MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE Pens Foreword To 'Most Influential Heavy Metal Songs' Book

"Full Metal Jackie Certified: The 50 Most Influential Heavy Metal Songs Of The '80s And The True Stories Behind Their Lyrics" provides exclusive insight into the creative process behind the top metal songs of the 1980s. Available for pre-order now and in stores early January 2010 via Course Technology PTR, the book features interviews with iconic rock artists offering insight into the inspiration behind such hits as JUDAS PRIEST's "Breaking the Law", AC/DC's "Back In Black", MOTÖRHEAD's "Ace Of Spades", MEGADETH's "Peace Sells", PANTERA's "Cemetery Gates" and even JANE'S ADDICTION's "Jane Says".

Written by Jackie Kajzer — host and developer of nationally syndicated metal radio show "Full Metal Jackie" — with Roger Lotring, the book features classic photos by renowned rock photographer Mark Weiss and a foreword written by Dave Mustaine of MEGADETH.
Over the course of five months, lyricists of songs featured in the book were interviewed and asked to remember the creative and social circumstances surrounding their songs. Some songwriters were very certain in their recollection; others were somewhat less specific in their memories. But each person had fascinating anecdotes and opinions to share. The book delves into the cultural and social impact the songs had when they were released, as well as the continued validity and influence these songs hold in the 21st century.

"The idea to focus on lyrics for this book came from preparing my radio show each week," says Kajzer. "Many of the songs I played were never edited for radio and had profanities. I make edits for my show so metal fans finally get a chance to hear the songs on commercial radio. When I read the lyrics to many of these songs, I got an even greater sense of how powerful these songs really are, and I wanted to share that insight with other metal fans."

MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine, who provides the foreword for the book, contemplates: "Who would have known that this relatively short time span of 3,653 days [the '80s] would result in the creation of some of the most influential heavy metal bands on earth?"

"Full Metal Jackie Certified: The 50 Most Influential Heavy Metal Songs Of The '80s…" features songs that were not always the commercial favorites. The book analyzes lyrics that made social and personal statements that influenced the heavy metal audience, rather than mainstream pop culture. Included are songs that address nuclear armament, drug addiction, religion, suicide and governmental control. These songs are "Full Metal Jackie-certified" as important contributions to the metal genre that continue to have a lyrical impact on successive generations of fans.

Here's an excerpt from the introduction to "Full Metal Jackie Certified: The 50 Most Influential Heavy Metal Songs Of The '80s And The True Stories Behind Their Lyrics":

"Listening to a metal album used to be an event. Without the digital availability of information on the Internet, hearing an album for the first time was the single source of make-believe, a direct connection to the imagination. Fans would slit the shrink wrap and carefully slide the vinyl LP from the cardboard cover. The paper sleeve would rest in cross-legged laps while the listener absorbed the lyrics, word for word, studying them and staring at the photographs and artwork to make the songs come alive in their mind's eye.

"Our favorite bands spoke to us — and for us — through their music. The lyrics expressed our joy and frustration, and empowered us to be strong in an intolerant culture that laughed at heavy metal to mask their fear of it. In bedroom sanctuaries those songs were conversations between trusted friends--the bands and their fans--about politics, religion, relationships, and other topics that the mainstream considered too profound for us to really understand.

"Metal fans have always been on the periphery of society. We are the outcasts, the kids forbidden from the popular cliques. Our music has always provided camaraderie and a sense of community otherwise prohibited because we are different. The lyrics have always been our voice. This book is about what that voice had to say."

Pre-order "Full Metal Jackie Certified: The 50 Most Influential Heavy Metal Songs Of The '80s And The True Stories Behind Their Lyrics" at Amazon.com.