 Ian Christe [photo: Patrick Delaney] What are you currently up to? Hey Niclas, greetings to Sweden, the land of summer sunshine and insomnia, from New York, the city of temporary darkness. Well, since Sound of the Beast came out in April, I've been having a great time writing a novel called Satan's Hollow about some kids living in the U.S. suburbs in the 1980s. They're regular teenagers, interested in heavy metal, parties, and videogames, but the town elders become convinced that a Satanic cult is working in their village. It's a funny story -- if you're the type of person who can see the humor in book-burning and awkward teen sex. I've also been preparing for the paperback, German, and Czech editions of Sound of the Beast coming in 2004. It's a lot of work being the caretaker of a book like that, but I don't mind. What made you write "Sound of the beast" and how long did it take to get it done? Originally I thought I'd be finished in six months, but it took almost four years to write everything correctly. I still could have gone further into progressive rock, etc, but with the time and resources I had I think the book is a great representation of the whole world of metal, everything from '70s hard rock to black metal and thrash and so on. I wanted to write this to take revenge for all the forgotten or under-appreciated heroes who made heavy metal the great thing that it is today. This book is the basic story of heavy metal, told in a way that is interesting whether you already know all the facts or know nothing and just want to understand what the hell it's all about. Tell us a bit about yourself! I was born in Switzerland in 1970, and my family came to the U.S. in '73. We moved every few years after that, to Illinois, New Mexico, Germany and New York. I was lucky to live in Europe from 1980 to 1983, when so many amazing records were coming from Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Girlschool and others. I started playing Venom and Anvil records on the radio at age 13, then started a fanzine at 15. Since 1993 I've lived in New York City, worked as a writer for Reuters, Wired, Time.com, and other big news organizations. I've always played in bands, as well. I guess you´ve read a lot of books about heavy metal. Which one do you consider being the best and most interesting, besides your own? Have you read "Bang your head" for instance? One of the reasons I wrote Sound of the Beast is that there wasn't another full overview in print. I know it seems amazing, but in fact most of the books out there cover very specific regions of the metal universe. I really love the rambling, joshing style of The NWOBHM Encyclopedia, by Malc Macmillan -- especially now that I've tracked down recordings of a few rare Cryer, Demon Pact, and Taipan singles, so I know what the hell he's talking about. Tom Warrior's extremely personal history of Celtic Frost and Hellhammer is great. I think every metalhead should own at least five metal books, and at least one of them should be written by Martin Popoff. You write a lot about Metallica and their history in "Sound of the beast". Do you look upon them as the most powerful heavy metal band of all time or...? Well, I think they're the most successful, so if you mean financial power, then yes. They're obviously not the most musically powerful, but they were a great band to write about to describe the story of heavy metal to newcomers. They proved that the power of the fans can surpass the marketing and advertising of big labels, and that was a huge gift to heavy metal. The 1980s was a long fight, and they won! Of course, in the 1990s, their two studio records were horrible, but they were still a good live band, and still playing Mercyful Fate and Misfits songs to an audience that normally listened to U2. Almost everyone in heavy metal can relate to Metallica in some way. Which type of heavy metal is your personal favorite and what´s your take on nu metal? Has it had its 15 minutes in the spotlight or will bands like Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit be around forever? Obviously to write Sound of the Beast I listened to lots of everything, so it changes, but this summer I've been listening to lots of grindcore like early Bolt Thrower, Dead Horse, and Exhumed, plus NWOBHM bands like Witchfinder General and Hell. I also love the Finnish band Ajattara, and have listened to their album Kuolema hundreds of times. Nu metal like System of a Down and Linkin Park is still relevant to pop music, I think, but Limp Bizkit is completely over. They were a transitional band helping 13-year olds cross over from rap music in to heavy metal in 1998, but I think and hope that their terrible time in the spotlight is over. Linkin Park I can see as the Bon Jovi of the modern age -- Limp Bizkit was just garbage. Who would feature in your ultimate heavy metal band? In real life, bands like AC/DC and Kreator that play together for 20 years are always better than all-star projects. I think Rob Halford, Trey Azagthoth, Thin Lizzy-era Gary Moore, Cliff Burton, and Bill Ward could come up with some sludgy metallic brilliance. Maybe with Ihsahn on keyboards and Ozzy on harmonica. Name five really good metal albums that should be included in any good record collection and tell us why those five! Okay, I named 25 essential records in the book, but in this case I'll pick five different albums that are like anchors to me: Black Sabbath - Master of Reality, because it captures extreme dungeon sounds along with heavenly tones. Iron Maiden - Killers, which blasts straight through start to finish with beautiful twin guitars and a fiercely savage attitude. Metallica - Master of Puppets, which is almost like a turbo-charged remake of Ride the Lightning. Emperor - Into the Nightside Eclipse, because of its visionary emotional mix of polished mood and primitive fervor. Mercyful Fate - Melissa, because it is the essence of evil, like an exploration of the depths of hell. Which was the latest heavy metal record you bought and is it any good? I'm listening to the new Morbid Angel right now, called Heretic. Very strange, but I like it better than Gateways. Seems like a record with a lot of Pro Tools experiments, which I think Morbid Angel is actually very good at doing. I also just got the Dio anthology, which is a really impressive package. What was the first metal concert you attended and which was the latest one? I saw AC/DC with Y&T in 1982, and just two weeks ago I saw Motorhead, Dio, and Iron Maiden. The '80s thrash band Destructor played on a smaller stage while the crowd was entering, and they were totally fun and awesome. Their career was cut short when their bassist was murdered in 1988, and they're much older but still raging with the same crazy spirit. I missed both Enslaved and Necrophagist this year -- very sad. Which country do you think has produced the best number of heavy metal bands? Finland! Hail Hanoi Rocks, Impaled Nazarene, Beherit, Liimanariina, that awful Paska, and Ajattara!! Finally, any messages for the Swedish metal community? Takk! Haul your asses to http://www.soundofthebeast.com for book excerpts, reviews, and some regular contests. Read Sound of the Beast, and give gift copies to your best friends -- and your worst enemies, too! Beast wishes -- Ian.  The Headbanger's Bible: Over 400 pages of metal history 94 black & white photos throughout Exclusive 16-page color insert Dozens of genre boxes Metal era timeline 1970-2002 Sound of the beast - Official website
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