I'm the Man is the fast-paced, humorous, and revealing memoir from the
man who co-founded Anthrax, the band that proved to the masses that
brutality and fun didn't have to be mutually exclusive. Through various
lineup shifts, label snafus, rock 'n' roll mayhem, and unforeseen
circumstances galore, Scott Ian has approached life and music with a
smile, viewing the band with deadly seriousness while recognizing the
ridiculousness of the entertainment industry. Always performing with
abundant energy that revealed his passion for his craft, Ian has never
let the gravity of being a rock star go to his shaven, goateed head.
Ian tells his life story with a clear-eyed honesty that spares no one,
least of all himself, starting with his upbringing as a nerdy Jewish boy
in Queens and evolving through his first musical epiphany when he saw
KISS live on television and realized what he wanted to do with his life.
He chronicles his adolescence growing up in a dysfunctional home where
the records blasting on his stereo failed to drown out the sound of his
parents shouting at one another. He sets down the details of his fateful
escape into the turbulent world of heavy metal. And of course he lays
bare the complete history of Anthrax -- from the band's formation to
their present-day reinvigoration -- as they wrote and recorded thrash
classics like Spreading the Disease, Among the Living, and the
top-twenty-charting State of Euphoria.
Along the way, Ian recounts harrowing, hysterical tales from his long
tour of duty in the world of hard rock. He witnesses the rise of
Metallica, for which he had a front row seat. He parties with the late
Dimebag Darrell while touring with Pantera and gets wild with Black
Label Society frontman and longtime Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde.
He escapes detection while interviewing Ozzy for The Rock Show while
dressed as Gene Simmons and avoids arrest after getting detained on
suspicion of drugs while riding the tube in England with the late
Metallica bassist Cliff Burton.
In addition, I'm the Man addresses the trials and tribulations of
Ian's life and loves. He admits his foibles and reveals the mistakes
made along the way to becoming a fully-functioning adult. He celebrates
finally finding peace and a true sense of family with his wife,
singer/songwriter Pearl Aday, and examines how his world changed after
the birth of their first son.
I'm the Man is a blistering hard rock memoir, one that is astonishing
in its candor and deftly told by the man who's kept the institution of
Anthrax alive for more than thirty years.
