APOPTHELEMA
Review: American Power Metal (Martin Popoff)
by Kyle Nonneman
[Note: this was composed in prison where proof-reading facilities are notoriously bad. Please don't hold that against the author. You can contact Kyle through the address listed at the end of this entry.]
POPOFF ARCHIVE SERIES 6 :AMERICAN POWER METAL
BY MARTIN POPOFF
I listen to primarily black/death/doom/thrash .
I love more traditional stuff like Angel Sword, Reverend Bizarre, Warlock, Mercyful Fate and of course my favorite Manowar song is Demons Whip.
I was raised on rock but my knowledge of traditional heavy metal and power metal is somewhat lacking.
This book introduced me to a lot of the more obscure acts keeping it true and offered a lot of insight and exegesis on the legendary acts featured I was already familiar with.
You have a lot of soulless disposable extreme metal nowadays because with the notable exception of Deathhammer's Evil Power Lp and Hooded Menace, a lot of the current crop of deadbangers draw influence from only death/black/grind and deem themselves too brutal or kvlt to listen to the more traditional work let alone take influence from it.
So you have an incestuous corruption of metal's ability to evolve.
The classics of death and black were rooted in tradition, like Chuck's obsession with Gamma Ray.
So what if the interviews may not be as exciting or subversive as Metalion's work but its still an essential book for anyone who gives a fuck about true metal.
As essential as Deathhammers Evil Power album.
Popoff focuses his interviews primarily upon the music not sordid war stories, Ferraris, and trivial scene politics.
There's some interesting revelations In here.
Like Manowar trashing Nwobhm and praising Primus.
There's also some great interviews with Yngwie that don't bring to mind the B side to Bohemian Rhapsody.
Iced Earths interview brought up Spawn.
The fierce independent fuck the majors creator owned DIY agenda of Todd McFarlane isn't brought up but it was likely an influence on metal.
It sucks the Spawn movie soundtrack mentioned by Iced Earth turned into a comp of techno remixes of shitty rap rock/alt radio rock trend slaves.
I felt betrayed by the Spawn soundtrack and movie when I was a kid.
It was a Cold Lake moment....
More people should take the time to study Popoff's work.
Amazon doesn't carry this book you have to order it directly from the author
But seeking out obscurities is part of showing your dedication to the underground.
This book's $30 bucks for a trade paperback.
Not as fancy as a Bazillion Points release but its got a lot of heart and integrity.
Lot
A lot of he power metal bands in this book talk about a non ironic resurgence of true heavy metal that isn't mere atavistic fetishism and trendy pastiche.
A lot of them do a good job at it but the still criminally underrated Deathhammer fucking slays most of them
And a new contact: https://prisoninmates.com/
