The nicest thing about JR Moores' tough ride through 53 years of music history is the presumption to consistently ignore all expectations.

Anyone in “Electric Wizards.

A Tapestry of Heavy Music "suspects a work on the history of Heavy Metal, should rather go to the archive of the" Metal Hammer ".

For everyone else, it's still worth taking a look at the book.

Martin Benninghoff

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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The author, a British music journalist, does not even bother with the genre greats like Iron Maiden, Pantera, Sepultura or Slayer, with whom heavy metal magazines have paved their covers for decades.

The forefathers of the genre, which despite all its long hair can be very conservative - Led Zeppelin or, even more, Judas Priest - is only mentioned in passing.

More recent bands such as Cradle of Filth or Children of Bodom do not appear at all, as well as the headliners of Progressive Metal, Dream Theater, Devin Townsend or King's X.

Very different styles

Moore sympathetically takes the wind out of the sails of this criticism: "This book was never intended to be a comprehensive chronicle of all heavy music", this book should never become a comprehensive heavy chronicle, it says in the foreword. That is, of course, an understatement. Because Moores doesn't write a sketchy book about one of the longest lasting rock genres, he doesn't write a book about heavy metal at all. Rather, he traces the “heavyness”, which the author defines as a combination of power and emotion in the music of artists who place more value on texts and original sounds than on virtuosity or technical skills.

In this respect, the book is more of a subjective foray full of anecdotes through the history of heavier guitar music that has developed from the underground clubs in the USA and Europe to the boardrooms of commercial success - with the highlights of stoner rock and grunge.

All collective names for very different styles that share the love of the guitar without degenerating into quick finger solo orgies.

According to the motto: Melvins instead of Joe Satriani, The Jesus Lizard instead of Yngwie Malmsteen.

Paul McCartney responds to The Who

Moores developed his Tour d'Horizon along the lines of his heroes such as the defunct grunge band TAD or the English combo Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs. Occasionally he takes questionable branches, for example to the nu-metal-rap-rockers from Limp Bizkit or the hair-metallers from Mötley Crue. Their song "Girls Girls Girls" serves Moore as a particular negative example of superficial poser music.

But before the author allows further insights into his view of things, he suggests two dodges, one of which is original, the other actually predictable, in Moore's striking desire to bypass the predictable is again original: He leaves the story of "heavyness" with the year 1968 and the Beatles song "Helter Skelter" penned by Paul McCartney begin.

The song with the distorted guitar walls, the feedback and the screaming singing is considered to be the answer to The Who, who wrote “I Can See for Miles”, what they consider to be the hardest rock song.