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Headbanger!
What if heavy metal really did make you do bad things?
The 1980s are ablaze with Satanic Panic hysteria, and no one is feeling the heat worse than teenage headbanger Mark Looger.
His chain-smoking, Bible-thumping mother has declared war on his heavy metal way of life, trashing his records… ruining his chances with Tori Payne… even calling the barber!
Driven to the brink by her righteous fury, Mark dares to meddle in the dark arts and…
HYPNOTIZES HIS MOTHER!
At first, it totally rocks! She’s making him breakfast, handing over her Diners Club card, and letting him throw the biggest party Liberty Bend has ever seen!
But wait… oh no! Her hypnotized mind is also a slave to heavy metal itself! Every twisted lyric she hears becomes a command she must obey!
And as the hi-fi is cranked to 666, the night erupts into a bloodbath of unholy horror… becoming everything the PMRC, the six o’clock news, and your parents ever warned you about!
Headbanger! is an outrageous and hilarious love letter to 80s metal culture. A savage horror-comedy about music, mind control, and moral panic!
In the unhinged spirit of Grady Hendrix, Jason Pargin, and all of your favorite 80s horror movies!
The 1980s are ablaze with Satanic Panic hysteria, and no one is feeling the heat worse than teenage headbanger Mark Looger.
His chain-smoking, Bible-thumping mother has declared war on his heavy metal way of life, trashing his records… ruining his chances with Tori Payne… even calling the barber!
Driven to the brink by her righteous fury, Mark dares to meddle in the dark arts and…
HYPNOTIZES HIS MOTHER!
At first, it totally rocks! She’s making him breakfast, handing over her Diners Club card, and letting him throw the biggest party Liberty Bend has ever seen!
But wait… oh no! Her hypnotized mind is also a slave to heavy metal itself! Every twisted lyric she hears becomes a command she must obey!
And as the hi-fi is cranked to 666, the night erupts into a bloodbath of unholy horror… becoming everything the PMRC, the six o’clock news, and your parents ever warned you about!
Headbanger! is an outrageous and hilarious love letter to 80s metal culture. A savage horror-comedy about music, mind control, and moral panic!
In the unhinged spirit of Grady Hendrix, Jason Pargin, and all of your favorite 80s horror movies!
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 16, 2026
About the author
Audie Harrison
1 book18 followersAudie Harrison is a writer, filmmaker, and animator. A graduate of the CalArts Character Animation Program, his writing and directing credits include the punk-rock indie feature The Last American, the Cartoon Network series Uncle Grandpa, and Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! for Warner Bros. Animation.
Headbanger! is Audie’s debut novel, born from a lifelong devotion to heavy metal, horror movies, and Saturday-morning cartoons. He lives in Pasadena, California, with his family and a collection of dusty guitars.
Headbanger! is Audie’s debut novel, born from a lifelong devotion to heavy metal, horror movies, and Saturday-morning cartoons. He lives in Pasadena, California, with his family and a collection of dusty guitars.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 7, 2026
Metal and horror are 2 of my favorite things in this world and I am a deeply unserious person so when you promise me metal centric horror that's also funny I get very excited. Alas, the funny aspect of this book was very adolescent and, looking at what the author worked on before this, it absolutely makes sense, I probably should have checked that before picking it up.
The characters were all pretty one note caricatures in a very cartoony sort of way that didn't feel particularly loving and that I didn't vibe with. Ultimately, I was left feeling that this book was rushed almost like the author wanted to make it a series or a graphic novel and settled down for a novel instead. There were some pretty good and fun ideas that would have worked better if there had been space for the characters to be more fully realized. I also admit that my knowledge of 80s metal culture is entirely second-hand considering that I wasn't even an idea for most of the 80s so maybe it would feel more relatable for someone of that generation?
Another problem I had with this book was that the kill scenes were rather unceremonious but also lacked in viscerality or humor which was frustrating (to be fair the book I read before it had excellent kill scenes that set the bar quite high).
Many thanks to the publisher and BookSirens for providing me a digital review copy of this book.
The characters were all pretty one note caricatures in a very cartoony sort of way that didn't feel particularly loving and that I didn't vibe with. Ultimately, I was left feeling that this book was rushed almost like the author wanted to make it a series or a graphic novel and settled down for a novel instead. There were some pretty good and fun ideas that would have worked better if there had been space for the characters to be more fully realized. I also admit that my knowledge of 80s metal culture is entirely second-hand considering that I wasn't even an idea for most of the 80s so maybe it would feel more relatable for someone of that generation?
Another problem I had with this book was that the kill scenes were rather unceremonious but also lacked in viscerality or humor which was frustrating (to be fair the book I read before it had excellent kill scenes that set the bar quite high).
Many thanks to the publisher and BookSirens for providing me a digital review copy of this book.
April 8, 2026
Got the arc for review on booksirens.
A heavy metal fueled horror set in 1980s during the Satanic Panic. Definitely an intruiging premise and was entertaining altough I didn't always find it funny. A book that shows you should not use dark forces and hypnotise your annoying mother (or anyone else for that matter)
A heavy metal fueled horror set in 1980s during the Satanic Panic. Definitely an intruiging premise and was entertaining altough I didn't always find it funny. A book that shows you should not use dark forces and hypnotise your annoying mother (or anyone else for that matter)
March 17, 2026
4 Electrified Guitars for Headbanger!
Stupid, ridiculous, completely over the top fun look and the endlessly mockable Satanic Panic of the late 80s.
I time I know entirely too well because I was that rocker chic in that time period and sadly people actually took this shit pretty damn seriously. That's the true horror.
But as a mockumentary - which is really due for its 15 minutes on film - it's awesome. I'll give it 1 thumbs up/1 chainsaw up from the king of groovy and gore, Sir Bruce Campbell. How much more could anyone want? Do we have to throw in the Classic too? That might be a little too over the top, but this was an entirely satisfying farce that I was happy to ride a long on (if it would have packed my luggage for me while I was reading, I'd at least try to track down a Delta 88 matchbox or something for you.) But, since, alas, it did not I'm going to have to start some kind of riot. After I get a nap. Then probably won't have time as I recklessly try to shove everything I need for 10 days into 2 bags, including stuff I forgot to take on the last one. That I haven't made any effort to set aside in the last 6 months. Oh well. This metal mama will just blame it on the exhaustion of having birthed and mostly raised 2 gen Z's that the government claim to be adults....I question that more often than I should have to. Here's the next project for the millennial Tipper Gore - I want this kind of song and dance for .... oh, tax credits for those z's that will never leave the nest? Maybe one of the PMBS ers can get their politically correct adjectives and renamed things wrong and get canceled. Or maybe it's time to start a class action law suit for those were directly affected by the PMRB/Satanic Panic Phase. I mean we had people give us dirty looks and try to shove religious pamphlets in our hands coming out of a show. Tell us we are going to hell if we don't repent immediately (40 some years ago....) And the damage of my parents disposing of my large collection of paperbacks from the 70s and 80s that looked about like the cover of this one, once you add the basement smells and the funk that always tells you that you have entered a thrift store. I dug long and far for those! Just because I didn't take them with me for over 35 years and 6 or 7 states, how dare they?!?!?!
But seriously we all hit that spot that we just need some dumb humor to stir up the reads now and then. Okay, some of us may need it a bit more often, and a bit dumber, but this is the perfect Gen X POV and there is no better way than satire and sarcasm to get through our thick skulls (maybe that's just because of the permanent Aquanet buildup on them.)
Relax. Step away from any list of books that says anything resembling any of these:
100 Books You Have to Read Before You Die
Classic Literature's Greatest Hits
If You Can't Name the Most Hallowed Books of all Time by their 14th Line of the 42nd Page You Can't Call Yourself Literate
The Books that Changed the World in the 20th Century (and if you Can't Write a 4 Page Essay Single Spaced Size 10 Aerial Font Explaning All of the Uses of Symbolism in Each One You'll Have to Go Back) - ** wait that sounds like a deal I might want to take!!
If you need to me to tell you that this is the deepest piece of important historical fiction thus far in our current millennium so that you don't feel less than or judged by your book club, I'll do it for you. I'll even write up some discussion points for you.
Stupid, ridiculous, completely over the top fun look and the endlessly mockable Satanic Panic of the late 80s.
I time I know entirely too well because I was that rocker chic in that time period and sadly people actually took this shit pretty damn seriously. That's the true horror.
But as a mockumentary - which is really due for its 15 minutes on film - it's awesome. I'll give it 1 thumbs up/1 chainsaw up from the king of groovy and gore, Sir Bruce Campbell. How much more could anyone want? Do we have to throw in the Classic too? That might be a little too over the top, but this was an entirely satisfying farce that I was happy to ride a long on (if it would have packed my luggage for me while I was reading, I'd at least try to track down a Delta 88 matchbox or something for you.) But, since, alas, it did not I'm going to have to start some kind of riot. After I get a nap. Then probably won't have time as I recklessly try to shove everything I need for 10 days into 2 bags, including stuff I forgot to take on the last one. That I haven't made any effort to set aside in the last 6 months. Oh well. This metal mama will just blame it on the exhaustion of having birthed and mostly raised 2 gen Z's that the government claim to be adults....I question that more often than I should have to. Here's the next project for the millennial Tipper Gore - I want this kind of song and dance for .... oh, tax credits for those z's that will never leave the nest? Maybe one of the PMBS ers can get their politically correct adjectives and renamed things wrong and get canceled. Or maybe it's time to start a class action law suit for those were directly affected by the PMRB/Satanic Panic Phase. I mean we had people give us dirty looks and try to shove religious pamphlets in our hands coming out of a show. Tell us we are going to hell if we don't repent immediately (40 some years ago....) And the damage of my parents disposing of my large collection of paperbacks from the 70s and 80s that looked about like the cover of this one, once you add the basement smells and the funk that always tells you that you have entered a thrift store. I dug long and far for those! Just because I didn't take them with me for over 35 years and 6 or 7 states, how dare they?!?!?!
But seriously we all hit that spot that we just need some dumb humor to stir up the reads now and then. Okay, some of us may need it a bit more often, and a bit dumber, but this is the perfect Gen X POV and there is no better way than satire and sarcasm to get through our thick skulls (maybe that's just because of the permanent Aquanet buildup on them.)
Relax. Step away from any list of books that says anything resembling any of these:
100 Books You Have to Read Before You Die
Classic Literature's Greatest Hits
If You Can't Name the Most Hallowed Books of all Time by their 14th Line of the 42nd Page You Can't Call Yourself Literate
The Books that Changed the World in the 20th Century (and if you Can't Write a 4 Page Essay Single Spaced Size 10 Aerial Font Explaning All of the Uses of Symbolism in Each One You'll Have to Go Back) - ** wait that sounds like a deal I might want to take!!
If you need to me to tell you that this is the deepest piece of important historical fiction thus far in our current millennium so that you don't feel less than or judged by your book club, I'll do it for you. I'll even write up some discussion points for you.
March 19, 2026
An outlandish, over-the-top parody of the headbanger culture I was a part of. Being GenX and going to high school in the 80's, this was highly entertaining. This was just so much fun to read. Two horns up!
March 3, 2026
I honestly feel like I’m the perfect target audience for this book.
As a lifelong heavy metal fan, I lived through the Satanic Panic of the ’80s and have a deep love for horror movies from that decade—so this story felt tailor-made for me.
If I had to compare it to something, I’d say it’s like Weird Science with a full-on metalhead twist. The scenes are incredibly easy to visualize, almost cinematic in the best way, and it makes perfect sense that the book began life as a screenplay.
The narrative moves at a great pace, and the characters—while intentionally leaning into classic stereotypes—are genuinely endearing and a lot of fun to spend time with.
Highly recommended for fans of ’80s heavy metal and for anyone who has a soft spot for the wild horror films of that era.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
As a lifelong heavy metal fan, I lived through the Satanic Panic of the ’80s and have a deep love for horror movies from that decade—so this story felt tailor-made for me.
If I had to compare it to something, I’d say it’s like Weird Science with a full-on metalhead twist. The scenes are incredibly easy to visualize, almost cinematic in the best way, and it makes perfect sense that the book began life as a screenplay.
The narrative moves at a great pace, and the characters—while intentionally leaning into classic stereotypes—are genuinely endearing and a lot of fun to spend time with.
Highly recommended for fans of ’80s heavy metal and for anyone who has a soft spot for the wild horror films of that era.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
April 19, 2026
This book was to me like seeing an 80’s movie placed on the highest pike of the satanic panic era; how it’s written, the humor, the atmosphere and descriptions totally brings the decade nostalgia. Is humor as it is comedically dark; and what looks like the best idea for our main character Mark Looger becomes a twisted nightmare full of rock and gore. Each character grows fond on the reader on how good build are each on of the and the fully in depth run through metal history and how each chapter is named as a metal song absolutely brings all the metal vibes. I enjoyed this book so much it took a lot of laughs out of me as so many “Oh hell no” moments and the ending absolutely matches what as a reader I was expecting. For those lovers of metal, gore and rock and roll, this is a nostalgic book that needs to be on your shelves! Highly recommended 🤘🏻🎸⚡️🖤
Thank you to the author Audie Harrison for sending me this awesomely cool copy 🤘🏻⚡️
Thank you to the author Audie Harrison for sending me this awesomely cool copy 🤘🏻⚡️
March 9, 2026
This book had the 80's vibe through it. Complete with Satanic Panic.
Mark hypnotizes his mother, but she soon obeys commands of headbanger music. So what could go wrong?
Mark hypnotizes his mother, but she soon obeys commands of headbanger music. So what could go wrong?
April 17, 2026
A book for metalheads!
Headbanger! is funny, bloody, and metal af. I loved all the references to the music and culture of the 80s. I loved that the book was able to poke fun at the music and artists of the genre, while also staying true to it as well as showcasing the wide spread love for the genre.
Headbanger! is funny, bloody, and metal af. I loved all the references to the music and culture of the 80s. I loved that the book was able to poke fun at the music and artists of the genre, while also staying true to it as well as showcasing the wide spread love for the genre.
March 7, 2026
2.5 rounded up
March 26, 2026
𝐀 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧-𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥... 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝!
This was a fun read & a great peek into the Satanic Panic and early days of heavy metal. The cast is memorable — even the characters you are meant to hate are still highly entertaining! Their dialogue is damn hilarious, too. There are a few choices that made me scratch my head (why would the MC forget to invite their crush to the party they orchestrated FOR their crush???) but I found myself rooting for most of them to survive and succeed.
As a classic music enjoyer of EVERY flavor, the disdain towards glam rockers and other genres of music rather hurt my soul, but in a way that made me laugh and smile. There have always been divides like that, with fans that take their favorite tunes VERY seriously and call everything else crap. That's the beauty of music and the way it speaks to every individual.
This book helped me understand the cathartic pleasure that headbangers get from listening to metal, and why they defended their individuality with tooth and nail when Churchgoers and concerned parents tried to snuff it out.
The horror and gore was also fun. The kills go by pretty quickly one after another, but the efficiency in which they were all conducted was frightening in itself. My jaw dropped when the first death happened to one of my favorite characters — I didn't see it coming! And it set the stakes for the carnage to come, and it never lets up until the very end.
I'd recommend Headbanger! both for fans of heavy metal, and for the curious outsiders like myself. I learned something, and had a rockin' good time while learning it.
This was a fun read & a great peek into the Satanic Panic and early days of heavy metal. The cast is memorable — even the characters you are meant to hate are still highly entertaining! Their dialogue is damn hilarious, too. There are a few choices that made me scratch my head (why would the MC forget to invite their crush to the party they orchestrated FOR their crush???) but I found myself rooting for most of them to survive and succeed.
As a classic music enjoyer of EVERY flavor, the disdain towards glam rockers and other genres of music rather hurt my soul, but in a way that made me laugh and smile. There have always been divides like that, with fans that take their favorite tunes VERY seriously and call everything else crap. That's the beauty of music and the way it speaks to every individual.
This book helped me understand the cathartic pleasure that headbangers get from listening to metal, and why they defended their individuality with tooth and nail when Churchgoers and concerned parents tried to snuff it out.
The horror and gore was also fun. The kills go by pretty quickly one after another, but the efficiency in which they were all conducted was frightening in itself. My jaw dropped when the first death happened to one of my favorite characters — I didn't see it coming! And it set the stakes for the carnage to come, and it never lets up until the very end.
I'd recommend Headbanger! both for fans of heavy metal, and for the curious outsiders like myself. I learned something, and had a rockin' good time while learning it.
March 8, 2026
Headbanger! by Audie Harrison is a wild, outrageous horror comedy that perfectly captures the chaotic spirit of 1980s metal culture.
Set during the height of the Satanic Panic, the story follows teenage metalhead Mark Looger, whose love for loud music puts him at constant odds with his deeply religious, chain smoking mother. Convinced that heavy metal is corrupting her son, she launches a crusade to destroy everything he loves from his records to his social life.
Desperate and pushed to the edge, Mark makes a reckless decision: he hypnotizes his mother. At first, it seems like the perfect solution. She suddenly becomes supportive, generous, and even willing to bankroll the biggest party their town has ever seen. But the situation quickly spirals out of control when the hypnotized mother begins taking heavy metal lyrics literally turning every song into a command she must obey.
What follows is a chaotic blend of satire, horror, and absurd comedy. The novel cleverly pokes fun at the moral panic surrounding heavy metal music during the 1980s, while embracing the over the top energy and rebellious spirit that defined the era. Fans of classic metal culture, horror comedy, and nostalgic 80s references will likely find plenty to enjoy.
Overall, Headbanger is a loud, irreverent, and entertaining tribute to a time when music was blamed for just about everything and when turning the volume up felt like an act of rebellion.
Set during the height of the Satanic Panic, the story follows teenage metalhead Mark Looger, whose love for loud music puts him at constant odds with his deeply religious, chain smoking mother. Convinced that heavy metal is corrupting her son, she launches a crusade to destroy everything he loves from his records to his social life.
Desperate and pushed to the edge, Mark makes a reckless decision: he hypnotizes his mother. At first, it seems like the perfect solution. She suddenly becomes supportive, generous, and even willing to bankroll the biggest party their town has ever seen. But the situation quickly spirals out of control when the hypnotized mother begins taking heavy metal lyrics literally turning every song into a command she must obey.
What follows is a chaotic blend of satire, horror, and absurd comedy. The novel cleverly pokes fun at the moral panic surrounding heavy metal music during the 1980s, while embracing the over the top energy and rebellious spirit that defined the era. Fans of classic metal culture, horror comedy, and nostalgic 80s references will likely find plenty to enjoy.
Overall, Headbanger is a loud, irreverent, and entertaining tribute to a time when music was blamed for just about everything and when turning the volume up felt like an act of rebellion.
February 10, 2026
This entertaining banging novel combines 80s nostalgia, heavy metal, and a gory narrative packed with humor as well.
All Mark wants to do is rock. He's got his eye on a girl who seems to really like him and, at first, things are looking up. Until his mother gets involved. She's uber religious and when she finds out about his music and crush, she forces him to change his ways, going so far to make him cut his hair (the horror is real with that as I've been there).
But when Mark rebels in a heavy metal way, he's going to accidentally unleash hell and it might be too late to put the pin back in the supernatural grenade!
This novel works on a lot of levels. If you like heavy metal, nostalgic narratives, a slice of 80s gold, and enough dark humour to wash it all down with, this one will do it for you! Plus there are some absolutely bloody deaths that'll make your skin crawl. Sometimes all these different elements don't quite live up to expectations but this one nails them all. It'll make you squirm, smile, and laugh in equal measures. I highly recommend it.
All Mark wants to do is rock. He's got his eye on a girl who seems to really like him and, at first, things are looking up. Until his mother gets involved. She's uber religious and when she finds out about his music and crush, she forces him to change his ways, going so far to make him cut his hair (the horror is real with that as I've been there).
But when Mark rebels in a heavy metal way, he's going to accidentally unleash hell and it might be too late to put the pin back in the supernatural grenade!
This novel works on a lot of levels. If you like heavy metal, nostalgic narratives, a slice of 80s gold, and enough dark humour to wash it all down with, this one will do it for you! Plus there are some absolutely bloody deaths that'll make your skin crawl. Sometimes all these different elements don't quite live up to expectations but this one nails them all. It'll make you squirm, smile, and laugh in equal measures. I highly recommend it.
March 21, 2026
He has a metal band but his mother is dead against it all until he decides to hypnotize her. Life is great for a while until she does whatever metal music tells her to do. Life is going to get very complicated very fast. See how it all goes
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and is very funny in places
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and is very funny in places
May 8, 2026
Good, clean (?) fun
Born in the 70s and live metal? This is the book for you. So much fun. What a crazy ride.
Born in the 70s and live metal? This is the book for you. So much fun. What a crazy ride.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews