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Andrew O'Neill "A History Of Heavy Metal" (Headline)
This is definitely a fun read. The humour is great and there are also some very good journalistic points. However, the history is very much incomplete. The part dedicated to proto-metal and its beginnings is completely Brit-centric, ignoring what was happening on the side of the ocean. It’s great that it mentions bands like The Who and Cream, but not so great that Blue Cheer and Mountain are considered not worthy of any importance. While the NWOBHM was raging, there were bands in the States that were carrying the underground flag of US Metal: what about Mark Reale’s Riot, for instance? Fire Down Under is as seminal as any Saxon record. Also, Queensrÿche, the forefathers of the whole prog metal movement, a movement which is basically completely ignored? Some of the author's opinions I agree with, some I really don’t, but that’s perfectly fine and I have no issues with them.
Anyway, despite the problems I mentioned, I still consider this book worth its money, hilarious to read and definitely recommended! Just keep in mind that it’s far from being a complete history of heavy metal (which, I agree, would have been an impossible mission).
This is definitely a fun read. The humour is great and there are also some very good journalistic points. However, the history is very much incomplete. The part dedicated to proto-metal and its beginnings is completely Brit-centric, ignoring what was happening on the side of the ocean. It’s great that it mentions bands like The Who and Cream, but not so great that Blue Cheer and Mountain are considered not worthy of any importance. While the NWOBHM was raging, there were bands in the States that were carrying the underground flag of US Metal: what about Mark Reale’s Riot, for instance? Fire Down Under is as seminal as any Saxon record. Also, Queensrÿche, the forefathers of the whole prog metal movement, a movement which is basically completely ignored? Some of the author's opinions I agree with, some I really don’t, but that’s perfectly fine and I have no issues with them.
Anyway, despite the problems I mentioned, I still consider this book worth its money, hilarious to read and definitely recommended! Just keep in mind that it’s far from being a complete history of heavy metal (which, I agree, would have been an impossible mission).
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