Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult Author: Dayal Patterson | Language: English | ISBN:
B00E257ZXY | Format: PDF
Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult Description
Featuring a wealth of new interviews with the genre’s most central figures, Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult offers the most comprehensive guide yet to the most controversial form of extreme metal. From the pioneers of the early 80s to its fiery rebirth in Scandinavia through to today’s diverse groups, this epic analysis captures the movement’s development in unparalleled depth.
- File Size: 33303 KB
- Print Length: 600 pages
- Publisher: Feral House (November 25, 2013)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00E257ZXY
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #177,175 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #22
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Arts & Photography > Music > Musical Genres > Heavy Metal
- #22
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Arts & Photography > Music > Musical Genres > Heavy Metal
This is a pretty thorough retrospective of what has grown to be an enormous sub-culture/ genre. At 600 or so pages, it's well paced and and sewn together quite well, capturing the essence of multiple eras. As someone who fiended for information (generally pre-internet,) through 'zines, letter writing, tape trading and buying from small distros in the states during the early/ mid 90's, this book collects a lot of the information (in addition to some new insights) without overly relying on the same old hype stories. Though the retelling of some of the "shock stories" from Norway have grown tired, this text handles them without them having to be the central focus, while painting the scene with a broad enough brush to capture many of the splinter genres that have developed over the last 30 years.
While it may be a matter of personal taste, my one criticism would be the overlooking of particular bands (Immortal, Ancient, Abigor, Summoning) in favor of some of others who have had less of an impact (DHG, Storm, etc.). Perhaps it was just the accessibility of the aforementioned bands' products in the States (getting imports in the US was a challenge at this time) that made them important to me, but it seems odd to have not spent time on them.
If you are a long time fan of the genre, this book is a solid collection of stories and reflections, with enough new information to make it a worthwhile read. If you are newer to the scene, it is a large but digestible overview of one of he more intriguing sub-cultures of the last 30 years.
By nraygun
What I love about Dayal's book is the wide range he covers in this book. It seems like every book or documentary on black metal focuses on Burzum, Mayhem, and Varg Vikernes vs. Euronymous. Dayal touches on this briefly, but more as a side note. It's very refreshing to read a black metal book that starts with the guys who started it all: Mercyful Fate, Venom, Celtic Frost, etc. and how it progressed into what it is today. Dayal's look at modern bands of all subgenres of black metal really put this book over the top and make it the best black metal book out there. Lords of Chaos for years have set the standard, but that book was last revised in 2003, so there is a whole decade of black metal culture and goings on to report on, especially with the thousand different directions black metal has gone since then. Dayal really nailed it with this book and Feral House will continue to be my favorite publisher. Dayal puts every major (and minor) black metal and props for mentioning bands like Ulver, Samael, old Cradle of Filth, Beherit, Fleurety, Dodecahedron, Vlad Tepes, and especially Marduk. Marduk is my all time favorite band and get overlooked constantly, so it is nice to see some representation here. ANother great aspect of this book is the breakdown of scenes from various countries from around the world and the introduction to many of us such great bands like VON, which I had heard the name, but had to check out on Youtube, and am now depressed on missing out on those guys back in the day. This book is not just the best music book I have read this year (honorable mention: Al Jourgensen), but probably the best book of any kind period I have read in 2013. Props to Dayal Patterson and Feral House. This book is an encyclopedia and worth the money.
By Ronald D. Bruner Jr.
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