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 Bazillion Points Publishing has announced the "first definitive
book on the elusive world of progressive metal", written by esteemed
metal crusader and prog manic Jeff Wagner.
Scheduled for release in autumn 2009, the book will detail the
common movements of pioneers like OPETH, WATCHTOWER, VOIVOD, ATHEIST,
DREAM THEATER, PSYCHOTIC WALTZ, CELTIC FROST, SIGH and FATES WARNING -
metal bands who have gone against the tide of tradition and
conservatism.
Linked by a desire to push heavy metal forward, these varied bands with
a couple hundred other black sheep form the hard-to-pin-down category
of "progressive metal."
Beginning with the hugely influential mid-1970s efforts of
Canadian band RUSH, Wagner's book explores the shared lineage of prog
rock and metal. He unfurls the huge tapestry and examines the sounds
and styles created during the genre's 40-year history, including: the
"Big Three" — QUEENSRŸCHE, FATES WARNING, and Dream Theater; extreme
prog pioneers Voivod and Celtic Frost; Norway's post-black metal avant
garde; and of course the huge global movement of Big Three-worshippers
in the 1990s. The vastness of what can be considered "progressive
metal" has proven to be one of the most viable, malleable forms in all
of modern music.
Jeff Wagner has explored progressive metal for nearly 20 years in
a variety of fanzines and magazines (including his own Symposium
fanzine in the 1990s). He has penned definitive essays for official
releases by DARK ANGEL, EMPEROR, POSSESSED and NUCLEAR ASSAULT, but
probably most notorious for his stint at Metal Maniacs magazine from
1997 to 2001.
Says Wagner of his unhealthy obsession with Voivod, Fates Warning,
and other oddballs: "This undertaking, a book on progressive metal, is
long overdue! The story will be told through my own warped views, with
insights from the musicians that make progressive metal happen, plus
comments from the specialty labels and crazed fans that kill for this
stuff. And just to keep it interesting, I'm going to give the other
side, the guys who despise any kind of progression in metal, a chance
to defend their views."
Bazillion Points is "America's smallest but heaviest publishing
house," started by author Ian Christe ("Sound of the Beast", "Everybody
Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga", host of "Bloody Roots" on Sirius Hard
Attack). Current titles include the mammoth "Swedish Death Metal" by
Daniel Ekeroth, and upcoming releases include books by Andy McCoy
(HANOI ROCKS), and Albert Mudrian ("Choosing Death").
Says publisher Ian Christe: "It's simple - this is the book Jeff Wagner was born to write."
For more information, go to this location.
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