Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir

2011 GIFT GUIDE

• Memoir Suite

  Rock & roll books from Austin to Beijing

  BY RAOUL HERNANDEZ

• Inseparable – The Memoirs of an American and the Story of Chinese Punk Rock

  Punk rock from Austin to Beijing

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• My Song

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• Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: My Life in Music

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• The Book of Drugs

  Don't mention Soul Coughing to its frontman

  BY JAY TRACHTENBERG

• > Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir

• Backstage Past

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• Tom Waits On Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters

  Tom Waits – rumor, myth, or fact?

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• Freak Out!: My Life With Frank Zappa

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• You Are Not Alone Michael: Through a Brother's Eyes

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• My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep's Prodigy

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• Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed Music Forever

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• Visual Vitriol: The Street Art and Subcultures of the Punk and Hardcore Generation

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• Gig Posters Volume 2

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• 'Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell With Black Sabbath' and 'Trust Me: I'm Dr. Ozzy: Advice From Rock's Ultimate Survivor'

  Life advice from the Prince of Darkness and the Black Sabbath story told by the man behind the riffs

  BY RICHARD WHITTAKER

Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir

The annals of rock autobiography aren't exactly teeming with heavy metal icons, so it's refreshing to see Megadeth's Dave Mustaine joining the ranks of recent confessors Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne. An inside look from the thrash pioneer is long overdue. With clear prose, the guitarist talks about his band and its notorious membership volatility, also dishing on his relationship with Metallica, the rock titan he joined in its infancy and from which he was fired. Yet he divulges little about the music's creation; songs and albums are noted, but hardly mulled over. Anyone hoping for the inspiration behind classics like "Hangar 18" or "Sweating Bullets" (which isn't even mentioned) will be disappointed. Fans looking for tales from the bad ol' days will throw horns, however, thanks to plenty of drugs, sex, and temper tantrums. Mustaine takes pride in none of this, openly and bluntly exposing his addictions (cocaine, heroin, alcohol) and anger issues (the source of which is either childhood trauma or Metallica). Indeed, it's his longtime struggle to manage his personal problems that defines the book, making Mustaine less a musical journey and more an addiction memoir.