Author | Albert Mudrian |
---|---|
Cover artist | Dan Seagrave |
Language | English, Italian (2009), German, French, Finnish, Polish, Spanish |
Subject | Death metal and grindcore |
Genre | Music |
Publisher | Bazillion Points |
Publication place | United States |
Published in English | 2016 |
Media type | |
Pages | 400 |
ISBN | 978-1-935950-16-5 |
Preceded by | Original version (published in 2004 by Feral House; now out of print) |
Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore is a book by Albert Mudrian, the founding editor-in-chief of Decibel, a monthly magazine devoted to heavy metal music. The book was first published in 2004 by Feral House and details the evolution of the death metal and grindcore musical genres, from its beginnings as a small subculture exchanging compact cassettes to a genre where some artists reach million-dollar sales. A limited updated and expanded edition was published in hardcover in 2015 by Decibel Books. A further expanded and revised "death-luxe" edition was published in 2016 by Bazillion Points.
The 2016 edition includes forewords by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel and Repulsion founder Scott Carlson. A reviewer for Terrorizer praised Choosing Death as "the most informed and comprehensive document on death metal and grind that you will ever see".
The first Choosing Death Fest was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 16, 2016. The first part of the two-part festival was the Choosing Death Fest Grimposium, which included panel discussions with a variety of death metal experts and enthusiasts, and featured an advance screening of the 2016 documentary Death by Metal. The second part, a concert at Union Transfer, was headlined by Nails, and featured Misery Index, Deceased, Noisem, Horrendous, Derketa, and Taphos Nomos.
References
- "Due nuovi libri della Tsunami edizioni". Radio Lombardia (in Italian). 16 July 2009. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- Caramanica, Jon (18 September 2005). "Music: Heavy Metal Gets an M.F.A." The New York Times. p. 2. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- Konow, David (17 August 2010). "Thrash Producers: The Sound And The Fury". Guitar World. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- Greiner-Adam, Marie-Therese (23 December 2012). "Buchtipp: Choosing Death" (in German). Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- Titus, Christa. "'Choosing Death' Author on Death Metal's History and Misperceptions: It's Not 'Satan-Worshipping, Homicidal Maniacs'". Billboard. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
- Butman, Jeremy (20 February 2009). "Philly's Heavy Metal Professor". Philadelphia Weekly. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- "Nails - Tickets - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA - April 16th, 2016". Union Transfer. Archived from the original on 2017-10-04. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
- "Fear, Emptiness, Decibel: Choosing Death Fest "Grimposium" to Feature Members of Misery Index, Pig Destroyer, Kreig, and More". MetalSucks. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
- "Nails - Tickets - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA - April 16th, 2016". R5 Productions. Retrieved 2016-04-20.