The Collectors Guide to Heavy Metal
Martin Popoff
(CCP)

Over of 3.5k worth of reviews from A-Z and ranked from 1-10 is what you get in this release from the prolific Popoff. It is an opinionated collection of his reviews of some of some of the most important releases in the genre. As with all of his stuff, its very well written and remarkably typo free. You get the very good, the alright and the downright ugly in this collection. Yes, he does give 0 reviews and can be brutal at times. He claims this is a reference book, but I defy you not to sit down and read the thing from cover to cover. If you are anywhere near close to a heavy metal fan you will find this both a treat and an aggravation. Several of Popoff's reviews annoyed me. Of course, he was over generous to a few releases as well. Overall, it is a fair and overview of the genre that is Heavy Metal and is well worth the price of admission. Oh yes, one more thing, you get a 19 track CD from Century Media to listen to, while reading the book.

Rating: 4.75