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Heroes of the Metal Underground: The Definitive Guide to 1980s American Independent Metal Bands
The only encyclopedic and
definitive book on American indie metal!
If all you know about metal music was what was heard on commercial
radio, then you don’t know metal at all. Heroes of the Underground profiles 600
American bands from every town and city in the United States who ever released
a record.
Metal bands
exploded during the 1980s. Influenced by the heavy sounds coming out of Britain
via Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, young guitar shredders turned the amps up and
played harder and faster. American record companies scooped up a few bands and
signed them to major label recording deals (Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax), but
that left hundreds of bands—and their fans—trying to get their songs heard.
These intrepid
metal bands borrowed a page from punk’s DIY handbook and did it themselves.
Regional favorites. Hometown heroes. Tour van veterans. Bands who invested
their life savings into recording and pressing their songs onto albums for a
shot at immortality on vinyl.
Fans remember these
bands with joy. Collectors seek these records like the Holy Grail. And in Heroes
of the Metal Underground, author Alex Anesiadis compiles the details of these bands
and their records. Whether you’re a true or baby metalhead, Heroes of the Metal Underground will become your guide to all things metal.
definitive book on American indie metal!
If all you know about metal music was what was heard on commercial
radio, then you don’t know metal at all. Heroes of the Underground profiles 600
American bands from every town and city in the United States who ever released
a record.
Metal bands
exploded during the 1980s. Influenced by the heavy sounds coming out of Britain
via Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, young guitar shredders turned the amps up and
played harder and faster. American record companies scooped up a few bands and
signed them to major label recording deals (Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax), but
that left hundreds of bands—and their fans—trying to get their songs heard.
These intrepid
metal bands borrowed a page from punk’s DIY handbook and did it themselves.
Regional favorites. Hometown heroes. Tour van veterans. Bands who invested
their life savings into recording and pressing their songs onto albums for a
shot at immortality on vinyl.
Fans remember these
bands with joy. Collectors seek these records like the Holy Grail. And in Heroes
of the Metal Underground, author Alex Anesiadis compiles the details of these bands
and their records. Whether you’re a true or baby metalhead, Heroes of the Metal Underground will become your guide to all things metal.
506 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 29, 2023
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 13, 2024
Mr Anesiadis is a known punk rocker with an academic and street/live knowledge of his fields. It is a great joy to read a book for underground diy USA 80's heavy metal from him and Mr. Scarpelos. Their research is bringing in the surface jewels of the past hidden from the dust of time and the mainstream metal public. It is of great value to me since I have not invested in my youth time to dig to the underground. OK, Ruffians, Cirith Ungol, Brocas Helm and a couple more bands are standard knowledge for average Greek heavy metal fan raised in the 90's, but the rest 595 are to be added to my want to listen list. Well done again.
Displaying 1 of 1 review