Welcome, all ye who dare enter Sound of the Beast, the first definitive look at the madness and mayhem of heavy metal. From its cataclysmic beginning with Black Sabbath over 30 years ago to the hyperactive new metal bands ripping apart the charts today, heavy metal has become the dominant musical force around the globe. Yet despite selling over a quarter-billion albums and breaking into new markets wherever it can be heard, there has never been a complete overview of metal's dark, powerful, and untamed history, until now. Pieced together through countless hours of research and first-hand accounts from the masters of metal themselves, Sound of the Beast reveals the underground history to the first three decades of headbanging mania.

Included here are heavy metal's primitive origins, the rise and fall of MTV hair metal, Metallica's successful quest for world domination, the devilish frenzy of Florida death metal, the church-burning fever of Scandinavia's morbid teen terrorists, and metal's return to center stage at the hands of Ozzfest and Ozzy Osbourne. Plus, readers will get: 20 chapters based on interviews with Black Sabbath, Metallica, Slayer, W.A.S.P., Slipknot, and over 100 of heavy metal's greatest bands. A timeline of the most explosive happenings in metal from 1970 to 2002. Never-before-seen color photos and over 100 images from the metal revolution. A listing of 25 heavy metal masterpieces that changed music history. Genre boxes breaking down dozens of metal styles, from thrash and black metal to avant-garde and beyond, including essential CDs. Exclusive insight from Chuck D of Public Enemy, Iron Maiden artist Derek Riggs, the directors of Paradise Lost, and more.

With hairs bristling and fangs bared, Sound of the Beast is the must-read story of heavy metal for die-hard fans, fresh new converts, and musical thrill-seekers alike. Hear the call of the wild as this extreme, elusive, and ear-splitting form of music finally gets its justice, and leaves everyone in its wake banging their heads and flipping the devil sign for years to come.