by Russ Austin

Created on: March 08, 2009   Last Updated: March 10, 2009

Below the stars (asterisks, snowflakes, funny dots, whatever) is the "Preface" to a piece of writing I did on metal during 1996 and 1997 when I was trying to be a 20 something freelance writer. At the time, I was actually trying to write a book on Heavy Metal. As you may have guessed, that didn't happen. When I see my stuff from back then, I realize I could've done a lot better and a lot more. However, except for cleaning up typos and spelling errors, I left it in the style I wrote it in 12 or so years ago. I'd like to think I'm better now but... you decide.

Heavy Metal, and music in general, has been an important part of my life since I was a little kid. By the time I was 10 and moved from Chicago to Denver in November of 1981, I considered my favorite bands to be AC/DC and Journey. I was also a big fan of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Van Halen. Throughout the 80s, I progressed from the likes of Quiet Riot, Def Leppard and Motley Crue to Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. That was followed by bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and many more. My tastes are pretty diverse at 37, but I still prefer it HEAVY!

I'll have more to say on the other side of this piece. Enjoy!

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My life began on October 17, 1971 at approximately 7:30 p.m. Ever since then, I`ve been struggling to be me. Music has helped considerably. I was born in Chicago, Illinois and lived there until November of 1981. Then I moved to Denver, Colorado, where I currently live. I feel compelled to share my thoughts and feelings, as well as other people`s thoughts and feelings, about the subject of music. There are a lot of them in this text.

Heavy Metal is my main focus in this text, but it is not everything. Writing is a means of expression - an art form, if you will. Music is also an art form. It is a highly interpretive outlet. It has kept me alive. This is why you have so many different kinds of music. There are so many different kinds of critics. Critics are fine, and can even be respected and helpful to artists, but they can lead to danger. Those kinds of critics will be discussed further in following sections.

While researching his book, "Running With The Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music," Robert Walser interviewed many fans and artists of Heavy Metal. He denounces the stereotypical view of people like Robert Duncan: "In contrast to the common stereotype of metal fans as sullen and inarticulate, I was surprised by the friendliness and enthusiasm I found among fans and musicians

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