Book review: Death Metal Epic I: the Inverted Katabasis by Dean Swinford

Death Metal Epic I: the Inverted Katabasis by Dean Swinford

Paperback, 160 pages

Published June 2013 by Atlatl Press

This book needed to happen. Punk rock, skinheads, straight edge and various other youth subculutres all have coming of age novels or movies some good and most bad. I know I am known for writing punk rock books, and I grew up on punk rock but I am just much if not more of a Death metal dude at heart. I don't want to be the white guy explaining his hip-hop credentials but I rock Morbid Angel,Carcass, Suffocation and Misry Index far more than I do Black Flag. Some people live and breath death metal like my homeboy Steve Crow who plays guitar in our San Diego locals Condemned. That dude sweats brutal riffs out of his pores. Infact their latest record is the soundtrack for writing this review.

Brutal.

I Digress but I think Swinford probably doesn't mind. Death Metal was desperately in need of a coming age story, and believe me this not the easiest task for an author. You can't really playing super seriously, because lets face it Death metal as genre is pretty funny. I have a story about a death metal band in my collection Amazing Punk Stories and I played it for laughs. At the same time if you are devoting an entire book to it you don't want to go full Spinal Tap because you want to give respect to the genre you love enough to write about. That balance is the spine of this short but fun book.

This novel is the story of Azreal AKA David Fosberg, a Florida teenager who is far too brutal even for Florida. He is trying very hard to put together a death metal band Valhalla. He keeps trying and burns through members including tolkein worshiping wizard who doesn't want drums. Things click when they start to get positive reviews for their demo Zombichrist.

Brutal.

So what is next but a euro-tour, which makes sense because that is the way it is for American bands. Can't draw twenty dudes in their hometown but rock euro-tours and 50,000 raging fans in Indonesian. The struggle is real, and if you have a back on your jean jacket filled with unreadable logos that look like the root system of tree knocked over by a storm then you find this book brutal in all the right ways. I gave this book 3/5 stars on Goodreads because it is not for everyone. Swinford knows his audience - if you grew up on this style of music the book will be better. You will get the humor, you will get the jokes about logos etc. If you don't like Death metal this book is probably a one star book. I hate to say because I like it personally.

Did I love it? Was I dying to read the second book already on my shelf? I liked, not loved the book. It is already there and I think Swinford will likely have grown as a writer in between books So I am interested in that aspect. The story was a little too straight forward to me. I was hoping for more of a surreal brutal death metal fantasy, in that regard perhaps book one is origin story and that is coming.

For those of you who love Death metal I think you should buy these books, support Death metal fiction and put this up on your shelf. I think you'll laugh and that is worth it.