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Into the Black: The Inside Story Of Metallica 1991–2014
From the record-breaking success of 1991's 'Black Album' to the band's reinvention with the Load/Reload albums; from bassist Jason Newsted's shock departure to the group's subsequent meltdown as laid bare in the documentary Some Kind of Monster; from the Lulu album with Lou Reed to their hugely expensive feature film Through the Never, the second half of the Metallica story has been as eventful and controversial as it has triumphant.
289 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
November 11, 2023
now that I've read this I feel like giving the other part 3 stars but bc I'm an extremely generous and exceptionally kind-hearted human being, I will keep it at 4 stars. okay, first of all how did the authors manage to be present at every stage of Metallica's life from 1992 onwards? SO JEALOUS OMG!! Also, while I do know the exact evolution of James' hair and beard throughout the years from 1982-present, I did not know quite a lot in this book. Was SOOOOO cool to read the background of the "Big 4 concert" in Bulgaria from 2010. That was iconic. Also my favorite feuds: I was laughing so hard at their bitch fight w Dave Mustaine (lol), with Axl Rose (loml), and the beef between James and Lars. They even manage to squeeze in how Slash hated Axl during the tour HAHAHAHH I mean they did give me more dirt and more gossip than their other book, so thank u, but still didn't deliver as well as u could. Literally the ONLY extremely juicy detail that I wanted to know about their tour life was an excerpt from Slash's book HAHAHAHHAH which is a story that EVERYONE knows. GRRRRRRRR
Tho it was so so so fk funny how much and how obviously the writers hated Lars. I feel like they realized at one point that they bashed him so much, that Lars would 100% sue their asses, that I could see them sweating while trying to write one nice thing about him to get back on his good side. No Lars hate tolerated in this household sirs! He was already questionable at playing the drums and now he also has an ever-receding hairline..... Poor man, he has such a hard life already, do u ppl have no heart?
Moving on.
I feel so bad for Kirk omg he was always my favorite and I always knew that he was low-key excluded from the production etc but I never knew the extent to which he was excluded. #justiceforhammett :( I love Kirk. He arrives, doesn't take part in drama, does his own thing, slays the house boots down and leaves.
No but fr, I love them, literally grew up w them, the first and second song I played on guitar was from them AND they introduced me to my favorite band that I have been following religiously for 5 years now lol so yeah this all means in my language that I have to see them live again!!!!!!!
Tho it was so so so fk funny how much and how obviously the writers hated Lars. I feel like they realized at one point that they bashed him so much, that Lars would 100% sue their asses, that I could see them sweating while trying to write one nice thing about him to get back on his good side. No Lars hate tolerated in this household sirs! He was already questionable at playing the drums and now he also has an ever-receding hairline..... Poor man, he has such a hard life already, do u ppl have no heart?
Moving on.
I feel so bad for Kirk omg he was always my favorite and I always knew that he was low-key excluded from the production etc but I never knew the extent to which he was excluded. #justiceforhammett :( I love Kirk. He arrives, doesn't take part in drama, does his own thing, slays the house boots down and leaves.
No but fr, I love them, literally grew up w them, the first and second song I played on guitar was from them AND they introduced me to my favorite band that I have been following religiously for 5 years now lol so yeah this all means in my language that I have to see them live again!!!!!!!
August 25, 2020
First and foremost, I should state that Metallica are one of my favorite bands. I knew most of the facts going into this book, therefore, it was easy and fast for me to read and understand. I felt like this book did a good job compiling over twenty years into an almost three hundred page book.
This book is about the music and the industry that it is in. Don’t come to this for a juicy tell all but I really don’t think Metallica fans would be looking for that to begin with. At some points there were little personal paragraphs but only about James. I get that he is the frontman but do I really need to know that his eye sight was getting bad and he needed glasses? Just pure randomness.
As I said, I am a fan of this band, mainly their work in the eighties. I don’t think their later albums are bad, bands need to evolve and grow. I think it is important to try different sub genres. I know that Miley Cyrus gets a lot of hate but one of the awesome things about her is that every album is different, never the same. Metallica are the same and I applaud them for that. I learned a lot about that process in this book. I never realized how much criticism the band got for their more modern albums.
My few complaints are very minimum. The writers did get somethings wrong, example one being “[Lars] had flew from Los Angeles to California to see the band perform at the Woolwich Odeon in south London.” Okay, how do you fly from Los Angeles to California and I don’t think London is in California. Point number two, the paragraph is talking about Ron McGovney driving the band to San Francisco from Los Angeles.. on Interstate 95. I95, is the east coast connector and not the west coast. All these “typos” happen in the last twenty pages, I don’t know if the writers were rushing to finish or what. I thought the writers did at times sound cocky. They acted like Metallica were the only band in the world or better than everyone else. That didn’t leave a good feel with me. If you like heavy metal and want to know more, pick this book up.
This book is about the music and the industry that it is in. Don’t come to this for a juicy tell all but I really don’t think Metallica fans would be looking for that to begin with. At some points there were little personal paragraphs but only about James. I get that he is the frontman but do I really need to know that his eye sight was getting bad and he needed glasses? Just pure randomness.
As I said, I am a fan of this band, mainly their work in the eighties. I don’t think their later albums are bad, bands need to evolve and grow. I think it is important to try different sub genres. I know that Miley Cyrus gets a lot of hate but one of the awesome things about her is that every album is different, never the same. Metallica are the same and I applaud them for that. I learned a lot about that process in this book. I never realized how much criticism the band got for their more modern albums.
My few complaints are very minimum. The writers did get somethings wrong, example one being “[Lars] had flew from Los Angeles to California to see the band perform at the Woolwich Odeon in south London.” Okay, how do you fly from Los Angeles to California and I don’t think London is in California. Point number two, the paragraph is talking about Ron McGovney driving the band to San Francisco from Los Angeles.. on Interstate 95. I95, is the east coast connector and not the west coast. All these “typos” happen in the last twenty pages, I don’t know if the writers were rushing to finish or what. I thought the writers did at times sound cocky. They acted like Metallica were the only band in the world or better than everyone else. That didn’t leave a good feel with me. If you like heavy metal and want to know more, pick this book up.
June 18, 2015
Equally worthy follow up to the first volume. Manages to tread the path carefully between their obvious affection and love for the band while pulling no punches in their description of "Metallica: The Wilderness Years". Covers a fascinating story well.
November 10, 2019
Tom drugi obejmuje lata 1991-2015. Jakie były koleje losu Metalliki w tym okresie większość fanów wie, część się z tym godzi, a część "kwestionuje" decyzje zespołu oraz ich twórczość. Ja należę do grupy pierwszej i szczerze mówiąc trochę irytuje mnie to pierdolenie o sprzedaniu się, czy najbardziej znany: "Metallica skończyła się na Kill 'Em All". Oceniam tom drugi niżej, ponieważ nie był wolny od takich komentarzy, co w pewnym momencie zaczęło mnie już trochę nużyć. Oczywiście nie wszystko było wyłożone wprost, ale nie zawsze się panowie kamuflowali ze swoimi uwagami.
Na koniec odniosę się jeszcze do całości. To jest biografia, która moim zdaniem spełnia rolę głównie rozrywkową, raczej stawia na tłuste kąski. Seks, alkohol, narkotyki. Wiadomo, że panowie święci nie byli, ale momentami zastanawiałam się, po co niektóre fakty były opisywane z wręcz anatomiczną dokładnością. Och, dla kasy, wiadomo. Nie jestem do końca zadowolona i uważam, że Metallika zasłużyła na coś większego, bardziej dopracowanego.
"Fani Metalliki i inni muzycy mogli do znudzenia kwestionować zasadność zatrudnienia "popmetalowego" producenta Boba Rocka, jednak zespół nie miał żadnych wątpliwości. Jak wyjaśnił James Hetfield - wszystko sprowadzało się do brzmienia. Nawet, gdy Rock produkował płyty zespołów, których muzyka stała w opozycji do muzyki Metalliki (Bon Jovi czy Mötley Crüe), jego dzieła zawsze mogły pochwalić się połyskiem i sznytem.
Jego płyty brzmiały wspaniale - przyznał Hetfield. I żeby nikt nie miał wątpliwości, zaraz dodał: - Utwory były do dupy, a zespoły pedalskie".
:D
6/10
Na koniec odniosę się jeszcze do całości. To jest biografia, która moim zdaniem spełnia rolę głównie rozrywkową, raczej stawia na tłuste kąski. Seks, alkohol, narkotyki. Wiadomo, że panowie święci nie byli, ale momentami zastanawiałam się, po co niektóre fakty były opisywane z wręcz anatomiczną dokładnością. Och, dla kasy, wiadomo. Nie jestem do końca zadowolona i uważam, że Metallika zasłużyła na coś większego, bardziej dopracowanego.
"Fani Metalliki i inni muzycy mogli do znudzenia kwestionować zasadność zatrudnienia "popmetalowego" producenta Boba Rocka, jednak zespół nie miał żadnych wątpliwości. Jak wyjaśnił James Hetfield - wszystko sprowadzało się do brzmienia. Nawet, gdy Rock produkował płyty zespołów, których muzyka stała w opozycji do muzyki Metalliki (Bon Jovi czy Mötley Crüe), jego dzieła zawsze mogły pochwalić się połyskiem i sznytem.
Jego płyty brzmiały wspaniale - przyznał Hetfield. I żeby nikt nie miał wątpliwości, zaraz dodał: - Utwory były do dupy, a zespoły pedalskie".
:D
6/10
December 5, 2016
As a die-hard Metallica fan, there isn't much that I haven't heard or read about the band, so biographies have to bring something new to the table to really make it worth my time at this point. This book achieves that by focusing on some of the more overlooked aspects of Metallica's career, eschewing discussion of the bullet points to focus on the details. In addition, with unflinching criticism of each of Metallica's albums and DVDs from this era, the biography does a good job of taking a stand, sometimes aligned with popular opinion and other times in opposition. Interestingly, that's also the one difficult element of the writing, the authors are obviously fans, but try to be fair in their critiques, so the narrative at times whipsaws back and forth between scathing criticism and outright fan worship. Even with this weakness, however, I loved my time reading this book.
December 17, 2015
Not quite as shit and a bit shorter than the first volume. Features more actual interview content due to both authors beginning their rock journo careers in 1992. Still a bit of padding and the odd tone of writing. All to get round not being official I suppose. Gave a slightly deeper insight into Metallica’s later years than Mick Wall, and also included LuLu and Through The Never, which happened after his book. Still too much editorialising, although I agree with more of their opinions… It seems surprising Metallica are still going with the number of internal problems and financial fuck-ups made. Still, might be interesting to see what comes out next.
Will probably avoid any more biographies written by these two cos the style is just too damn grating.
Will probably avoid any more biographies written by these two cos the style is just too damn grating.
July 28, 2016
I straddled the new year with this second volume of a fine review of my favorite heavy metal band. This book is written in a much tighter format than its predecessor. It reads much more than a fanzine and much more like a coherent book. The authors themselves state that this book "... Relies less on the eyes of others and more on the first hand recollections of the authors themselves..." The book certainly read this way as I - probably sharing the vantage point of the authors - felt transported into the mosh pit of blackened anger! By far- 108minues into 2016 - my favorite book of the year!
April 30, 2021
I read both Metallica biographies by Brannigan and Winwood, both are great. However, this one was even better for me. I was born in 1981, therefore I started to follow the band when this second book begins. If the first book was great to know and learn more about the band, the second was went beyond and took me to the 90s and early 2000s as a fan. Both Books are a must reading for metal fans. Hopefully Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett and Trujillo will build much more and we will have a third book! Long live METALLICA!
February 15, 2016
Not as engaging as Volume 1...the last quarter of the book tends to ramble.
September 27, 2016
This book was greatly disappointing. Very clearly, the 'authors' are simply hostile and bitter, having only been able to watch from the sidelines, while real musicians created music...
October 6, 2023
It's ok,I think any hard core fan of the band would already know most of the info contained within. Not dissing the book,being honest.
June 23, 2021
This book was definitely not as good or entertaining as the first book. Not only because the band was on the incline in the first book, the Black Album was essentially their commercial peak, and then they have been on the decline ever sense.
It was interesting to hear about the writing of Load and ReLoad. I wasn't paying enough attention to realize that they were released so close together that it would make sense that most of the songs were recorded at the same time. It was also interesting to hear some of the band's reasoning behind not only the stylistic changes but also their personal images.
I didn't feel like enough detail went into the section regarding finding Newstead's replacement. I feel like the documentary Some Kind of Monster did a better job than the book did. Although it was interesting to hear more about the reasons for Newstead leaving Metallica and his feelings in regards to it.
A lot of what is covered in this book is also covered in Some Kind of Monster, and I feel better covered in that movie. Not only the Newstead replacement, but also the writing of St Anger, the band's therapy, rebuilding, and James's absence. It feels in a lot of places that the book had large sections that were based off of the movie rather than being original material.
The book ends speaking of the band as if they were done and their career is over. Since the book came out, Hardwired to Self Destruct has came out, with a particularly good song, Moth to Flames along with a couple others that seem to have revitalized their career despite the fact that it has been some time since that album came out (2016, and it's currently 2021). I wonder how the tone at the end of the book would have been different if it has been written later.
Anyways, the first book was much more enjoyable. While the first book had the band struggling with breaking into the music industry and forming, the second band just had the band struggling with feedback from their fans and how they were perceived in the industry.
It was interesting to hear about the writing of Load and ReLoad. I wasn't paying enough attention to realize that they were released so close together that it would make sense that most of the songs were recorded at the same time. It was also interesting to hear some of the band's reasoning behind not only the stylistic changes but also their personal images.
I didn't feel like enough detail went into the section regarding finding Newstead's replacement. I feel like the documentary Some Kind of Monster did a better job than the book did. Although it was interesting to hear more about the reasons for Newstead leaving Metallica and his feelings in regards to it.
A lot of what is covered in this book is also covered in Some Kind of Monster, and I feel better covered in that movie. Not only the Newstead replacement, but also the writing of St Anger, the band's therapy, rebuilding, and James's absence. It feels in a lot of places that the book had large sections that were based off of the movie rather than being original material.
The book ends speaking of the band as if they were done and their career is over. Since the book came out, Hardwired to Self Destruct has came out, with a particularly good song, Moth to Flames along with a couple others that seem to have revitalized their career despite the fact that it has been some time since that album came out (2016, and it's currently 2021). I wonder how the tone at the end of the book would have been different if it has been written later.
Anyways, the first book was much more enjoyable. While the first book had the band struggling with breaking into the music industry and forming, the second band just had the band struggling with feedback from their fans and how they were perceived in the industry.
October 28, 2025
This wasn't as good as the first volume, but then again, it does cover the self-described "middle years" of the band, as they worked through a batch of albums with few recognizeable (or even played live) hits, and then they also went back to playing favorites from the first five albums as they toured through this new decade.
The one area that stood out to me most was the Napster era. I was working in the music industry (at EMI Music) at the time, and yes, I used Napster to download "No Leaf Clover", and was terrified when I got "that letter" in the mail saying that I was included in a named lawsuit for illegally downloading their music.
The band got a ton of flack for going after Napster at the time, saying they already had a ton of money so why were they suing all of the fans? Whether the lawsuit tactic was right or wrong, it was notable that in an interview Lars Ulrich stated that music was only the first, and that all other forms of entertainment coming out of Hollywood would be next. He wasn't wrong, and in fact, when I was at EMI in the late 90s/early 00s, part of the draw was that what we were trying to figure out (rights management, secure distribution, music download vs subscription economics, etc) are all of the same factors that did come to play for Hollywood studios. So it was really interesting to see his interpretation of what Napster meant, why he and his band pulled in the legal big guns, and to realize that he was far more aware of the macro trends than one may have believed.
It wasn't a bad book, but I'd recommend you hold out for the inevitable third book that covers the last decade.
The one area that stood out to me most was the Napster era. I was working in the music industry (at EMI Music) at the time, and yes, I used Napster to download "No Leaf Clover", and was terrified when I got "that letter" in the mail saying that I was included in a named lawsuit for illegally downloading their music.
The band got a ton of flack for going after Napster at the time, saying they already had a ton of money so why were they suing all of the fans? Whether the lawsuit tactic was right or wrong, it was notable that in an interview Lars Ulrich stated that music was only the first, and that all other forms of entertainment coming out of Hollywood would be next. He wasn't wrong, and in fact, when I was at EMI in the late 90s/early 00s, part of the draw was that what we were trying to figure out (rights management, secure distribution, music download vs subscription economics, etc) are all of the same factors that did come to play for Hollywood studios. So it was really interesting to see his interpretation of what Napster meant, why he and his band pulled in the legal big guns, and to realize that he was far more aware of the macro trends than one may have believed.
It wasn't a bad book, but I'd recommend you hold out for the inevitable third book that covers the last decade.
October 14, 2020
Takeaways from the entire story (not clear on why it wasn't just one book): James Hetfield: Asshole. Lars Ulrich: Attention loving semi-asshole....and just how did he get control of the band's name? Kirk Hammett: Cypher, the books barely touch upon him, so either he didn't cooperate, wasn't interesting to the writers, or a lot was left on the editing floor. Cliff Burton: Apparently one of the what-ifs of the 80's music scene, totally revered. Dave Mustaine: Another what-if, who probably evolved the most of any of the characters. Jason Newstead: Why was he hired again? They seemed to dislike him almost from the start (one reason he was hired is because he could keep up with their drinking) and marginalized him just as quickly (he might as well have not even played on And Justice, that's how low he was in the mix). Robert Trujillo: I'm sure he's a fine man, but the writers didn't care about him at all, and it showed.
Said writers, one of them a stick up his butt rock writer, seemed to lose interest toward the end, and the last 10 years of the band was really telescoped, again making one wonder why this wasn't just one book, taking it through the mess that was St. Anger (one might also call it fascinating if you don't listen to the music for it). All in all I'm glad I dove in (I'm a sometimes fan of the band, but don't worship them), and a real fan would probably think this is a must read (they already know that Hetfield and Ulrich are douche bags and presumably don't care).
Said writers, one of them a stick up his butt rock writer, seemed to lose interest toward the end, and the last 10 years of the band was really telescoped, again making one wonder why this wasn't just one book, taking it through the mess that was St. Anger (one might also call it fascinating if you don't listen to the music for it). All in all I'm glad I dove in (I'm a sometimes fan of the band, but don't worship them), and a real fan would probably think this is a must read (they already know that Hetfield and Ulrich are douche bags and presumably don't care).
June 30, 2021
Vol. II Starts where Birth, School, Metallica, Death left of, from the Black album era all the way to 2014's By Request Tour.
The last chapters being the Big 4, LULU, the 30th Anniversary shows, TTN movie, Glastallica, and the tour
Although the book was entertaining and with some good parts, it felt like I was reading a long Wikipedia entry, Vol. I was more compelling and insightful IMO.
A lot of chapters have quotes lifted from other articles, magazines, and/or interviews and I didn't quite like that, it felt like filler material just to make the book longer.
The authors ( Paul Brannigan and Ian Winwood) played it safe, too safe for my liking, what I mean is: they praise many aspects and endeavors by Metallica but then shit on them like the "TRVE" they stand right in the middle not taking a stand, almost like a self-defense mechanism, not wanting to take criticism from either side.
Hardcore fans won't find anything new, and new fans won't be able to follow that much unless they've seen various videos and the evolution of the band through these years.
It is safe to say that I would only recommend this book to someone who's been getting into the band for a certain amount of time and wants more but is neither new nor hardcore, someone right in the middle.
The last chapters being the Big 4, LULU, the 30th Anniversary shows, TTN movie, Glastallica, and the tour
Although the book was entertaining and with some good parts, it felt like I was reading a long Wikipedia entry, Vol. I was more compelling and insightful IMO.
A lot of chapters have quotes lifted from other articles, magazines, and/or interviews and I didn't quite like that, it felt like filler material just to make the book longer.
The authors ( Paul Brannigan and Ian Winwood) played it safe, too safe for my liking, what I mean is: they praise many aspects and endeavors by Metallica but then shit on them like the "TRVE" they stand right in the middle not taking a stand, almost like a self-defense mechanism, not wanting to take criticism from either side.
Hardcore fans won't find anything new, and new fans won't be able to follow that much unless they've seen various videos and the evolution of the band through these years.
It is safe to say that I would only recommend this book to someone who's been getting into the band for a certain amount of time and wants more but is neither new nor hardcore, someone right in the middle.
June 3, 2018
For me, this book wasn't quite as good as the 1st one but it was still an enjoyable read for rock/metal/Metallica fans and it continued with the underlying sense of humour I enjoyed so much in Birth School Metallica Death. I was disappointed that Jason Newsted's departure was more or less glossed over as I was hoping for more details on what actually went on between them. On the other hand, since the authors were by this point interviewing the band in person on a regular basis there is more information relating to different topics such as the legal battle with Napster. There was a lot more analysis and critiquing of the band's music in this book which I felt took away from the narrative somewhat but all in all I still found plenty to keep me engaged.
November 10, 2020
Two years after finishing the first part of this biography I finally got around to ‘listening’ to the second part. I was not too impressed and was actually getting annoyed at reading this. Firstly, although the narrator is American, it’s clearly written by a Brit and there are far too many British references that will be lost on American readers.
Kerrang! was mentioned about a million times and did they mention that, “one of the authors of this book was present”?! It all became a bit repetitive and whilst the first instalment was a bit more ‘informative’, this seemed to be a way for the authors, who apparently also worked for Kerrang! to say how crap they thought their more recent releases were.
Not my fave read of the genre in the last year or so.
Kerrang! was mentioned about a million times and did they mention that, “one of the authors of this book was present”?! It all became a bit repetitive and whilst the first instalment was a bit more ‘informative’, this seemed to be a way for the authors, who apparently also worked for Kerrang! to say how crap they thought their more recent releases were.
Not my fave read of the genre in the last year or so.
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March 18, 2025The follow up to Birth School Metallica Death picks up right where that book closed things out and starts right at the release of the release of The Black Album, the record that turned the underground Metal heroes into one of the biggest names in the history of Rock.
We get a solid account of their escapades as multi-millionaires, their ongoing desires to show they have no interest in being pigeonholed into one style or sound and the series of events at the start of the 21st Century that put the future of the band in question.
It ends Metallica’s story in the early 2010s, so anyone curious about the build up to Hardwired To Self-Destruct or 72 Seasons may be disappointed, but overall it’s nice to get this honest and fair account of this era of the band.
We get a solid account of their escapades as multi-millionaires, their ongoing desires to show they have no interest in being pigeonholed into one style or sound and the series of events at the start of the 21st Century that put the future of the band in question.
It ends Metallica’s story in the early 2010s, so anyone curious about the build up to Hardwired To Self-Destruct or 72 Seasons may be disappointed, but overall it’s nice to get this honest and fair account of this era of the band.
August 16, 2024
Didn't realise this was part 2 but persevered. Mostly I found it interesting and it certainly got me listening to Metallica for a few days non stop while I tried to hear what the authors were saying about particular songs. No real luck with that but it was an enjoyable time if a little loud - Metallica just doesn't sound good as background music. I discovered the album that I like the best is the one most fans or critics hated. Doesn't change my opinion but helped me find other songs I liked too. This book gave me insights to the band and snippets about the band members but not really anything about their lives . Won't read it again but glad I have done so once.
February 3, 2021
I found this book far more compelling that the first, perhaps just because the years in which it covers were tumultuous for the band and therefore more interesting to read about.
By far the most well written and engaging part of both books is the retelling of Lars Ulrich vs Napster, where in almost all of the quotes provided by Ulrich are utterly prophetic about the state of the music industry today - where fans demand everything for free while the musicians receive nothing. A very interesting read.
By far the most well written and engaging part of both books is the retelling of Lars Ulrich vs Napster, where in almost all of the quotes provided by Ulrich are utterly prophetic about the state of the music industry today - where fans demand everything for free while the musicians receive nothing. A very interesting read.
September 22, 2022
I don't necessarily see that much of a quality difference as far as the writing or if you chose to read the audio book the narration. However I would say that the most intriguing parts for me and where I was totally at attention was everything to do with napster, including details I never knew about regarding the song I disappear and that being a major part of What led to the animosity towards the website, And absolutely everything to do with the fallout from Jason Newstead's departure and the recording and release of Saint anger are totally gripping and absorbing.
It is kind of curious that the book ends on a bit of a bitter and cynical note, although I may be one of the handful that enjoyed through the never when it hit theaters in 2013. While the drama does increase in parts here, if you enjoyed the 1st book you'll enjoy this 1. I think the writers do a very good job in both volumes putting Metallica into critical contexts and not necessarily ascribit's not necessarily ascribing their own views completely 1 way or the other.
It is kind of curious that the book ends on a bit of a bitter and cynical note, although I may be one of the handful that enjoyed through the never when it hit theaters in 2013. While the drama does increase in parts here, if you enjoyed the 1st book you'll enjoy this 1. I think the writers do a very good job in both volumes putting Metallica into critical contexts and not necessarily ascribit's not necessarily ascribing their own views completely 1 way or the other.
June 18, 2020
Liked the first book of the twosome “Birth School Metallica Death” better than this one. Thought this book was slow in the beginning and that the authors were too harsh with some of their criticisms. Maybe that’s the benefit of timing that the book concludes wondering what is next for the band and if they’ve still got it; of course Metallica has answered that with the great Hardwired album and epic shows. Maybe I’m a biased fan but they’re the best!
March 19, 2023
Nice conclusion to the Metallica story from birth until 2014. Although I liked the first book better as it was a more optimistic and inspiring story. The author was equal parts fan and equal parts critic in this one. I appreciate the criticism but come on man... this is Metallica! Regardless, I learned much about the Black album + subsequent albums, tours, and documentaries. Still the... Best. Band. Ever.
December 30, 2021
Surprisingly not a fan club read, this book provides a pretty robust assessment of Metallica after their classic albums. If you were a fan of their thrash period and have long given up on them, like me, you are probably going to enjoy this one. Much better than expected.
October 25, 2022
Continuing the story of Metallica from Birth School Metallica Death and still well done. I would have liked to had more information about the personal lives of the members outside of the band but it was still an enjoyable and informative read.
August 5, 2025
Part 2 is less compelling than part 1, probably because the climb to the top is more interesting than when you get there. The book feels dated now that another 11 years has passed but it still holds up pretty well.
September 13, 2019
Got a kick out of the authors’ vision of the future and what actually transpired. Enjoyed the first book a lot. I found this one disappointing.
November 30, 2020
Made it through 13%.
June 10, 2021
While Volume 1 was quite enjoyable, this second volume felt flat, in perhaps the rockiest period of the band’s run.
It did make me watch “Some Kind of Monster” again
It did make me watch “Some Kind of Monster” again
February 6, 2023
I love Metallica.
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