Heavy Metal Africa: Life, Passion, and Heavy Metal in the Forgotten Continent

I struggle with books written about Africa, by non-Africans.Let me declare all my biases quickly. I'm African. I enjoy heavy metal. I've met Edward Banchs and I'm a fan of the man.However, the book, not so much. It sits in an awkward category between textbook and blog, sort of coming off as a well-researched diary.The writer is obviously very passionate about the genre and his experiences but the writing felt a bit too introverted making it difficult as a reader to care deeply about the different people and bands in this book. I imagine it would translate very well into a muliple-episode documentary series where the benefit of hearing the actual music and seeing the different landscapes and atmospheres offered within the continent.I think it is a great learning resource, but I came into it expecting a story and instead found a textbook.

Edward Banchs passion for Africa emerges in the opening pages of Heavy Metal Africa. Banchs is classically trained and crosses into cultural commentary with verve and a compelling narrative thread. Banchs does not bury the reader in trivia. The concept of black leather and dog collars in some of the poorest, warmest, and wettest places in the world is riveting. Banchs first person narrative captures the commitment to art that organically links young people to like minded others in their society, across the continent, and around the planet. This commitment and these Heavy Metal communities are durable, as Banchs amply demonstrates. Public diplomacy in the 21st Century is marked by governments seeking influence, access, and support using the full array of tools available to them. Paying attention to important trends that originate in the West from milieu that encourage tolerance, liberalism, and free expression should be required of foreign service and ministry of foreign affairs officers from the liberal democracies. The West has a comparative advantage in Heavy Metal. This new book should be required reading for professional or aspiring Africanists, or anyone seeking to understand Africa.

Wonderful book! This book is for everyone, not only heavy metal lovers. It's a very well written book in which the author describes all his experiences lived while interviewing heavy metal musicians in different countries of Africa. It also gives the reader a picture of the different countries he visited, the way people live and also a little bit on the historical side.

This is an outstanding book that takes the reader on a journey few would have had the guts to take. Banchs describes his visits to several African nations, during which he explores the impact of heavy metal and rock music on the cultures. The work is exceptionally well-written and is compelling regardless of one's taste in music.

Good Read

Well written. Amazing, adventerous and self-reliant life experiences! So interesting that reader wants to continue perusing. Who knew Heavy Metal existed in Africa?

Just Awesome! We want another!

Any self-respecting Hard Rock/Heavy Metal devotee should have the following live records in his cherished collection...DEEP PURPLE - Made In AfricaMOTORHEAD - No Sleep Till BotswanaJUDAS PRIEST - Unleashed In EthiopiaLED ZEPPELIN - How South Africa Was WonSCORPIONS - Tanzania TapesMEGADETH - That One Night: Live In MauritiusYNGWIE MALMSTEEN - Trial By Fire (Live In Zimbabwe)WHITESNAKE - Live...In The Heart Of Madagascar...except that the above nomenclature of epic live performances will never be found in the cherished collection of any self-respecting Hard Rock/Heavy Metal fan around the world; not even the shadow of a suspicious bootleg. The simple reason being that the documents under investigation were never recorded by those trailblazers who have never set foot on an African stage.Although Africa is no stranger to the kerrang of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, it is practically shunned by touring bands from all over the world. Despite this royal discrimination Africa has a stalwart of local electric extremists who proudly fly the freak flag.In "Heavy Metal Africa: Life, Passion and Heavy Metal in the Forgotten Continent", Edward Banchs gives a first hand witness account of the trials and tribulations that founding fathers and new wave bands have endured to bring their dreams to fruition. Each chapter of this compendium analyses the respective Metal scenes in South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion Island and Zimbabwe.Mr. Banchs has spent a considerable amount of time crisscrossing the African continent to congregate with crucial and influential cats from each scene to put into context their oft difficult personal backgrounds, expose the musicians' first contact with the music, the muses who inspired them to explore this particular genre, the influence they bear on upcoming acts and the challenges that they face in practicing and promoting Hard Rock and Heavy Metal in their respective countries.Edward Banchs' approach to the subject is more akin to that of the anthropologist than to that of the Metal cognoscenti. It is deplorable that the author didn't deem it necessary to invest more time dissecting in detail the music birthed on African soil as well as discussing the relevance of the compositions in regards to the offerings from contemporary major international scenes. Instead, Mr. Banchs seems to relish in elaborating on the socio-politico-economic climate and how this variable both inspires and constricts the artists.Those awaiting the author to delve deeper into the music are summarily dismissed by the concluding pages and directed to the Google machine to carry out their own investigations should they feel so inclined. A vague feeling of being left in the middle of a dusty road creeps upon the reader as it dawns on him that he has become more acquainted with the backdrop rather than with the music itself. An appendix of recommended listening would have partially addressed this shortcoming and sated the decibel hungry intellectual.The book allows itself to be read as a personal travel diary of exploration into the indiscriminate world of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal in the "forgotten continent". Despite the absence of analytical reviews of the music the tome paints a broad and detailed picture for the armchair traveler who will gain an interesting insight into the life of metalheads in a musical microcosm that he might never have suspected existed beforehand.

Any self-respecting Hard Rock/Heavy Metal devotee should have the following live records in his cherished collection...DEEP PURPLE - Made In AfricaMOTORHEAD - No Sleep Till BotswanaJUDAS PRIEST - Unleashed In EthiopiaLED ZEPPELIN - How South Africa Was WonSCORPIONS - Tanzania TapesMEGADETH - That One Night: Live In MauritiusYNGWIE MALMSTEEN - Trial By Fire (Live In Zimbabwe)WHITESNAKE - Live...In The Heart Of Madagascar...except that the above nomenclature of epic live performances will never be found in the cherished collection of any self-respecting Hard Rock/Heavy Metal fan around the world; not even the shadow of a suspicious bootleg. The simple reason being that the documents under investigation were never recorded by those trailblazers who have never set foot on an African stage.Although Africa is no stranger to the kerrang of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, it is practically shunned by touring bands from all over the world. Despite this royal discrimination Africa has a stalwart of local electric extremists who proudly fly the freak flag.In "Heavy Metal Africa: Life, Passion and Heavy Metal in the Forgotten Continent", Edward Banchs gives a first hand witness account of the trials and tribulations that founding fathers and new wave bands have endured to bring their dreams to fruition. Each chapter of this compendium analyses the respective Metal scenes in South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion Island and Zimbabwe.Mr. Banchs has spent a considerable amount of time crisscrossing the African continent to congregate with crucial and influential cats from each scene to put into context their oft difficult personal backgrounds, expose the musicians' first contact with the music, the muses who inspired them to explore this particular genre, the influence they bear on upcoming acts and the challenges that they face in practicing and promoting Hard Rock and Heavy Metal in their respective countries.Edward Banchs' approach to the subject is more akin to that of the anthropologist than to that of the Metal cognoscenti. It is deplorable that the author didn't deem it necessary to invest more time dissecting in detail the music birthed on African soil as well as discussing the relevance of the compositions in regards to the offerings from contemporary major international scenes. Instead, Mr. Banchs seems to relish in elaborating on the socio-politico-economic climate and how this variable both inspires and constricts the artists.Those awaiting the author to delve deeper into the music are summarily dismissed by the concluding pages and directed to the Google machine to carry out their own investigations should they feel so inclined. A vague feeling of being left in the middle of a dusty road creeps upon the reader as it dawns on him that he has become more acquainted with the backdrop rather than with the music itself. An appendix of recommended listening would have partially addressed this shortcoming and sated the decibel hungry intellectual.The book allows itself to be read as a personal travel diary of exploration into the indiscriminate world of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal in the "forgotten continent". Despite the absence of analytical reviews of the music the tome paints a broad and detailed picture for the armchair traveler who will gain an interesting insight into the life of metalheads in a musical microcosm that he might never have suspected existed beforehand.

Very good book that put light on other sides of heavy metal