I stumbled across Metal Mythology, the upcoming book by Andy Boot, by accident — in fact, I can’t remember where I heard of it first. The cover was the first thing to grab my attention (fantastic image), but the synopsis cemented it as a must-read:
Metal Mythology is a deliciously-dark deep dive into the Heavy Metal music genre and the history of the folklore which inspired its music.
The book begins with the story of Heavy Metal’s early years in the 1970s, explaining how it became popular with bands from working class British backgrounds like Birmingham’s Black Sabbath (with late Ozzy Osbourne) and East End lads Iron Maiden. Today’s fanbase — so-called “Metalheads” — will account for 13% of all arena and stadium audiences this year.
It then delves into the rich — and often very British — folk legends which inspired some of heavy metal’s biggest tunes, and reveals the likely story behind them. It’s a dizzying mix from the werewolves, shapeshifters, fairies and vampires of pagan ballads, to the witch hunters and torture devices documented in historical records and the twisted characters by horror writers like Edgar Allan Poe, HP Lovecraft and Mary Shelley.
Former Kerrang writer and prolific novelist Andy Boot looks at how this folklore was passed down and mutated as Britain changed from pagan to Christian and went from the dark ages through Enlightenment and past the Industrial Revolution. It’s a mix of social history, fantasy, folklore, gothic horror, and Heavy Metal music which will appeal to several unique (and very engaged) audiences, each in a different way.
While there’s been no end of books of heavy metal, mythology or British history, there’s yet to be one of all three. And that is the magic behind this title.
I have been a rock and metal fan for as long as I can remember. The first album I ever bought was Use Your Illusion I by Guns n’ Roses, and there are few of the heavier genres from which I don’t have a favourite album. (Black Metal and grindcore might be the only ones that don’t work for me.) As is my wont, whenever I like something, I also love to read about it. In the youthful days of yore, I subscribed to at least five rock/metal magazines, poring over each new issue as soon as it arrived, keeping a list of new bands and albums I wanted to check out. (Boot used to write for Kerrang, so it’s likely that I’ve read a fair amount of his journalism.) Reading the magazines, I was also taking note of the “lore” of the genres — not just the grand tales of madness, mayhem, debauchery, and more that have come to define the genre(s), but also the stories behind the music.
If you’ve been following CR for a while, you’ve maybe read some of the interviews I’ve posted with authors, or some of their guest posts. If you have, you’ll have noticed that “influences & inspirations” are a bit part of what I’m interested in. So, you can probably see why Boot’s new book is of such interest to me. I’m really looking forward to reading this.
Andy Boot’s Metal Mythology is due to be published by Mirror Books in the UK, on October 8th — it is available for pre-order now. [At the time of writing, I couldn’t find any information about a North American publisher.]
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