In the 1980s, the San Francisco Bay Area was heaven for hardcore
headbangers. Shunning Hollywood hairspray and image in favor of a more
dangerous street appeal, the Bay Area thrash metal scene was home to
"Exodus," "Metallica," "Testament," "Possessed," "Death Angel,"
"Heathen," "Vio-Lence," "Attitude Adjustment," Forbidden," and "Blind
Illusion" and served as a second home to like-minded similar bands like
"Slayer," "Mercyful Fate," "Anthrax," "Megadeth," and more. Beginning as
teenagers taking snapshots of visiting heavy metal bands during the
1970s, Brian "Umlaut" Lew and Harald "O." Oimoen documented the birth
and growth of the local metal scene. Featuring hundreds of unseen live
and candid color and black-and-white photographs, Murder in the Front
Row captures the wild-eyed zeal and drive that made "Metallica,"
"Slayer," and "Megadeth" into legends, with over 100 million combined
records sold.
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