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Suspect Device reviews

The guys at Suspect Device Fanzine have been staying in and reading a lot lately, coming back with reviews of ‘Heavy Sounds In The West’, ‘The Fire Still Burns’ and ‘Raccoon Starts A Band’.

 

Graham Sleightholme has read the massive ‘Heavy Sounds In The West’ thrash metal book about the Heavy Sound Festival in Poperinge, saying “You get a real sense of excitement of what the bands brought to the West Flanders city… promoters taking a risk, hiring venues, making mistakes and generally hanging out with the bands as though they were pals. Memories from the people there capture the time and excitement brilliantly.”

 

And Tony Whatley has read ‘The Fire Still Burns’ saying “This massive book, almost 700 pages, could be seen as a companion book to Ian Glasper’s books documenting the punk scene from the 1980s onwards, being just as important for people interested in bands you could call post-emo… they found a home in a scene that was born out of those times where they could start bands, play gigs and release their music making use of labels, zines and promoters that sprung up out of the DIY network that existed because of the older punk scenes.”

 

The SD main man Tony also found time to read Alex CF’s beautifully illustrated follow up to ‘Punks In The Willows’, entitled ‘Raccoon Starts A Band’, saying “The main attraction of this is Alex’s great drawings, putting animals in place of humans, all covered in band patches and t-shirts and all the looks and styles of punks through the ages.”

HEAVY SOUNDS OF THE WEST by  Hans Verbeke / Onno Hesselink - Heavy Reads / Earth Island Books (Full review, by Graham)

Do you like Metal? If the answer is no, skip this. In Fact you probably didn`t make it past the cover of a member of Slayer holding an inverted cross.....HSOTW is a dive into the Belgian metal scene of the late 70`s and specifically to the Heavy Sound festival `83 - `85. Heavy Sound claiming the 1st mainland European metal fest title.

The Authors have done a superb job of digging up lots of great people to chat to as the book moves. You get a real sense of excitement of what the bands brought to the West Flanders city of Poperinge. And what bands they had, promoters taking a risk, hiring venues, making mistakes and generally hanging out with the bands as though they were pals. AC/DC being exceptionally loud and drinking with the locals, Kiss, Motorhead, Girlschool all appear along with anecdotes from the promoters. There`s a great feature of when The Runaways played in 1977 supported by early Belgian punk band P.I.G.Z. These 70s gigs take upthe 1st 100 pages. It was interesting, and there are a lot of great photos, posters and good anecdotes. It feels like a fans for fans book from the outset and not a writer talking down and telling you how to enjoy the past.

Towards the end of the decade and into the early 1980s NWOBHM takes root. Iron Maiden and Tygers of Pan Tang, play gigs but more importantly for the upcoming metal head fans and local promoters inWestFlanders - Venom. Yep them. Like it or not Venom is a turning point and usher in thrash and later, Black metal. Reading the stories of how excited the fans and promoters are that Cronos and Co. are coming to town is what the book is about. There are quotes from bands and pieces from magazines but the focus on the people there and their experience of a new world of music happening before them is really enjoyable. At this point we get a chapter on Belgium's big 4. Them being Acid, Ostrogoth, Killer and Crossfire. These are the bands following in the wake of the new wave, they`re locals supporting their favourite bands. It's a great way to highlight some great music as well. I think this chapter might of been the most enjoyable as along with a stack of photos of the bands there are a lot of flyers / posters to look at. Trainspotter metal heads will appreciate the effort the authors went to, to cover all bases here.

The Heavy Sounds festival ran for three three years from 83 - 85 and its inception, demise and legacy are all covered in great detail towards the end of the book. ITs funny listening to them cobble together a festival with very little experience and trying to contact bands to play. Lots of amusing stories and shock at the 1st year when the small city is overran by metal heads. The 1984 line-up featured Motorhead, Metallica and Merciful fate amongst others. That's some serious volume and by all accounts the bands and punters drank like fish for the duration. Lucky for the reader there are stacks of great photos from these festivals. This is a massive selling point for the book.

Before the final 1985 festival is covered there is a huge chapter on Metallica who played 3 times in, 1st supporting Venom, 2nd playing HS festival and a 3rd time headlining their own gig. Documenting Metallica's growth over the course of 1984 via these three gigs is given lot of space. It’s probably the biggest selling point of the book considering there are unpublished photos. Top stuff and the memories from the people there capture the time and excitement brilliantly. Oh and there is a QR code in the book which links to even more photos. Another nice touch.

1985 was the last festival and you can tell through the interviews that it had probably got out of control and beyond what it set out to do. A slightly more mainstream line-up had people and promoters themselves a little worried. However Slayer were on the bill and they were the band of the moment. They turn up late but go on and by all accounts tore the place apart.

This book looks superb and the writing feels very honest. If you`re a fan of metal you should grab a copy.

Earth Island (Graham Sleightholme)

THE FIRE STILL BURNS: MUSIC INSPIRED BY THE POST-PUNK MESSAGE by David Gamage - Earth Island Books (Full review, by Tony)

On first glance this book wouldn’t appear to appeal to me too much, outside of the fact that David is a longstanding friend. But, there are bands here I’ve heard of, seen live and even featured in SD. None of that really matters though as this massive book, almost 700 pages, could be seen as a companion book to Ian Glasper’s books documenting the punk scene from the 1980s onwards, being just as important for people interested in bands you could call post-emo. The fact that the music most of the bands featured here is not to my taste is unimportant, the fact is that the roots of what they play stretch back to punk rock; there is a line to be drawn from bands like Gang Of Four, Magazine or Wire, Dag Nasty, Rites Of Spring or Fugazi through 1990s Emo to these more melodic bands David writes about here. They are younger, so their entry to alternative music wasn’t Crass or Discharge, Minor Threat or Dead Kennedys, it was a generation after that, but they still found a home in a scene that was born out of those times where they could start bands, play gigs and release their music making use of labels, zines and promoters that sprung up out of the DIY network that existed because of the older punk scenes. Some of their stories are interesting and certainly worth telling, obviously I was drawn to Rites and Zero Again, but I remember Si Briggs interviewing Speedwell and them appearing on one of our compilations, so that was one of the first chapters I read. As with Ian Glasper’s books, this is an historical reference book, making sure these bands are not forgotten and just because I’m not a fan of their music doesn’t mean I instantly dismiss their stories or their worth, in fact I’m pleased these kids found somewhere to play music with people who shared their passion in what was, at least initially, outside of the mainstream music industry.

Earth Island (Tony)

RACCOON STARTS A BAND by Alex CF - Earth Island Books (Full review, by Tony)

Following on from Alex CF’s Punks In The Willows book, Earth Island now allows Alex to tell the story I’m sure a lot of us can relate to, of punk rock giving us a purpose, a community, an education and a feeling of security. Along the way there’s a run through of a lot of punk rock’s offshoots and sub genres, as Raccoon finds his way, told in short verse form. The main attraction of this is Alex’s great drawings, putting animals in place of humans, all covered in band patches and t-shirts and all the looks and styles of punks through the ages. It looks like children’s book, but is it? Who’s to say, but I did enjoy it.

Earth Island (Tony)

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