Based on the 'Absolutely hilarious' (Neil Gaiman) stand-up showIn A HISTORY OF HEAVY METAL, acclaimed comedian and life-long metalhead Andrew O'Neill tells the fascinating story of the larger-than-life characters who have influenced this most perennial of music genres; from the household names of Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to the brutal notoriety of the underground Norwegian black metal scene; from Satanists and murderers to stadium-touring billionaires and toilet-circuit journeymen. Along the way you will learn that:*Any Old Iron by Harry Champion was the first heavy metal record*When Judas Priest singer Rob Halford, writer of the song 'Hell Bent For Leather', came out as gay in the mid-90s the metal community was shocked. They later expressed surprise at the defecatory habits of woodland bears and the religious inclination of the Pope*Satan has all the best tunes (though their second album is patchy)WARNING: This book will contain references to the musical genre know as heavy metal, not a loosely scientific defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties.