There just aren’t enough good books about metal in the world. I mean, you can only read The Dirt or Choosing Death so many times, y’know? And it’s the summer, and I want to go sit on a beach and read, goddamn it. Now, sure, I could read any number of books on any number of topics, who really gives a shit about anything but loud, obnoxious music? Amirightoramiright?

Luckily for all of us, Flavorwire has now unveiled “A Summer Reading List for Metalheads.” And it’s actually pretty helpful!

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Longtime readers of MetalSucks will know that I’m a big fan of Continuum’s 33 1/3 books series. Each one is by a different writer, and each one is devoted entirely to the study of a different classic album – and “study” has a pretty broad definition here, as the manner in which the books approach the album-in-question really depends on the author. Sure, Eric Weisbard’s entry on GN’R's Use Your Illusion albums was basically one long apology by an ironic hipster who couldn’t bring himself to admit that he actually enjoys those records. But the great John Darnielle’s book, on Sabbath’s Master of Reality, is one of the most creative pieces of music writing I’ve read in some time – the entire thing takes the form of journal entries written by a teenager who has been committed to a psychiatric center – and I loved D.X. Ferris’ take on Slayer’s Reign in Blood that not only did I interview him, but I basically bullied him into writing some pieces for MetalSucks (Most recently, he did an incredibly in-depth interview with the one and only Tom G. Warrior).

So far those three books have been the only ones in the series that deal with metal or sorta-kinda-metal (which isn’t to say the other books in the series aren’t worth reading, just to say, y’know, metal will always be my first and greatest love). Which is why I’ve been so excited to read Daphne Carr’s contribution, on Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine. The book was announced for-ever ago, and I kept seeing release dates on Amazon and Barnes & Noble’s web site, which would come and go without the thing ever actually getting released. It was like 33 1/3‘s version of Chinese Democracy.

Well, Mr. Ferris himself, writing for Cleveland Scene, now reports that the book is finally coming out! Just don’t ask when:

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At this point, I really don’t imagine Slayer need any bait to lure fans to their concerts; I’ve seen them live quite a few times in my lifetime, and I’ve never seen the show be anything less than packed. Regardless of whether or not Slayer actually have anything to promote, if they play it, the fans will come.

Still, they’re trying out a little experiment, as explained in a press release:

“A brand-new Slayer album is expected in 2009, but some fans won’t have to wait that long to get an early listen to some of the new music.

“Fans who attend any of the upcoming European ‘Unholy Alliance Tour, Chapter III’ dates, will receive the new Slayer song via an exclusive download card that will also include special material from the entire tour’s line-up – Slayer, Mastodon, Trivium and Amon Amarth. The download card, along with a limited edition ‘Unholy Alliance Tour’ clothing patch, will be given away free only to ticket holders when they arrive at their local venue the night of the show.”

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If you’re not familiar with Continuum’s 33 1/3 book series, you should be. Each entry is written by a different music critic and/or journalist, and each one is devoted to the study of a single, seminal album. There’s a wide range of types of music covered by the series – everything from the Beastie Boys to The Velvet Underground – but metal hass, up ’til now, been criminally unrepresented. There are entries for albums by Guns N’ Roses and Nine Inch Nails, but those aren’t metal bands in the strictest sense and, obviously, both groups have been wholly accepted by the mainstream; there was a book covering Sabbath’s Master of Reality recently, but, weird though it may be, at this point Sabbath are pretty much as accepted and unrebellious a metal band as we’re likely to get.

So D.X. Ferris’ recently release tome on Slayer’s Reign in Blood is the series’ first honest to God (or honest to Satan?) book covering a metal album. And it’s an AWESOME read – fascinating, intelligent, informative and insightful, you’re likely to blow through it record time, and then feel depressed as you realize you’ve reached the last page. Ferris not only takes a critical look at the album, making astute observations and pointing out little musical nooks and crannies you might have never noticed even after your gazillionth spin of the classic record, but he also managed to interview everyone and anyone who was involved with the album – from the band members themselves to producer Rick Rubin to engineer Andy Wallace to cover artist Larry Carroll and a few hundred other people I’m forgetting about – as well as loads and loads of musicians and artists who are fans of the album (Henry Rollins, Tori Amos, Gary Holt, and Paul Romano among them).

After I wrote this blog about Slayer and their continuing relevance in the metal world back in June, Ferris actually e-mailed me basically just to say “thanks” for the shout-out to his book. I asked him if I could shoot him some interview questions, and luckily for us, he agreed. After the jump, read what Ferris had to say about the process of putting the book together, things he learned about both Slayer and Reign in Blood while working on the book, and the state of Slayer today.

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