Sound of the Beast, The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal by Ian Christe was released a few years back but its main focus is the bygone era of metal’s infancy and the legacy it left.

A friend of mine hated this book because of its emphasis on the word “complete.” He’s into anything and everything under the radar (as independent as “indie” can get) and this book did not cover enough of the “complete” metal history for him. And that is also, to some degree, my one complaint. There are a lot of names and interesting genres left out of these pages: American Power Metal (Liege Lord, Sacred Oath), French Metal (Sortilege, Satan’s Jokers, etc.), and Jazz Metal (Watchtower) are just a few examples not covered in these pages. There are a lot of metallers who have not forgotten and fondly remember the importance of these bands.

However, the stuff that is included is quite an entertaining read. You’ll easily get sentimental for the NWoBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) by reading Christe, and his chapter on the tragic story of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem is as good as any horror/fantasy novel out there. Except that this is not fiction — making it more horrifying.

For those of you looking for good coverage on many aspects of metal’s history, this is a good book to pick up. It’s a starting point. It is not as complete as the title suggests. Maybe a second or third book by Christe will need to be written to make it really complete.