GLORYDAZE Music Review for Metallica The Club Dayz 1982-1984

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ARTIST: Metallica
BOOK The Club Days 1982-1984
PUBLISHER: ECW Press
AUTHOR/PHOTOGRAPHER: Bill Hale
SERIAL: ISBN-13-978-1-55022-876-2
YEAR: 2009

WEBLINKS: http://metallicatheclubdayz1982-84.blogspot.com

Background
It was an interesting time for sure. Ronald 'Ray Gun' Reagan was the president. America was surging forward into a decade of excess, no one had any idea who Al Qaeda were or who the Taliban were. In some ways, those early years of the 80's decade were an innocent period. Perhaps not so innocent as the bright and breezy pop era of the 70's. But by 1982, the rock world was about to be turned upside down by a handful of upstarts - originally from L.A but resettled in San Francisco - going by the name of Metallica. As time and history would reveal, this band would go on to conquer all sorts of achievements right up until the current day. It's not the modern day Metallica we're focusing on here.. but more their earlier days, before they found mega-stardom. Back in 1979, a young fella called Bill Hale would start off his working life as a photographer. He eventually became the chief Photographer for Metal Rendezous International, a magazine dedicated to hard rock and heavy metal. It was during this time that he was exposed to all the big guns of the HM world, and managed to photograph many legendary figures before they passed on, including Phil Lynott, Rory Gallagher, Bon Scott and Freddie Mercury. Bill's other knack was building a port-folio of many bands before they made the big-time, and this is where his new book 'Metallica - The Club Dayz 1982-1984' kicks in.

Details
This mainly photographic book, published by Canadian book publisher ECW Press, takes a historical look at Metallica's past through the eyes and lens of Bill Hale, focusing on the 1982-1984 timeframe when they were first starting out. The band, at their earliest point includes photos with then guitarist Dave Mustaine and then bassist Ron McGovney. Nearly all of the photos displayed in the book have never been released into the public domain before, and are a sometimes intimate and private look at the band during this formative period. Bill has captured photos at various gigs during this timeframe, including Metallica's first few shows in San Francisco upon moving there, the first show with Cliff Burton onboard, the last show with Dave Mustaine, and the first show with Kirk Hammett. Some of these photos are raw, primal, energetic, cheeky and illuminating, capturing the various moods of the band members before, during and after their shows. There are also some interesting shots with well known people in the industry at the time, including Ron Quintana, Mike Varney, Uli Roth, plus members from metal contemporaries Armored Saint, Exodus, and Laaz Rockit.

In Summary
For any rock biographer or collector of rock publications, 'Metallica - The Club Dayz 1982-1984' is an essential photographic guide of perhaps one of heavy metal's most important bands. It's not everyday that a publication like this is released, and certainly makes for good spot reading on a cold and rainy day while listening to Barry Manilow! lol!