German Metal Machine: Scorpions in The '70s


Book Description

Few rock bands were as successful as the Scorpions by the mid '80s - headlining arenas/stadiums worldwide, scoring two mega-selling albums (the platinum-certified 'Blackout' and the triple-platinum certified 'Love at First Sting') and two hit singles/videos ("No One Like You" and "Rock You Like a Hurricane"). But what quite a few newcomers to the band didn't realize was that the Scorpions had been regularly recording music since 1972, and that throughout the remainder of the decade, featured two guitarists (Michael Schenker and Uli Jon Roth) at separate points that are considered legendary amongst the heavy metal masses. And while such albums as 'Lonesome Crow, ' 'Fly to the Rainbow, ' 'In Trance, ' 'Virgin Killer, ' 'Taken by Force, ' 'Tokyo Tapes, ' and 'Lovedrive' did not come close to obtaining the commercial success of the aforementioned '80s era efforts, they inspired and influenced countless renowned musicians. 'German Metal Machine: Scorpions in the '70s' is the first-ever book to focus solely on this period of the band. Interviews include such former members as Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Francis Buchholz, and Herman Rarebell, longtime Scorpions producer Dieter Dierks, plus members of other bands that are major admirers, including KK Downing (Judas Priest), Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), Joe Satriani, Tom Hamilton (Aerosmith), David Ellefson (Megadeth), Alex Skolnick (Testament), and Eddie Trunk ('That Metal Show'), among many others, while Kirk Hammett (Metallica) provides a foreword.




100 Things Pearl Jam Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die


Book Description

Few music groups have been able to sustain a fan base as passionate and dedicated as that of Pearl Jam, and this entertaining guide rewards those fans with everything they need to know about the band in a one-of-a-kind format. Packed with history, trivia, lists, little-known facts, and must-do activities that every Pearl Jam fan should undertake, it ranks each item from one to 100, providing an indispensable, engaging road map for devotees old and new.




Wind of Change


Book Description

"No question Scorpions, Germany's loudest and proudest rock band has been one of that country's most successful musical exports. Winds of Change documents the band's career with analysis of every song on every album the Teutonic tone-masters ever crafted ... draws on the authors interviews with all of the principal players, including Klause Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Herman Rarebell, Matthias Jabs, and Francis Buchholz, along with the likes of Michael Schenker, Don Dokken, Bobby Rondinelli and manager David Krebs."--Back cover.




Transcension


Book Description

Damien Broderick has been a leading Australian SF writer since the ‘70s. His novel The Dreaming Dragons was listed in SF: the 100 best novels. His recent nonfiction book, The Spike, is a mind-stretching look at the wonders of the high-tech future. Now in Transcension he brings to life one of the futures he imagined in The Spike, a world pervaded by nanotechnology and governed by artificial intelligence. Transcension may be Broderick’s best book yet. Amanda is a brilliant violinist, a mathematical genius, and a rebel. Impatient for the adult status her society only grants at age thirty, but determined to have a real adventure first, she has repeatedly gotten into trouble and found herself in the courtroom of Magistrate Mohammed Abdel-Malik, the sole resurrectee from among those who were frozen in the early twenty-first century, the man whose mind was the seed for Aleph, the AI that rules this utopia. Mathewmark is a real adolescent, living in the last place where they still exist, the reservation known as the Valley of the God of One's Choice, where those who have chosen faith over technology are allowed to live out their simpler lives. When Amanda determines that access to the valley is the key to the daring stunt she plans, it is Mathewmark she will have to lead into temptation. But just as Amanda, Mathewmark, and Abdel-Malik are struggling to find themselves and achieve their potentials, so is Aleph, and the AI's success will be a challenge to them and all of humanity. At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.




Confess


Book Description

The legendary frontman of Judas Priest, one of the most successful heavy metal bands of all time, celebrates five decades of heavy metal in this tell-all memoir. Most priests hear confessions. This one is making his. Rob Halford, front man of global iconic metal band Judas Priest, is a true "Metal God." Raised in Britain's hard-working, heavy industrial heartland, he and his music were forged in the Black Country. Confess, his full autobiography, is an unforgettable rock 'n' roll story-a journey from a Walsall council estate to musical fame via alcoholism, addiction, police cells, ill-fated sexual trysts, and bleak personal tragedy, through to rehab, coming out, redemption . . . and finding love. Now, he is telling his gospel truth. Told with Halford's trademark self-deprecating, deadpan Black Country humor, Confess is the story of an extraordinary five decades in the music industry. It is also the tale of unlikely encounters with everybody from Superman to Andy Warhol, Madonna, Jack Nicholson, and the Queen. More than anything else, it's a celebration of the fire and power of heavy metal. Rob Halford has decided to Confess. Because it's good for the soul. Named one of the Best Music Books of 2020 by Rolling Stone and Kirkus Reviews




Total F*cking Godhead


Book Description

“Total F*cking Godhead brings Chris Cornell, the voice of a generation, alive on the page. Impressively researched and compulsively readable, Godhead pulls no punches in recounting Cornell’s remarkable life and prolific career. It’s an inspired chronicle of an impassioned soul. Read it!” —Greg Renoff, author of Van Halen Rising With input from those who knew and worked with him—together with his own words—Total F*cking Godhead recounts the rise of Chris Cornell and his immortal band Soundgarden as they emerged from the 1980s post-punk underground to dominate popular culture in the ’90s alongside Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Nirvana. “From his days as a struggling Seattle musician at the forefront of the grunge scene to becoming a global icon, Total F*cking Godhead thoroughly chronicles the life story and prolific output of one of the greatest and most influential singers of all time. You will discover the man and his music all over again.” —David de Sola, author of Alice in Chains: The Untold Story Seattle resident and rock writer Corbin Reiff also examines Cornell’s dynamic solo career as well as his time in Audioslave. He delves into his hard-fought battle with addiction, and the supercharged reunion with the band that made him famous before everything came to a shocking end. “For those of us still trying to sort out the tragedy of Chris Cornell's death comes this loving look back at the man's life and music. I wrote my own book about grunge, and I still learned a lot from this excellent biography." —Mark Yarm, author of Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge




Precious Metal


Book Description

Decibel magazine is regarded as the best extreme music magazine around. Precious Metal gathers pieces from Decibel's most popular feature, the monthly “Hall of Fame” which documents the making of landmark metal albums via candid, hilarious, and fascinating interviews with every participating band member. Decibel's editor-in-chief Albert Mudrian, has selected and expanded the best of these features, creating a definitive collection of stories behind the greatest extreme metal albums of all time.




Watch You Bleed


Book Description

The New York Times bestselling epic tale of the last great rock band From the bestselling author of Hammer of the Gods comes the complete story of Guns N? Roses ? from their drug-fueled blastoff in the 80s to the turbulent life of legendary singer Axl Rose, and his fifteen-year, multimillion dollar quest to make the perfect hard rock album. Riotous world tours. Drug-induced rampages. One hundred millions albums sold. In his sixth major rock biography, Stephen Davis details the riveting story of the last great rock band. Watch You Bleed documents the life of every band member, including the improbable story of W. Axl Rose. Davis brilliantly captures the Guns? raw power ? from the gutters of Sunset Strip to the biggest stadiums on the planet. Based on exclusive interviews, private archives, and packed with stunning revelations, Watch You Bleed is the savage, definitive, and highly unauthorized story of Guns N? Roses. For the first time, millions of fans will learn the whole truth about this legendary band.




How Music Got Free


Book Description

"Journalist Stephen Witt traces the secret history of digital music piracy, from the German audio engineers who invented the mp3, to a North Carolina compact-disc manufacturing plant where factory worker Dell Glover leaked nearly two thousand albums over the course of a decade, to the high-rises of midtown Manhattan where music executive Doug Morris cornered the global market on rap, and, finally, into the darkest recesses of the Internet."--




Hell's Angels


Book Description

Gonzo journalist and literary roustabout Hunter S. Thompson flies with the angels—Hell’s Angels, that is—in this short work of nonfiction. “California, Labor Day weekend . . . early, with ocean fog still in the streets, outlaw motorcyclists wearing chains, shades and greasy Levis roll out from damp garages, all-night diners and cast-off one-night pads in Frisco, Hollywood, Berdoo and East Oakland, heading for the Monterey peninsula, north of Big Sur. . . The Menace is loose again.” Thus begins Hunter S. Thompson’s vivid account of his experiences with California’s most notorious motorcycle gang, the Hell’s Angels. In the mid-1960s, Thompson spent almost two years living with the controversial Angels, cycling up and down the coast, reveling in the anarchic spirit of their clan, and, as befits their name, raising hell. His book successfully captures a singular moment in American history, when the biker lifestyle was first defined, and when such countercultural movements were electrifying and horrifying America. Thompson, the creator of Gonzo journalism, writes with his usual bravado, energy, and brutal honesty, and with a nuanced and incisive eye; as The New Yorker pointed out, “For all its uninhibited and sardonic humor, Thompson’s book is a thoughtful piece of work.” As illuminating now as when originally published in 1967, Hell’s Angels is a gripping portrait, and the best account we have of the truth behind an American legend.




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