In This Means War: The Sunset Years of the NWOBHM, Martin Popoff and
dozens of his UK rock buddies document the frenzied fruition years of
the movement, namely 1981 and 1982, and then the many facets that caused
the genre to implode by the end of 1984, with cracks in the armour
beginning to appear the previous year. Why did metal disappear in Great
Britain with the first hungover light on January 1, 1985? And where
exactly did it go? The answers are enclosed, in the words of those who
were there... and then nowhere fast! Utilizing his celebrated oral
history method-rich with detailed chronological entries to frame the
story-Popoff blasts through all of the big events from 1981 to 1984, in
this action-packed book that serves as concluding volume to Wheels of
Steel: The Explosive Early Years of the NWOBHM-same easy reading format,
same attention to documenting the subject at hand with visuals from the
glorious era. And by the way, this one's way more packed with historical
images, with more substantive text as well. It's a beefy follow-up and
conclusion to the well-received volume one, and the two together serve
as a grand and exhaustive study of this momentous metal movement. So
come join Martin, along with dozens of the rockers themselves, as they
together tell the tale of this ersatz genre's maturity and demise, a
demise that is ultimately laced with the pride that a platform had been
created on which metal was to thrive for all of the rest of the loud
`n' proud `80s.
