{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "description": "I’ve spent years as a massive death metal fan and much of what Choosing Death covers I’ve learned previously as a product of my obsession with the genre. Mudrian — as the editor of Decibel Magazine — is more than qualified to author a history of the genre, does an admirably thorough job of retelling its origins. There’s room for criticism, sure, but extreme metal fans can be territorial, overly specific and as cantankerous as they are kind. Did Mudrian spend a whole lot of time on Napalm Death and Earache? Sure. However, the former is a legendary band that helped found and drive the genre forward and the latter is a significant label that had a hand in bankrolling the genre in its early days. That all said, the book is as comprehensive as it possibly can be without being overlong. It’s not exhaustive, but it lays out the genres foundations from the significance of nascent grindcore bands like Repulsion to formative death metal bands like Death and Possessed. I loved the interviews throughout. I enjoy Morbid Angel ’s early records, but never dug into the band’s history much. Hearing firsthand from genre legends like Chris Reifert of Autopsy and Ross Dolan of Immolation was insightful and educational. Did I know Slipknot are huge death metal fans? Hell no. But an Immolation tattoo and losing tons of money booking bands in Des Moines simply to see them live kind of says it all. Death metal musicians and fans are dedicated. It’s not a genre that’s going to reward you financially, but the fans will show up and — as the interviews reveal — that enthusiasm is very often the most rewarding part of playing music this extreme. The updated version of the book covers the reunions of classic bands (some more successful than others — the new Carcass material is a nice addition to their catalog, Autopsy ’s too) and new bands either bringing back the old school sound or helping the band shuffle forward like a zombie that just won’t die. Did I know that members of Entombed and Morbus Chron are related? I do now. Go pick this up, rip through it and throw up those horns.",
  "path": "/reading/books/9781935950165/choosing-death",
  "publishedAt": "2025-01-03T00:00:00Z",
  "site": "at://did:plc:sttgf52vkk46f6yuknvqxvgh/site.standard.publication/self",
  "tags": [
    "music",
    "nonfiction",
    "death metal"
  ],
  "title": "Choosing Death"
}