It is not even black & white anymore....

The violent, obsessive and obscurant phenomenon of arose in the middle of the 1980’s from the minds of alienated and intelligent artists, writers and musicians while the powers of the world were engaged with the nuclear paranoia of the Cold War, while computer technology broke through to everyday life in Western societies, while

metal albums and while musicians in the vein of U2 were participating inpreachers massive wereevents fighting that attempted against Satanic to bring messages world peace in party-loving and end famine hair with decades old clichés of British rock music. NWOBHM and Brit ish punk were dying out, replaced by the tough street gang aesthetics of hardcore and the satanic postures of early speed and .- The public stances of groundbreaking bands were growing to be more and more incompatible with mainstream rock media, which since the demise of the “counterculture” had abhorred ideological consistency as a threat to the marketing forces for which it owed its livelihood. Real metal fans tended to be smarter than the average mainstream rock fan and naturally gravitated towards more critical sources, written by

wasn’t founded on big corporations’ agencies of promotion. Active touring,fans to othercirculation fans. The of demo success tapes of bandsand word such of as mouth established and the

heavy metal publications such as Metal Forces Magazine in the UK and reputationKick Ass Monthly of these non-compromising bands, along with independent zines, they soon became professional but continued championing the authentic observationsin the of USA. the editors,While these distinguished started out metal as photocopied writers such as Dave Reynolds and Bob Muldowney

developments of the basic ideas(R.I.P.), of heavy for relatively metal music. small profit Thisand retrospective a benefit to metal research fans book worldwide is a honest in search way to of payever tribute more lethaland re spect to all these enthusiastic musicians, fanzine editors and fans who helped in the development of the aesthetic of this morbid sound which- until the present days. By giving resurrection of a massive collection of

old and lost metal flyers and pics, the next pages will transport you to an unrepeatable decade filled with a unique DIY attitude.