Birth School Metallica Death, Volume 1

By: Paul Brannigan, Ian Winwood

Narrated by: Ray Porter

A landmark release, this is the first of a two-volume biography of Metallica, the biggest metal band of all time, told via exclusive interviews with the band and their world.

The California quartet has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, won nine Grammy Awards, and had five consecutive albums hit number one on the US Billboard chart. Theirs is a tale about much more than sales figures and critical acclaim, though, and their journey from scuzzy Los Angeles garages to the world's most storied stadiums has been dramatic and painful.

Birth School Metallica Death is the definitive story of the most significant rock band since Led Zeppelin. It's a story about family, community, self-belief, and the pursuit of dreams, which unfolds through firsthand interviews with the band and those closest to it. In this epic saga, deserving of a broad canvas, the first volume details the band's rise to international fame while the second explores the challenges and tensions that accompany such status. Piece by piece, Paul Brannigan and Ian Winwood reveal just how Metallica has stayed ahead of the competition for so many years.

©2013 Paul Brannigan, Ian Winwood (P)2013 Blackstone

A must listen for Metallica fans

This book is a must listen for any Metallica fan. Gives a lot of previously unknown detail

History

There was a great deal of history about the band that I was unaware of, even though I consider myself a diehard Metallica fan having seen them 16 times in my life

Incredible

Very well written with descriptions and sentence structures as complex as a Metallica song. A giant fan of Metallica and relished the time taken in the early years to describe situations and characters. Ray Porter's narration is brilliant and perfect for this book. I was on the fence before purchasing and by the first chapter, this has become one of my favorite books.

Worth the read for fans

The book is not perfect and glosses over important aspects of the early years, but for the sake of capturing the milestones, it's worth the time.

Excellent

Great story and great narrator. Looking forward to listening to volume 2. After each section that covered an album, I listened to that album in its entirety. Knowing the behind the scenes stuff that went into each album offers a new perspective.

Awesome Book!!

Awesome Book!! It’s a must read or listen for any Metallica Fans!! Looking forward to volume 2.

Excellent

Great story but I found it peculiar the narrator affecting a British accent while reading certain quotes. It was also jarring hearing different mispronunciations—“EEommi”, “Doanington”, etc. Nit picking, I know, but just my 2 cents. Also, where’s volume 2!?!?!?

Great Book

Metallica has been my favorite band for over 20 years and I still love them to this day. yes I've heard a lot of the things that they talk about in this book before however this book ties everything together perfectly for me and gives a little bit of clarity to just some of the rumors or stories that I have heard.

Good but I question some of be info.

It's good and very detailed for the most part, but being an unofficial biography, I question some of the material. The first thing that made me wonder the accuracy of the facts is when he mentioned that a North American tour started off in my hometown of Toronto. After looking up the show (to research the tiny venue which is now down the street from my current home), I found out that it wasn't even close to being the start of the tour, as they had been covering the area for months. Not a huge deal, but made me wonder how credible all the author's facts were. He also seemed to have a very very low opinion of Lars, the drummer. Which is fine, as many in the industry have disliked the guy... but this should be a biography, not a personal opportunity to insult the guy for 11 hours straight.

Overall an entertaining listen for any Metallica fan.

entertaining story

great story about one of the biggest bands in metal. Unbiased either towards the band or against it. Very informative and insightful.