Black Sabbath and the Rise of Heavy Metal Music

This book steps away from the usual sociologically and culturally affiliated themes written into texts on heavy metal, as Cope chose the topic of the actual sound coming from the shredding guitars and red-lining vocal chords and huge drum beats of his PhD, and the result is here. He hopes for those less familiar with the subject area, or ‘for the non-musician, the gist of the argument will remain in focus even when the musicology is at its most complex.’ And as a musician but in no way accomplished to the level of the songs he references, I kept up!