Book Review

“Everybody’s Scene: The Story of Connecticut’s Anthrax Club,” by Chris Daily (Butter Goose Press, $18): This fall, I was both surprised and proud when I heard that a book about the Anthrax club was being published. My hometown punk/hardcore scene – which happened to coincide with my own formative years - merits a book? Maybe the music and atmosphere were really as great as I remembered them – and my memories weren’t just growing fonder as I grew older.

Sound of the Beast, The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal by Ian Christe was released a few years back but its main focus is the bygone era of metal's infancy and the legacy it left.

To my knowledge there has never been a definitive Judas Priest biography. The fact that this 2009 biography was written by a self-proclaimed Priest fan gave me some hope.

However, all hope was gone by the middle of the first chapter. Author Brian Bowe would not be delivering the goods.

There are interesting tidbits here and there but not enough to entice any serious Priest fan. Heavily footnoted, there are no revelations inside the book. And, unfortunately, there are no interviews given directly to the author.

Jeb Wright's interviews showcased in the new book, Stadium Rock encapsulate the kind of person Jeb is, as well as the band at large. His love for the music bleeds through every question, and he's right there with every answer — his passion and experience connects with every interviewee. This is the kind of stuff they don't teach you at journalism school. When fans read the interviews, they get questions they would ask, passions they would share, not dry reporting.