LORDS OF CHAOS OUT NOW
At long last, the book LORDS OF CHAOS: THE BLOODY RISE OF THE SATANIC METAL UNDERGROUND by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind (Feral House Press, ISBN 0-922915-48-2) is available. If you don't see it in your local book or record store by late next week, demand they stock it!
The new issue of Tower Records Pulse magazine has this to say:
"Speaking of dark and twisted reads, Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderland's 'Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground (Feral House, 370 pages, $15.95), has everything: wacky Norwegians burning down churches to get back at Christians for stamping out Odin worship, murder, suicide, more than you ever wanted to know about the Norway vs. Sweden black-metal rivalries, and the d/evolution from theatrical Satanic to slightly-more-serious Wotanic Nazi metal, Plenty of interviews - from the late Anton LaVey to Norwegian metal villain Varg Vikernes - make this a mighty entertaining bedtime reader." (Jackson Griffith)
Those who ordered copies directly from the author will be receiving theirs shortly (unless it's coming surface mail, in which case you'll have to wait another month in all liklihood).
The book can be ordered through www.amazon.com, www.feralhouse.com, and www.blackmetal.com, among other web sources.
In Europe it is available through Turnaround Distribution in London, as well as Misanthropy Records (the latter can be contacted via email: amazon@msanthr.demon.co.uk).
Full-color posters for the book are available from the publisher, Feral House. These may be available through their webpage or for details email: cult@feralhouse.com.
Individuals may order signed copies directly from the author: $17 ppd in the USA, $20 foreign surface, $27 foreign airmail.
Send to:
STORM
PO Box 3527
Portland, OR 97208-3527
Web pages on the book:
"LORDS OF CHAOS: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground" by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind (Feral House Press, ISBN 0-922915-48-2) is due to hit stores in a matter of weeks. The book documents the bizarre and violent world of Black Metal, one of the strangest sagas in musical history.
Advance copies of the book have already circulated to extremely positive response, and author Moynihan was already the guest for 2 hours on the highest rated Denver, Colorado morning drive-time talk radio show to discuss LORDS OF CHAOS in front of two million listeners.
The book is 6" x 9", perfectbound, approximately 370 pages long, and contains 239 illustrations. It is based on years of intensive research and innumerable incisive interviews. This is not simply a document of an obscure violent music subculture. Anyone interested in subjects such as psychology, theology, sociology Satanism, heathenism, true crime, political extremism, the real consequences of Christian fundamentalist propaganda, and much more, will find this a fascinating work. It also contains three supplementary articles as appendices, an extensive bibliography, and endnotes which document every quotation cited in the book.
At the end of this message you will find some advance comments that have already arrived about LORDS OF CHAOS.
Along with appearing in better bookstores, LORDS OF CHAOS can be obtained from the publisher (online at www.feralhouse.com) or The Amazon online bookstore (www.amazon.com).
Feral House will also have available full-color promotional posters for the book. Distributors should contact Feral House for more information at (310) 313-4901, fax (310) 313-3581, email: cult@feralhouse.com. The book is distributed to the trade by Publishers Group West, (800) 788-3123.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE BOOK, SEE THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES:
The book cover and the introduction can be accessed at "The Zodiac Chronicle" webzine, in the "articles" section:
http://centrum.is/~stefanpm/thezodiac
There will be a special page up for the book at the Feral House site soon, with excerpts, photos, and more. Keep checking the FH site for details:
BELOW IS ADVANCE PRAISE FOR "LORDS OF CHAOS: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground"
"With Lords of Chaos Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind paint a portrait of a fantastic realm where Satanism, neo-paganism and National Socialism energized a musical scene in which fantasy was actualized in the burning of medieval churches in Norway ...a uniquely valuable history of Black Metal music in general and of the Norwegian scene in particular as it is viewed by the participants themselves. Lords of Chaos is a compelling work deserving of a wide readership on both sides of the Atlantic."
- Dr. Jeffrey Kaplan, author of Radical Religion in America, Syracuse University Press
"Lords of Chaos is the definitive study of the Black Metal subculture, the events which issued from it, and the divergent and convergent trends which it impacted. Its value goes much further."
- Runa: Journal of Northern European Folklore, Mythology and Magic, London, UK
"This definitive study of Black Metal bridges the gap between fans and students of music subcultures, avoiding the twin evils of fanzine hype and academic detachment. Wise, witty and informative, Moynihan and Soderlind have written a model genre study in an engagingly accessible style through which their deep understandings shine."
- Deena Weinstein, author of Heavy Metal: A Cultural Sociology, Lexington Books
"An unusual combination of true crime journalism, rock and roll reporting and underground obsessiveness, Lord of Chaos turns into one of the more fascinating reads in a long time. This unpredictable collection of interviews, histories, quotes and anecdotes stares long and hard into the dark heart of the Satanic Black Metal movement and returns with a sober analysis on the subject. To their credit, Moynihan and Soderlind manage to avoid both the frequent flippancy of the mainstream media as well as the backward bending apologizing of the counter culture press. For them, the world of Black Metal offers legitimate insights into art, ethics and politics, but they never forget just how strange these people are..."
- David Thomas, The Denver Post
"Rev up a chainsaw. Flick on the blender and a couple of power drills. Stand directly behind an F-16, right before it blasts off into space. A jackhammer should do to set the tempo. Now get down on all fours, contort your face into the wickedest grimace you can muster, and scream until your vocal chords collapse. If all of this makes you feel just the least bit ridiculous, hit yourself in the face with a roofing hammer until you can't laugh anymore. There now. Listen carefully. This is what Black Metal sounds like. Black Metal ... seems to be one genre that really has spawned enough murder and mayhem to match the sheer brutality of the actual music. It's a world of tortured souls and tortuous esthetics, where everyone seems willing to "push the envelope" until somebody gets a paper cut. With a body count that's still mounting throughout Northern and Central Europe, one might say it's a case of death imitating art.
Lords of Chaos is the first in-depth account of Black Metal's turbulent emergence and all the violence that has accompanied it, from seminal godfathers Venom, to the frighteningly militant bands of today. Inexplicably, many of the movement's more extravagant manifestations have sprung up in Norway, a country wholly unprepared for the sort of haphazard brutality that's a fact of life in the United States. It is, after all, a nation where the mere sight of a gun is likely to elicit protest, and even the entertainment industry shuns naked displays of force. Nor would it seem the most likely locale for such a vicious backlash against Christianity, considering that the notoriously liberal State Church hardly exerts a very oppressive influence over its flock. Why then, are youthful Black Metalers torching churches by the dozens and hacking each other to pieces? Interestingly enough, it's the popular media who shoulder much of the blame.
Black Metal's "medieval Satanism" is the logical fulfillment of Christianity's worst apocalyptic fantasies, or at least the ones the media have irresponsibly legitimized. It is rebellion taken to its natural conclusion ... destruction for its own sake, an adrenalized nihilism that revels in every toppled steeple. With Lords of Chaos, author Michael Moynihan (aided by Norwegian journalist Didrik Soderlind) lets the genre's more luminous personalities speak for themselves, stringing countless first-hand interviews into a seamless chronological narrative. It's a task few other writers could have pulled off, whether geeked-up music journalists or academic outsiders. Surprisingly balanced, exhaustingly thorough, and - lest we forget that a lot of these folks come across more like professional wrestlers than terrorists - darkly humorous, it is a comprehensive look at a phenomenon that's rarely been scrutinized."
- Vor Tru Magazine