• facebook
  • twitter
  • rss

METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH, EXODUS Featured In 'Murder In The Front Row' Book; Cover Unveiled

September 6, 2011

Bazillion Points Books has revealed the hardcover jacket artwork and page samples for "Murder In The Front Row: Shots From The Bay Area Thrash Metal Epicenter", by Harald Oimoen and Brian Lew. This spectacular large-format 272-page view inside "the metal scene that banged those heads that did not bang" includes over 400 of some of the earliest color and black-and-white photos of METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH, EXODUS, POSSESSED, DEATH ANGEL, LEGACY/TESTAMENT, VIO-LENCE, and many others. The book will be available December 2011, wherever books and sold, and is available for preorder now with a limited two-sided exclusive poster-size dustjacket at this location.

During the early 1980s, when heavy metal was defined by MTV and mile-high hair, San Francisco's small community of dedicated headbangers scorned image and instead risked life and limb in search of the ultimate in musical thrills. Locals EXODUS and Los Angeles transplants METALLICA reigned in small clubs like the Old Waldorf, the Stone, and the infamous East Bay bastion of heaviness, Ruthie's Inn. Thrash metal upstarts SLAYER and MEGADETH found a second home in the Bay Area, while a homegrown breed of tempo-crazed teenagers like LEGACY, POSSESSED, DEATH ANGEL, HEATHEN, and VIO-LENCE brought Bay Area thrash metal to critical mass.

Photographers Harald Oimoen and Brian Lew were dodging bodies from the very start, in front of the stage, backstage, and on the stage itself. They captured the public victories and private parties of a scene where fans and musical idols were equally hellbent on faster, heavier music and endless outrageous fun. Oimoen and Lew fought on the frontline of a war for individuality, snapping frame by frame as thrash metal was born, along with stagediving, crowd-walking, and countless other magical moments filled with key local personalities.

Somewhere along the way, Oimoen and Lew's friends in METALLICA, SLAYER, and MEGADETH became legends. Today, the "Big Four" thrash metal bands pictured in this book are the reigning elder statesmen of heavy metal. Their fellow ragers in EXODUS, D.R.I., TESTAMENT, DEATH ANGEL, POSSESSED, and FORBIDDEN remain ambassadors of a Bay Area metal scene that continues to thrive and command fascination around the world.

This stunning volume collects over 400 amazing color and black-and-white photos, plus passionate personal accounts by Bay Area veterans Harald Oimoen, Brian Lew, Ron Quintana of "Metal Mania", Gary Holt of EXODUS, Alex Skolnick of TESTAMENT, and Robb Flynn of MACHINE HEAD. From DIY origins to world domination, the Bay Area thrash metal scene screams to life in these fearless pages.

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).