Intervju - Joel McIver, författare Joel McIver är just nu högaktuell med den första biografin om de kaliforniska death metalkungarna Slayer. Han har tidigare skrivit tunga böcker om bl a Black Sabbath och Metallica, där den senare snart kommer i en uppdaterad version. Han skriver även för tidningar som Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Recor Collector och Kerrang. han har intervjuat alla de stora stjärnorna genom åren. Han var även nyligen gäst i Bruce Dickinson radioprogram på BBC Radio. Med tanke på Slayerbiografin slängde vi iväg lite frågor om boken och framtida projekt till Joel. Här har ni svaren! How long did it take to put together this book? It took me about nine months to do the research and three months to write the 130,000 words. I really, really enjoyed doing it. How many people did you interview for the book and were they all helpful? About 75-100 I think, I lost count - and in some cases I was just using a quote from them about Slayer when I was interviewing them on a different subject, so it's hard to find an exact number. Literally everybody was super-helpful and wanted to be involved. How did you go about choosing the book cover? There must've been a lot of cool pictures to choose from? The publisher's picture desk staff took care of all that. They're very dedicated. There are tons of cool pics of Slayer around but I love the one they chose, it's iconic. I must mention the great Kevin Estrada, whose pictures appear inside the book - he's a photographic genius. Since you contacted Slayer´s management, was it your idea to make it an authorized biography? Yes it was, and the band and their manager were interested in making it happen. However, they weren't able to make a decision one way or the other before my deadline, and I walked away from the idea. It's all amicable though, they're good guys. I've seen pictures with Kerry King holding the book. Has he or any of the other members read it or commented about it? I don't think so. If someone wrote a book about me I probably wouldn't read it! When I gave it to him he flicked through it and praised the picture selection, though, so I'm pleased with his reaction. When was the first time you interviewed any of the members? Any special memories from that talk? The first time I interviewed one of them was Tom, back in 2000. He's always a fantastic interviewee. I'd already been a music journalist for a few years but I was shaking like a fanboy. Since then I've interviewed them many times, probably on about 12 occasions. What was it that got you hooked on Slayer? The incredible, relentless speed and aggression of the music. It felt like a sonic attack that crushed my senses. There are heavier and faster bands than Slayer, but not many that make me want to run down the street screaming and uprooting trees like they do. What did you find out about the band that you didn't know before? Info about Kerry's three marriages; the real story behind Diabolus; the famous incident when Tom pissed on Cronos of Venom. Lots of sophisticated stuff like that. Which is your favorite Slayer album and why that one? Obviously Reign, but Divine Intervention and Hell Awaits also get frequent spins at McIver HQ. All completely different albums and all works of malevolent genius. What other book projects are you currently working on and what can you tell us about it? I have a book coming out next month called The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists which is going to make an impact, I hope. Then the Slayer book comes out in paperback, followed by a third edition of the bestseller I wrote back in 2004, Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica. Then a Tool biography is coming out in April 2009, followed by two biographies of metal icons whose identities I'll reveal nearer the time. Somewhere in there I'm going to get a sci-fi novel published too. Metal and science fiction - yes, I'm a complete geek.
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