Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal

by David Konow

“Bang your head! Metal Health’ll drive you mad!”
— Quiet Riot

Like an episode of VH1’s Behind the Music on steroids, Bang Your Head is an epic history of every band and every performer that has proudly worn the Heavy Metal badge. Whether headbanging is your guilty pleasure or you firmly believe that this much-maligned genre has never received the respect it deserves, Bang Your Head is a must-read that pays homage to a music that’s impossible to ignore, especially when being blasted through a sixteen-inch woofer.

Charting the genesis of early metal with bands like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden; the rise of metal to the top of the Billboard charts and heavy MTV rotation featuring the likes of Def Leppard and Metallica; hitting its critical peak with bands like Guns N’ Roses; disgrace during the “hair metal” ’80s; and a demise fueled by the explosion of the Seattle grunge scene and the “alternative” revolution, Bang Your Head is as funny as it is informative and proves once and for all that there is more to metal than sin, sex, and spandex.

To write this exhaustive history, David Konow spent three years interviewing the bands, wives, girlfriends, ex-wives, groupies, managers, record company execs, and anyone who was or is a part of the metal scene, including many of the band guys often better known for their escapades and bad behavior than for their musicianship. Nothing is left unsaid in this jaw-dropping, funny, and entertaining chronicle of power ballads, outrageous outfits, big hair, bigger egos, and testosterone-drenched debauchery.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Pop Culture, Cultural, Biography

480 pages, Paperback

First published November 12, 2002

Reviews

[Luke · Rating 1 out of 5]

I sincerely hope David Konow didn't receive any payment for writing this book. All it is is a compilation of media tabloid stories based around 80s glam rock, with an irritatingly long section on Kiss.

Konow clearly doesn't have a very good grasp on his subject matter. Hes not alone, though. You'll find a lot of "heavy metal" books written like this - old, out of touch journalists who think metal stopped being made on January 1st, 1990.

I guess the main complaint is just how mislead the front cover is. Youd think if you were confident enough to write a book chronicling "the rise and fall of heavy metal" you would be able to cover a little more ground. Id say he covered about, maybe 2%, of what heavy metal is.

On a side note, the fact that the words "...fall* of heavy metal" were put on this book is a pretty good indication its a waste of time.

If you want to find a better book about metal, Id recommend...well, pretty much anything else. But more specifically, try "Louder Than Hell" or "This Ain't The Summer Of Love"

[Vali · Rating 1 out of 5]

Warning: this book is not about true heavy metal but focuses instead on the horror that was the glam of the late eighties and early nineties. The stories are interesting enough, but metal pioneers like Black Sabbath are barely examined. If you're looking for stories about true metal bands like Slayer, Metallica and Pantera, look elsewhere.

[Paul Grose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Traces the rise and ultimate fall of Heavy Metal. The work covers the birth of the genre out of Brirmingham UK and the rise of Black Sabbath through to its ultimate demise at the hands of the new Seattle Sound of the early 90's. A great and easily accessable read.

[Bill Koester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this one in high school when I first started getting into metal music. Fun, easy read, the equivalent to watching one of those TV documentaries on musicians you like.

[Hunter Newberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bang Your Head: The Rise And Fall of Heavy Metal: A Review
I chose to read “Bang Your Head: The Rise And Fall of Heavy Metal” by David Konow. The book was Konow’s second published work that wasn’t an article. The book is based on how heavy metal came to be and how it couldn’t sustain itself. The purpose of the book was to inform the reader about the genre of music. Bang Your Head: The Rise And Fall of Heavy Metal was published in 2002 and it is 480 pages long.
The book starts by describing the first metal band to come into existence: Black Sabbath. The book describes how Ozzy Osbourne and Tommy Iommi put together the sounds that describe and make this new genre. Konow then goes on to talk about one of the biggest metal bands in Led Zeppelin. Konow describes how successful Zeppelin was and talks about how they had one of the biggest hits of all time with Stairway To Heaven. The next band Konow talks about is Deep Purple and how they had a more synthetic sound to them. Konow describes these three as the bands who pioneered the new sound of metal.
In the next section of the book, Konow begins by talking about Alice Cooper and how he was one of the first people to add over-the-top theatrics to shows. Cooper said, “See how far you can get without a gimmick” (Konow 29). Konow then goes on to talk about how Kiss was heavily influenced by Cooper, making makeup a large part of the band. Konow Also brings up how the music industry was re-defined when Pink Floyd released their new album The Wall. Every band wanted to make an epic album defined by one big hit.
Towards the middle of the book, Konow talks about how the music was changing from the 70s to the 80s and how guitarists needed new instruments to even be able to keep up with the faster-paced style of newer metal. Eddie Van Hallen was one of these guitarists. He pushed for the guitar brand Kramer and it boosted their sales by millions. He then goes on to talk about how Metallica got so popular by doing things the way they wanted to. Konow said that Metallica was one of the first bands to branch off and create new sub-genres.
In the last section of Bang Your Head: The Rise And Fall of Heavy Metal, Konow talks about the fall of heavy metal. Konow blames Nirvana for the fall of traditional metal in 1992 when they put out their first studio album Bleach (Konow 379). The sound of music was changing and because of this Konow said famous clubs that were defined by the Guns N Roses generation knew the scene was changing and stopped booking metal bands.
The book was successful in describing how metal came to be and how it thrived but had a weak evaluation of the fall of metal because it only mentioned and blamed Nirvana for the fall of metal in 1992 when bands like Limp Bizkit, Korn, Rage Against the Machine, and Pearl Jam were still insanely popular until about 2008. One thing he could’ve done to more effectively describe the evolution of metal music is talk about how it just spread out across many different sub-genres and how it was still extremely popular past 1992. The author heavily relies on implying the purpose through the use of numbers and stats. He uses a lot of factual evidence like sales numbers and popularity charts to show how the numbers went up and down. When ready the book this use of evidence was very prevalent because he included a hard fact on almost every page. A Lot of the book talks more about the money side of the music industry. Konow wasn’t very qualified to write about the subject because he was never in the industry; he just picked a topic of interest to write a book about.
For the book's intended audience I would give it a 7/10. The ending makes the reader question some of the facts he listed throughout the book by describing a fall-off that didn't really happen until 2010. With that being said the book was very easy to read and I enjoyed reading most of it. My favourite part of the book is when Konow opens with how Ozzy became famous. It was really cool to hear his origin story. If I could change anything about the book I would update it to 2024 and show how metal is coming back and how 1992 wasn’t a falloff for the genre. I would recommend this book to anyone who really enjoys classic rock or metal because it does give a really good history about the music you like.

[RebL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not about metal as a genre, but the hair band 80s explosion. Thorough but dated - since it came out in 2002, it ends on a bummer "Rock is Dead" note. Not as enjoyable as the newer "Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion" that I read last year, and some, but not all, of the material overlaps (Don't know how many times I'm going to hear that story about Jani Lane walking into his record company and seeing that the Warrant poster was gone from the lobby. I always felt bad for Jani, rest his soul.)

Still worth picking up for walking down the Hollywood Boulevard of your memories. \m/ \m/

[Joe Colorado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of the 80s metal scene. Not too many surprises, but a good read.

[Russell Holbrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Metal Health is an album by Quiet Riot. That record changed my life. For real. It's still one of my favorite albums of all time, ever. When I saw a book who's title was culled from the lyrics of the title track off Metal Health,I knew I had to read it. Unfortunately, I was so high when I read it that the only part I remember is when the author was making fun of seminal indie-rock band, Sebadoh. I was like, "Hey dude, Lou Barlow was in Deep Wound, and without Deep Wound we might not have Grindcore as we know it." Just kidding, I didn't really say that out loud or even think it. I usually don't talk to books, well, most of the time I don't. Anyway... I should re-read this book and give it another chance. I just don't remember being moved and inspired the way I was by Sound of the Beast. Maybe it's unfair of me to compare the two. Whatever.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The worst book I have ever read on the subject of metal. There is absolutely nothing of substance in Bang Your Head. Written by a person who knows absolutely nothing about heavy metal. It's like Konow heard one Metallica song and suddenly thought that qualified him enough to write about the subject. Bang your head is basically tabloid literature. DO NOT READ THIS GARBAGE.

[Matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book reads like a Wikipedia article about a handful of bands that cracked the billboard #1. This is not a book about Metal. Don't waste your time.

[Haley Chapan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, mainly because I’m a fan of metal as a genre. However, David Konow’s writing style felt more casual and tabloid-like than I expected - almost unprofessional at times. While this tone made the book easy to read, relatable, and straightforward, I often wished it had been written more like a novel than a magazine. The best way that I can describe it, is that it felt like reading the transcript of a metal documentary. It's not a bad thing, but also not a good thing.

The book is marketed as "The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal," but it focuses HEAVILY on the 70s and 80s hair and glam metal era. Bands like KISS and Mötley Crüe get a lot of attention, while artists I feel are more pivotal to the genre - such as Metallica and Black Sabbath - are glossed over. I was expecting a broader history of metal, covering its origins and evolution in greater detail. Instead, the narrative felt narrow and rushed, especially towards the end. It was almost as if the book concluded with, "Then the 90s came, and metal died forever," which couldn’t be further from the truth.

If the goal was to focus on the hair metal era, that’s totally fine, but the advertising should have reflected that. If that wasn’t the intention, the book needed a deeper dive into the genre's roots, its transformations, and its more impactful artists across different eras.

Overall, I enjoyed the read and picked up some new insights. It felt nostalgic, even though I was nonexistent at the time period being discussed in the book. It made me wish I had been a teenager in the 80s, rebelling against my parents, wearing too much leather, and going to underground metal shows. It made me appreciate metal in a new light, stirred up some childhood memories of my dad watching Metal Mania on VH1 Classic, and supplied me with a few new songs to add to my dad rock playlist. That said, I couldn’t help feeling like it fell short of its potential.

[Jackson T. · Rating 1 out of 5]

David Konow's history is a paean to hair metal. There is little by way of actual narrative into metal as a global, diverse genre-- its all about the cock rock of Los Angeles circa. 1985. The misadventures and commercial success of Ratt, Quiet Riot, Guns 'N' Roses, and Mötley Crüe take up pages upon pages. "Bang Your Hand" recounts the sexual improprieties, drug and alcohol abuse, and general tomfooleries of that scene, but the author truly believes that this music was special, a party music for a carefree, conspicuous consumption age. The "fall" of heavy metal was the rise of alternative bands-- those dour, flannel shirt wearing Seattleites. When music began to speak about love, politics, and alienation, rather than the hyper-hedonistic sex, drug, and rock 'n' roll, this was a cultural tragedy. Hair Metal's Dionysian nihilism-- which resulted in the death of untold rockers and audience members via glorified excess-- Konow sees as playful, fun, and endearing. After 400 pages plus of historical apologia, Konow's distasteful analysis becomes as nauseating as a Winger album.

On a stylistic level, Konow is a juvenile writer. Sentences rarely feature clauses and the word-choice becomes immediately repetitive.

[Draconis Blackthorne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite honestly, even though one may be able to relate to a great majority of the subject matter discussed in this book, as a progressive evolution in preferences, I have to say that this tome reads like it was written by a trendoid who just automatically switched to the next herd trend once the populace was directed otherwhere by music executives, manipulating via financial reasons, rather than core resonance.

This can be perceived in the large majority of commentary made in the past-tense, as if HM no longer exists! While the pop-wave recedes, the few true remain. Despite a small portion bring dedicated to Black & Death Metal, & actual Heavy Metal {Maiden, Priest, Manowar, Danzig, etc.}, the author lumps in "pop rock/metal" in with the previous, which is decidedly NOT the case! That is referred to as "false metal", or just "glam rock".

There are some amusing stories from performers' antics, but still, doesn't hold a torch or even a candle to either Lucifer Rising or Lords of Chaos.

[Joshua Hair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm leaving this as a three star review for a few reason. While it was enjoyable and informative at times, my early opinion never changed: this was not a history of heavy metal, but instead a group of interesting anecdotes and facts about bands of the 80's and the author's opinions on them. Most of the information Mr. Konow delivers can be found easily online, but there were still a few tidbits here and there that I was unfamiliar with or had forgotten. As I said, his opinions sway the direction of the book tremendously in some ways. For instance, Pantera (a band who was pivotal in heavy metal if only for Dimebag Darrell's guitar style) is mentioned once for a single paragraph, and then only long enough to basically call them posers. Meanwhile, he spends far too long talking about bands like W.A.S.P., who barely got off the ground before failing.

Still, for a metal fan it might be fun to pick up just for some of the more entertaining anecdotes and forgotten facts. For those looking for a definitive history of metal you'll want to look elsewhere.

[Alejo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right from the beginning the author states that he's a fan of the Hair Metal era, because he lived through it, and that's the main focus of this book: Thrash Metal gets some references, and Death Metal and Black Metal are only mentioned once. Anyway, it's a good book to understand the "Golden Years" of Heavy Metal, or better yet, the rise and fall of the pop metal days. It's not glossy eyed, it even ends on a sour note, a true reference to one of the 80's fads.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally! Over a year of dragging this to every vacation and weekend getaway, and finally I’ve finished. I really enjoyed reading this, but reading this book and print would always tire me out, so I couldn’t continue for very long. It was not available as an audiobook, hence the year and several months it took to finish.

I learned so much about the beginning of heavy metal, the different sub genres, much about all of the different bands, and all of it was fascinating.

[Yavvo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good read. Major bands in the genres of heavy metal were the focus. Too much attention was given to GNR for my liking. Wish more of the development of heavy metal would have been discussed and lesser known bands mentioned, but nevertheless it kept me reading.

[Ben Roper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history of music from start to finish is an idea I've toyed with from time to time. This book is not that but it covers the heavy metal scene during the 1980's. I learned a lot reading this and was put onto some really cool records I might never have heard of otherwise. A+

[Robert Giesenhagen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is potentially the worst book I’ve ever read on music. The writing is atrocious and amateur on a level that makes one wonder how he got published. And for a title that seems to encompass a lot it’s real fucking devoid of metal history.

[Mariette Van jaarsveld · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It took me down memory lane. I listened to all of the bands mentioned in this book, during my teenage years. I actually owned most of the albums, and this was a nice memory.

[Natalie DiPietro · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a little over all the place, but a must read for metal fans. 🤘

[LaDonna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am hopelessly the "80's rock chick" so when I saw this on the library shelf the other day, I had to grab it. Overall a solid overview of this underrepresented genre. The book came out in 2002, so many more chapters could be added in the near decade since. There were a few items where I had to share with my husband (stuck in the 80's with me) but nothing that really came as a shocker. If you loved it, lived it or are curious about it, this book is a good place to start, or refresh your memories.

[Etan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lame. As history this is sorely lacking. Just check out the bands given most mentions in the index - Metallica and Black Sabbath sure, but also Kiss, Motley Crue, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen - clearly Konow is biased towards the glammier, more "hard rock" and commercially viable segments of metal's past. He devolves into stories all too often without really getting at the glue of what put metal together.

[Brad Schubert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book talks about random heavy metal bands in each different chapter. It talks about how they formed, or split up. The author talks to the wives of the band members, and the recording people, and really gives good detail on what they did.

[Nick West · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not a history of heavy metal so much as it is a batch of anecdotes on the commercial metal explosions of the 1970s and 80s. if you want an actual history of metal, I highly recommend "Sound of the Beast".

[Meri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to know more about the music Stephen listens to. It was pretty informative and cool.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is what it says it is. Not great, not awful. Somewhere in between (like a KISS concert).

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad basic history of metal, but it's almost too basic. Too much time on the hair bands - yuck!

[Johnhpny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book if you want to know where heavy metal music started, what bands came first, and the main people in the bands.

[Xxxakixxx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and well-written. Captivating. But it was a little annoying how he skipped from band to band and back again.