The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time
Martin Popoff
(ECW)

Martin polled a large number of musicians and other industry types about their favourite songs of all time. This is the result, a collection of the top 500, based on a point system (which is explained in an appendix), of heavy metal songs.  Popoff posts his thoughts on each choice. Many entries include a quote from a member of the band in question. Every few pages or so, there are top 10s from rockers of note. All in all, this is a wonderful romp through the genres past, with several surprises and a lot of odd choices. The selections truly demonstrate the breadth of opinion in the metal world about what is "good." Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC make up a large proportion of the list. It is an amusing read and one that will bring back fond memories. Anyone new to the genre will find this an invaluable source for the best in the business.  With almost a page for each entry , this is truly a tome, coming in at 485 pages. Popoff's prose is excellent and his humour sublime. This is truly worthy addition to any self-respecting metalhead/hard-rocker's library. Oh yeah, if you want to know who one...buy the bloody book!

Rating: 4.5