Literati.....

Sonorous metal, blowing martial sounds;
At which the universal host upsent.

A shot that tore Hell's concave, and beyond,

Frighted that reign of Chaos and old Night
- Milton, Paradise Lost

Apart from listening to heavy metal, I seem to have picked up one more bad habit. No, not swearing, I picked that up in high school. No, its reading heavy metal literature. And heavy metal literature does not mean The Satanic Bible (which is a real document and can be found on the internet). Following is the crazy train of what I am reading now.....

1. "Black Sabbath and the rise of Heavy Metal Music" by Andrew Cope

Fantastic book to understand the basics of metal and the difference between hard rock and heavy metal. Very detailed technical musical explanations. Ability to read musical notations and and use Wikipedia effectively would come in handy. Also a very skinny book, so will not take months to be done with.

2. "Heavy Metal" by Deena Weinstein

I would call this book, "Heavy Metal 101". A beginners guide to this wonderful music with a very intense culturo - sociological angle. Lotsa pages in this one, but nothing technical in this, so you will skim through them faster.

3. "Damage Incorporated : Metallica and the production of musical identity" by Glen Pillsbury

A must read for Metallica fans. Again, a little technical, with the musical notations. But, indispensible.

4. "Extreme Metal - Music and culture on the edge" by Keith Kahn-Harris

Any death/black/math/speed metal fans out there? Even if not, this book is a good discussion on the birth and various aspects of extreme metal music.

I know that some people might find this fact that heavy metal can turn someone to literature a little over the top. But let me throw in one more fact. The lyrics in the albums, "A Farewell to Kings " and "Hemispheres" by the Canadian progressive rock/metal band "Rush" are heavily influenced by the writings of the novelist Ayn Rand. I rest my case.