Description

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In the 1980s, the San Francisco Bay Area was heaven for hardcore headbangers. Shunning Hollywood hairspray and image in favor of a more dangerous street appeal, the Bay Area thrash metal scene was home to "Exodus," "Metallica," "Testament," "Possessed," "Death Angel," "Heathen," "Vio-Lence," "Attitude Adjustment," Forbidden," and "Blind Illusion" and served as a second home to like-minded similar bands like "Slayer," "Mercyful Fate," "Anthrax," "Megadeth," and more. Beginning as teenagers taking snapshots of visiting heavy metal bands during the 1970s, Brian "Umlaut" Lew and Harald "O." Oimoen documented the birth and growth of the local metal scene. Featuring hundreds of unseen live and candid color and black-and-white photographs, Murder in the Front Row captures the wild-eyed zeal and drive that made "Metallica," "Slayer," and "Megadeth" into legends, with over 100 million combined records sold.

Praise For…

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Top 15 Books of 2011, Guitar World

The Most Metal Books of 2011, Revolver

Book of the Year, 20 Buck Spin

Awesome” Robb Flynn, Machine Head

Awesome” Brian Slagel, Metal Blade Records

"Awesome"Phil Demmel, Machine Head

F------ awesome” Kerry King, Slayer

Great” Lars Ulrich, Metallica

"Great book!"Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault, Voivod

AMAZING” Alex Skolnick, Testament

Thank you for writing this book! It’s the definitive story of the scene and what we managed to make of it here in the Bay Area.” Kirk Hammett, Metallica

Murder in the Front Row captures the true essence of thrash metal in its embryonic stage. These photographs take me on a tour down memory lane, bringing back many laughs and prompting comments like: I don’t remember that!’” Dave Lombardo, Slayer

"Serious Pulitzer material."Creative Loafing

"By far, the greatest photo book on any music scene I've ever seen. The bands themselves couldn't have put out a more exhaustive and detailed account of the period."The Huffington Post [CA]

A photographic odyssey through the inception of Bay Area thrash” San Francisco Chronicle

Gorgeous” SF Weekly

A collection of stunning, intimate photographs from the infancy of thrash metal.” SF Bay Guardian

Vivid images of thrash bands onstage, backstage, at drinking binges and essentially everywhere else” Metro Silicon Valley

The authentic, heads-down attack of a raft of seminal bands is superbly captured”PopMattters

"This is a gift from the metal gods themselves... you need this book in your life right now."Terrorizer [5/5 review]

"Gaze ye into Harald Oimoen and Brian Lew's tome of the Bay Area's thrash breeding grounds and you might never wake up. It's mostly early Slayer and Metallica gunning, but it still feels like a window onto Asgard."Metal Hammer

"Probably the best photographs of thrash metal's mythic birthing that have ever existed. You should do yourself a favor and pick up Murder In the Front Row immediately."Noisey

"Perhaps the final word on thrash metal’s humble beginnings... a true joy"The Montreal Mirror

"Pure gold for metal fans" Decibel Magazine

"A thick, beautiful book that captures a special moment in time"A.P.

"KILLER photos [a] must read book."AOL Noisecreep

"Granted, much of what’s being shown is beer bottles, sneers and middle fingers, but it sure does tell a story."The Maine Edge

Enormous historic intensity on every pageevery image in Murder in the Front Row hits you like brass knuckles.” Sweden Rock [10/10 review]

"Awesome... I give this book my highest rating."MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL

Harald O., the craziest photographer of all” BAM