Jon Wiederhorn

Katherine Turman

From Sabbath to Slipknot, Louder Than Hell is the definitive oral history of heavy metal, straight from the mouths of those who defined it. The book was crafted from more than four hundred interviews conducted over the past twenty-five years by music journalists Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman. They have unearthed never-before-heard stories, eye-opening admissions, and the truth behind some of metal’s wildest moments, such as the industrial accident that forever changed the sound of Black Sabbath, the experiences that got Dave Mustaine booted from Metallica, and the bloodletting rituals of death metal bands Morbid Angel and Deicide. Louder Than Hell is packed with raw and unflinching commentary from icons of metal from its inception in the late 1960s to the current day, including Ozzy Osbourne, Bruce Dickinson, Eddie Van Halen, Tommy Lee, Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kerry King, Vince Neil, Axl Rose, Jonathan Davis, Corey Taylor, Pete Steele, Dave Grohl, Trent Reznor, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Dimebag Darrell, and hundreds of others. From groundbreaking innovations such as the dawn of distortion and the birth of cookie monster vocals to amazing tales of destruction and wild sexual escapades, Louder Than Hell has it all, like the evolution of Judas Priest’s seminal powerchord sound and patented leather-and-studs look; the provocative exploits of the Sunset Strip scene; and the truth behind the Norwegian church burnings and murders that became synonymous with black metal. Discover how Faith No More accidentally created rap-metal and who invented the “devil horns”—and how most people do it wrong. Louder Than Hell is the definitive look behind the curtain at one of our most dynamic and enduring musical genres. To paraphrase Spinal Tap, how much more metal can you get? None, none more metal.

The Definitive Oral History of Metal

Louder Than Hell

Roger Miret

“Miret’s captivating and harrowing, no-holds-barred account of a life lived in the trenches . . . You don’t have to be a major Agnostic Front fan to get maximum enjoyment out of this book. . . . A compelling read.” —Classic Rock Revisited "Miret’s memorable, affecting stories capture an important time in the hardcore music scene. . . . Equal parts music memoir and gritty coming-of-age story, it’s an eminently readable and fast-paced look at life during hardcore’s heyday. . . . Not just for music fans, My Riot is a valuable snapshot of an important time." —Foreword Reviews “My Riot is a powerful and riveting read. A brutal look into the life of a man that did what he had to do to survive.” —Scott Ian, Anthrax Born in Cuba, Roger Miret fled with his family to the US to escape the Castro regime. Through vivid language and graphic details, he recounts growing up in a strange new land with a tyrannical stepfather and the roles that poverty and violence played in shaping the grit that became critical to his survival. In his teen years, he finds himself squatting in abandoned buildings with unforgettably eccentric runaways and victims of similar childhood trauma. With like-minded misfits he helps pioneer a new musical genre, but with money scarce and commercial success impossible, he turns to running drugs to support his family and winds up in prison. It’s the ultimate test of his toughness and perseverance that eventually sets him on a path towards redemption. My Riot is both an unflinching portrait of downtown New York in the 1980s and a testament to the perils of growing up too fast. “It's a great read, tracing the roots of New York Hardcore via lots of crazy stories about potentially deadly situations. . . . Pick up this book and take a walk back in time through the Lower East Side when it was still a hair-raising adventure.” —D. Randall Blythe, Lamb of God

Agnostic Front, Grit, Guts & Glory

My Riot

From the author of the celebrated classic Louder Than Hell comes an oral history of the badass Heavy Metal lifestyle—the debauchery, demolition, and headbanging dedication—featuring metalhead musicians from Black Sabbath and Judas Priest to Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot to Disturbed, Megadeth, Throwdown and more. In his song “You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll” Ozzy Osbourne sings, “Rock and roll is my religion and my law.” This is the mantra of the metal legends who populate Raising Hell—artists from Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Slipknot, Slayer, and Lamb of God to Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Disturbed, Megadeth, and many more! It’s also the guiding principle for underground voices like Misery Index, Gorgoroth, Municipal Waste, and Throwdown. Through the decades, the metal scene has been populated by colorful individuals who have thwarted convention and lived by their own rules. For many, vice has been virtue, and the opportunity to record albums and tour has been an invitation to push boundaries and blow the lid off a Pandora’s box of riotous experiences: thievery, vandalism, hedonism, the occult, stage mishaps, mosh pit atrocities, and general insanity. To the figures in this book, metal is a means of banding together to stick a big middle finger to a society that had already decided they didn’t belong. Whether they were oddballs who didn’t fit in or angry kids from troubled backgrounds, metal gave them a sense of identity. Drawing from 150-plus first-hand interviews with vocalists, guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, and drummers, music journalist Jon Wiederhorn offers this collection of wild shenanigans from metal’s heaviest and most iconic acts—the parties, the tours, the mosh pits, the rage, the joy, the sex, the drugs . . . the heavy metal life! Horns up!

Backstage Tales from the Lives of Metal Legends

Raising Hell

Al Jourgensen

A memoir from the hard-living rock musician and producer, who survived prolonged drug addiction--twenty-two years of chronic heroin, cocaine, and alcohol abuse--before cleaning up, straightening out, and finding new reasons to live.

The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen

Ministry

From the author of the celebrated classic Louder Than Hell comes an oral history of the badass Heavy Metal lifestyle--the debauchery, demolition, and headbanging dedication--featuring metalhead musicians from Black Sabbath and Judas Priest to Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot to Disturbed, Megadeth, Throwdown and more. In his song "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll" Ozzy Osbourne sings, "Rock and roll is my religion and my law." This is the mantra of the metal legends who populate Raising Hell--artists from Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Slipknot, Slayer, and Lamb of God to Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Disturbed, Megadeth, and many more! It's also the guiding principle for underground voices like Misery Index, Gorgoroth, Municipal Waste, and Throwdown. Through the decades, the metal scene has been populated by colorful individuals who have thwarted convention and lived by their own rules. For many, vice has been virtue, and the opportunity to record albums and tour has been an invitation to push boundaries and blow the lid off a Pandora's box of riotous experiences: thievery, vandalism, hedonism, the occult, stage mishaps, mosh pit atrocities, and general insanity. To the figures in this book, metal is a means of banding together to stick a big middle finger to a society that had already decided they didn't belong. Whether they were oddballs who didn't fit in or angry kids from troubled backgrounds, metal gave them a sense of identity. Drawing from 150-plus first-hand interviews with vocalists, guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, and drummers, music journalist Jon Wiederhorn offers this collection of wild shenanigans from metal's heaviest and most iconic acts--the parties, the tours, the mosh pits, the rage, the joy, the sex, the drugs . . . the heavy metal life! Horns up!

“Miret’s captivating and harrowing, no-holds-barred account of a life lived in the trenches . . . You don’t have to be a major Agnostic Front fan to get maximum enjoyment out of this book. . . . A compelling read.” ―Classic Rock Revisited "Miret’s memorable, affecting stories capture an important time in the hardcore music scene. . . . Equal parts music memoir and gritty coming-of-age story, it’s an eminently readable and fast-paced look at life during hardcore’s heyday. . . . Not just for music fans, My Riot is a valuable snapshot of an important time." ―Foreword Reviews “My Riot is a powerful and riveting read. A brutal look into the life of a man that did what he had to do to survive.” ―Scott Ian, Anthrax Born in Cuba, Roger Miret fled with his family to the US to escape the Castro regime. Through vivid language and graphic details, he recounts growing up in a strange new land with a tyrannical stepfather and the roles that poverty and violence played in shaping the grit that became critical to his survival. In his teen years, he finds himself squatting in abandoned buildings with unforgettably eccentric runaways and victims of similar childhood trauma. With like-minded misfits he helps pioneer a new musical genre, but with money scarce and commercial success impossible, he turns to running drugs to support his family and winds up in prison. It’s the ultimate test of his toughness and perseverance that eventually sets him on a path towards redemption. My Riot is both an unflinching portrait of downtown New York in the 1980s and a testament to the perils of growing up too fast. “It's a great read, tracing the roots of New York Hardcore via lots of crazy stories about potentially deadly situations. . . . Pick up this book and take a walk back in time through the Lower East Side when it was still a hair-raising adventure.” ―D. Randall Blythe, Lamb of God

Jon Wiederhorn

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