For my second time through this book, my feelings are pretty much the same as before. It feels like a series of long magazine articles, as the casual and exuberant writing style seems to reflect that more than the feel of a tightly written book.

One the downside, the coverage of Metallica is still extensive, but didn't bother me as much as the first time around, I guess because I've somewhat come to terms with the reality tat they were/are(?) a band that played an important role in the history of the heavy metals. But the second to last chapter, "Virtual Ozzy and Metal's Digital Rebound", is hard to wade through as I have no interest in hearing about techno-metal, rap-metal or any of that stuff. Kid Rock does not belong in a book about heavy metal, no matter how you twist is around... I'd like to say that Slipknot doesn't either, but here they are too.

But it is still a fun read, not too in depth or bogged down by details (except for all of the Metallica coverage). Sound of the Beast is a great and fun to read history of Heavy Metal, from Black Sabbath through NWOBHM, thrash, glam and death metal to the gross nu-metal hybrids of modern times. Though its coverage of black metal is a bit lacking, it seems to be just considered a branch of death metal here.

I can't for the life of me figure out why Ian Christe didn't just write a book about Metallica. If you are a Metallica fan, then this one if for you. If you have high hopes that you will see more than a paragraph about your favorite metal band, look elsewhere.

You can tell a lot about an author from reading their books, and what I learned about this author is that he LOVES Metallica. He mentioned other bands and went over different types of metal very well, but as soon as Metallica formed that’s all he talked about. You’d be hard pressed to find a page that didn’t mention them at least once after that. Doesn’t matter if it’s talking about something that has nothing to do with Metallica, like Norwegian Death Metal, they will be mentioned. The author also has an intense dislike of Hair Metal and commercial bands, like Poison, and will insult them whenever he feels they must be mentioned. But apart from that, the book does do a good job. Can be difficult to write a book going over an entire genre that spans 50 years, but he manages to do it and in a rather succinct way. I also like how he didn’t just talk about American and British metal, he also mentioned Norwegian, German, Finnish, Japanese, Brazilian, etc. Nice to read a book that’s not completely focused on the western world (just mostly).

I'm a sucker for metal history books, and this book is very entertaining and covers most genres. I love the Sabbath stuff, even if most of it is already well documented. Personally, I think Neurosis deserved more coverage, given the impact they have had on the current metal scene.

It was a really interesting and well written book, just not the most interesting subject matter for me. Read at the recommendation from a friend who is a die-hard metal fan.

I will always have a soft spot for heavy metal, what can I say? I was the "metal chick" in school. While I was happy the author gave some attention to bands I've been obsessively listening to lately like Emperor and Type O Negative, I agree with critics that Metallica is over-featured in this book. With that said, it's a pretty satisfying read. One of the most shocking things I learned was there was a metal band called Monastat 7. LOL.