Rating: 
Summary: WARNING!! This Book is religious B.S!
Review: The best (and only) good thing about this book is the stories of music shows in the Iceland/Greenland area plus the conflict between cetain bands and their followers. It's worth getting at a library, but buying it would only encourage the author to produce more books like this. There's definatley a right-wing religious slant to it, so be-aware of this fact before you buy it! Believe me
Rating: 
Summary: Fire-walk with me....
Review: Michael Moynihan, esoteric musician, author, journalist, heathenist and true defender of European culture has with "Lords of Chaos" made a refreshingly unbiased book about the often misunderstood musical genre Black Metal, it's personae, and it's cultural origins in Norway.. Infused with a good deal of humour regarding the often surreal "events" following the so-called "Norwegian Black Metal Mafia", Moynihan, along with Didrik Søderlind, tell a tale of religious fanatism, extreme music and pseudo-political extremism in a down-to-earth style, and although many facts may already be known to hard-core fans of Black Metal, this will be a perfect place for an inquisitive new-commer to the genre, to learn more about the "history", origin and beliefs of Black Metal... This book cuts through the "smoke-screen" that surround Balck Metal and it's devotees like a knife through butter!!
Rating: 
Summary: A very well reported and well researched plunge into metal..
Review: Maybe I find this topic more interesting than most, as I am a devout black metal fan, but everyone could probably find this worthwhile. It combines equally well done amounts of music journalism, social commentary, sociological views, crime reporting, and overall is a brilliant record of one of the darkest periods in metal music: the explosion of the Norwegian Black Metal scene. As someone who has been active in the metal underground for many years, I was always sick of the wild variations on the story that came from various people, and often the musicians themselves, as myth blended with reality and wishful-thinking. Well here is the definitive story. The main element that I liked about this book was that it explored the philosophical direction that many of the main players came from (Euronymous and his communism, for instance) and gives a history of WHY these particular beliefs might have been held by certain people. The book delves into the social structure of Norway and how these young people coming from well-off families in an almost worry-free society could become criminals. It is also an excellent testimonial to what happens when people become more concerned about the image and opinions that surround them (in this case resulting in musicians trying to "out evil each other"). My only complaint, albeit a minor one, is that the book is written in a way that might be prejudiced against metal fans (though not on purpose, this is the result of the extreme insider's perspective that seems to assume that most readers aren't already prejudiced against extreme metal). The casual reader might infer that ALL extreme metal fans are criminals (I'm not, none of my friends are, just a select few with far too few brain cells), neo-fascists (not me either...), racists (I'm anti-racism), homophobic (...absolutely not...), or intolerant of religion (I don't neccesarily like religion, but I don't care what other people believe in. Not my business). I wish the author's had taken more time to explain who the AVERAGE fan is, to provide perspective for those not in the know. AN excellent read.
Rating:
Summary: A worthwile for any Goth, metalhead or demonic entity
Review: I read this book when I was just starting to get into Black metal (14 or so) and it just pushed me over the edge. After reading this book, I listened to the music with a newfound awe of the awesome power behing the genre. It blew my mind after listening to more mainstream metal like Metallica and Black Sabbath to find bands like Emperor that actually practiced what they preached. Burning down churches, murder, cannibalism, where the Hell do these guys stop? It was interesting to find out about the Vikernes/Euronymous conflict, which was the only thing out of this book I had ever heard of before reding this besides the murder that Faust(Emperor's Drummer) committed. If the cover isn't enough to make you buy this book in the first place, you probably won't anyway and I'm just wasting my time. But in case I'm not, buy this book no matter what as long as you're not heavily Christian or anything, but if you are, you are not reading this anyway. Prepare to be enlightened.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: I found this book interesting because it gives a nice cross-section of black metal music and the minds of young musicians. The best thing about this book is the interviews with the musicians themselves where they are given opportunities to respond to accusations made against them; although Varg Vikernes said after the book was published that some of the things said about him by other interviewees were false. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in psychology of youth movements or anyone who is just interested in black metal. Rather than writing about the psychology of this music and its fans and overanalysing it Moynihan simply presents it in interviews.
Rating:
Summary: The best read I had for quite sometime...
Review: within the non - fictional works. It is crude, raw, explicit, and oh so real. It portays the Vikernnes - Euronymous affair as I have seen nowhere else, it makes a great social study not only of the black metal scene, but mostly of the norwegian reality. Superbly written, amazingly thorough, and what a work the authors did in their research. I recommend this book, not only to black metal fans. M.V.
Rating:
Summary: Grow up
Review: As someone that does not spend their time pretending / wishing to be dead, as someone that does use their own mind and as someone that can view Black Metal subjectively, I feel as though I have a far more realistic opinion of this book than the minions of death that have reviewed before. This book records and claims to try to find out why some people have become so deranged that they have destroyed their own lives and the lives of others. It gives instances of murder that are either very disturbing or downright laughable. Killing a stranger to see what it is like is very frightening, killing your partner because you think it will add to your credibility in the scene is ludicrous. I think it fair to say that if Varg knew his fate before killing Euronymous, he would not have gone through with it. I doubt he feels so clever now. Church burning and grave desecration are also absolute folly. It costs money that otherwise would go to those that need it: to all out there that have taken part in such activity, you are not very bright.And those of you that believe the influence of long obselete Norse Gods is still in the air now, please take yourselves off to the nearest asylum before you too cause irreparable damage to someone else's life. Now that the rant is over. The initial fault with this book is that its attempt to find out why these acts of darkness have recently occurred is simply a thinly veiled excuse to promote the thoughts of these great losers in life. The second fault is that the subject matter itself is rather drawn out. The case of the Tunbridge Wells Satanist needs no more than two or three lines to show that the movement has reached the shores of Britain. Instead we get an overblown account of how locals are outraged (they wouldn't be pleased now, would they?) at the knocking over of some gravestones by a bored teenager. And the third fault is the author's failure to really try to find the root cause of this stupidity. Moynihan should have spent his time looking at the reasons why kids all over the world rebel rather than suggesting that, for some, the actions portrayed were a result of the beliefs of the black metallist movement. If we look beyond these major failings, we are actually transported into a world that, fortunately, very few will ever have to experience. It is of gratuitous interest only that the lives of Varg and his mates have any need to be read. And it is with absolute horror that we contemplate how some outwardly normal people can be so imbecilic (I would have said evil, but I don't want give anyone praise for their actions.) This is a book that I do not recommend. Not because I do not want people to hear the word of the black metallist (is there one?) Nor because I am on some crusade of light against darkness, but because it is actually rubbish. I feel absolutely no benefit from my reading it and I really wish I had not wasted my money. I can see how huge this movement is not by the absolutely total non coverage in the news. I can take comfort in the fact that so few people subscribe to the opinions of those highlighted in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Non-black magic in theory and practice
Review: Without pulling a single punch Michaeol Moynihan delivers a fantastic picture of the disturbing black metal scene. I have several criticism most of these guys are not real Satanists, just like rock music they use Satanic imagery. Most are Odinists and I doubt they even believe in Norse Gods. Just more National Socialist/Racists like the Church of Levey(Satan) and the Setians. They borrow from German Romaniticsm and tie it with the supposed rituals of Nazi SS men. I see a huge correlation between heavy metal music and National Socialism. These guys portrayed in this book would fit in well with Oi! skinheads. The sad thing is they are not very smart. Varg says bad things about blacks and then committs heinous crimes. He also has a way of twisting facts and memories to suit his present needs. For the life of ME I don't understand why blackmetal is considered art. It is flat out niose. Also black people INVENTED rock the book even states so, so how can Black Metal be a white "thing"?
Rating:
Summary: An unlikely reviewer
Review: Hail! I am a female African-American who has been listening to Black Metal for three years now. When I found out about this book, I went through hell and high water to get it. Now that I have it, I must say that it's an excellent book for those who are just getting into the black metal scene, and helps such newcomers be aware of the people,events,and viewpoints that could drag such a powerful genre down.(Note Varg Vikernes.)Anyway, I can totally identify with the fury of the churchburners. To them, I say: In many ways, we are not all that different. There is no room for racist viewpoints. We are in the same boat. We too,were opressed...Long live Black Metal!
Rating:
Summary: For those who want to understand Black Metal
Review: This book tells the roots of black metal. The murders, the church burnings, the mixing of satanism and nazism. Lots of good photos.
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