL THUNDER however delivers the goods.

This fat-boy of a book is over 250 pages long and is very well done. Ya gotta love an author who concludes his brief intro by saying, “Hail Satan!’ This book is so crammed with cool metal it hurts. The book is broken into eight chapters each with a theme. For example Chapter Two is subtitled ‘Lipstick and Leather’ and is a collection of albums covers about, yep you guessed it, Glam Metal. Chapter Three ‘Metal Thrashing Mad’ is self-explanatory and each chapter is roughly genre specific.

Scott Ian of Anthrax writes an eloquent and impassioned Foreword heralding the merits of cover art from the good ol’ days of vinyl. The authors throw in an Afterword which exclusively features the kick-ass art of the Manowar album covers. A nice touch!

What makes this collection of album covers stand out is that there is running commentary through the book, discussing the merits of certain bands, artists, album covers, trends and themes. The additional analysis is interesting and generally pretty accurate. As a reader you can see certain trends. Most album covers are big and bright. When you get to Chapter Six, the Black Metal album covers, you can see the trend of minimalist art or photos mostly in black and white, as compared to the bright cartoonish art of the Death Metal albums.

I own 98% of the album covers in this book, except for the lame grunge and alternative ones which could have easily been dropped in favour of a Power Metal chapter. However, since a ton of this stuff I own on cassette it is much nicer to see these bigger, clear pictures on glossy paper. It’s a great collection, good choices for inclusion and would fit in the library of all metal fans.