Interview: Metal author Joel McIver

Anyone familiar with rock and metal writers will be familiar with the name Joel McIver. He has written biographies of Slayer, Metallica’s Cliff Burton, and several other notable names, and was also the author of the book “The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists”, which received good reviews and even got the Dave Mustaine (of Megadeth) seal of approval. The San Antonio Heavy Metal Examiner was lucky enough to land an e-mail interview with Mr. McIver which will be presented below. We’re honored that he would take the time to speak with us about his upcoming and previous projects!

1.  SAHME:  First of all, thanks for doing the interview! Now, to start things off, could you give us a little back-story on how you got into heavy metal music?

JM:  I remember it very clearly, even though it’s 22 years ago. It was 1988, I was a 17-year-old with very few remarkable qualities and I liked the Beatles, Soft Cell and Duran Duran. (Yes, I said it.) I’d always thought that heavy metal – what I knew of it, anyway – was for tragic losers with acne and inch-thick glasses who fantasised about slaying dragons and riding Harleys, failing to realise at the time that the only loser was me. Fortunately, a good friend of mine played me ‘Battery’ from Metallica’s Master Of Puppets album and the scales fell instantly from my eyes. It was a total revelation. That song’s introduction, in particular, is so all-encompassing that it gave me an entirely new perspective on music, insofar as I had one at that age. After Metallica I got into Anthrax and Slayer (typical 80s kid) and then a couple of years later Morbid Angel and Deicide followed. It was only after I’d become addicted to the thrash and death stuff that I really got into Maiden, Sabbath and what have you. Basically, I did my metal education backwards.

2.  SAHME:  Now, on the subject of ‘To Live Is To Die: The Life and Death of Metallica’s Cliff Burton’, the level of musical description when discussing compositions like ‘(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth’ and ‘The Call of Ktulu’ is very in-depth and suggests a thorough knowledge of music. Do you have any formal musical training that helped you apply that knowledge to the context of music journalism?

JM:  None but I’m a semi-pro bass player, which gave me the necessary technical background for that stuff. My theory isn’t that great because I’ve never bothered to study it, but my understanding of technique on guitar and bass runs pretty deep.

3.  SAHME:  You interviewed a lot of people for ‘To Live Is To Die: The Life and Death of Metallica’s Cliff Burton’, from members of Metallica to Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse to D.R.I. bassist/Bay Area banger Harald Oimoen. Who would you say was your favorite interviewee, are there any notable segments from interviews you could share with us that couldn’t be included in the book?

JM:  They were all great, but I particularly enjoyed speaking with Corinne Lynn, Cliff’s last girlfriend. Although her story is obviously one of the saddest because of where it stands in the Burton timeline, she was kind enough to take the time to really go into depth about what he was like as a person – a viewpoint that few other people could possibly have. It took me a couple of weeks to get her to agree to be involved, because a certain member of Metallica had warned her not to trust the press. He had a point, too: there are some vampires in this business. However, once I’d made it clear that I wasn’t some gutter-press hack who only wanted to write stories about how much weed Cliff smoked, we established a bond and we’re friends to this day. She’s a brave individual and has been through stuff that would leave most of us weeping on the floor.

Talking of Harald ‘O’, that guy slays me. He’s the best. I hear he’s putting together a book of his Bay Area photos, which will be an essential read. He’s actually the one who put me in touch with Corinne. I still owe him beer.

4. SAHME:  There have been times when I’ve written a ‘top ten’ list-type article, and then go back and look at it a few months later and think something like ‘Why did I put band X above band Y? And why was band Z not included?’ Likewise, would you have made any changes to your list of ‘The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists’ now that the book has been out for over a year?

JM:  One or two minor changes. I had my a- kicked so many times by the guys at The Classic Metal Show about the inclusion of the Scorpions that I feel it’s about time I acknowledged the depth of their knowledge on the subject and agreed that they probably shouldn’t be in there. I’d also put the Lamb Of God guitarists in the book, probably in the 50s: when I compiled the list a couple of years ago, it wasn’t yet clear that LOG were going to be a huge band, but obviously that’s an established fact now. A hell of a lot of people have asked me why I didn’t include Muhammed Suicmez of Necrophagist, and they have a point – he’s amazing. But the Top 10 is perfect as it is, and there isn’t really much room for manoeuvre  even in the Top 25.

One of the interesting things about that book was how violently people reacted to my decision to exclude hard rock guitarists and keep it focused solely on metal players – so there’s no Angus, Randy, Eddie, Yngwie and so on. Even though I explained my decision very carefully and in several different ways so there’d be no misunderstandings, apparently I didn’t make myself completely clear. So next time round I’ll probably re-re-re-clarify my criteria for those who didn’t get it the first time.

5. SAHME:  Now then, on to your current projects. You are releasing a biography of Motorhead later on this year, entitled "Overkill: The True Story of Motorhead". Lemmy, the band’s iconic frontman, released his own autobiography, ‘White Line Fever’ in 2002, and one of the things that made it such an interesting read was that the language was very informal, as if Lemmy was just sitting right next to you telling you his life story. Will ‘Overkill: The True Story of Motorhead’ use a similarly casual tone, or will the writing take a more academic approach?

JM:  My style is neither casual nor academic, it’s somewhere in between. For me, that’s the best way to be succinct and informative but still (I hope) at least a bit entertaining.

6. SAHME:  Likewise, because it has been eight years since ‘White Line Fever’ was released, can we expect ‘Overkill: The True Story of Motorhead’ to devote a significant amount of time to the albums that have been released in those eight years, including ‘Motorizer’ and ‘Kiss of Death’?

JM:  Definitely. One of the book’s aims is to cover territory that hasn’t been explored before, and the last decade or so of Motorhead’s career is one example.

7.  SAHME: Could you tell us some of the musicians that were interviewed for ‘Overkill: The True Story of Motorhead’?

JM: In due course – right now it’s a work in progress and a lot of interviewees are still firming up.

8.  SAHME:  You’re also working on a biography of Randy Rhoads, entitled "Crazy Train: The High Life and Tragic Death of Randy Rhoads". Will it follow a similar model to ‘To Live Is To Die: The Life and Death of Metallica’s Cliff Burton" in the sense that there will be biographical information as well as detailed technical descriptions of the music Rhoads recorded?

JM:  That’s the plan, yes. The format of the Cliff book really suited its subject and has worked out great for Randy too.

9.  SAHME: Your Cliff Burton biography contained chilling accounts of the fateful night of September 27th, 1986, which was the date in which Cliff tragically left this world. Will ‘Crazy Train: The High Life and Tragic Death of Randy Rhoads’ contain similar accounts about the crash that brought about Randy Rhoads’ death? If so, did you have any strong emotions or macabre feelings that manifested while interviewing subjects or collecting information about such a dark day?

JM:  The strongest emotion was sadness. The poor guy still had so much to offer. The challenge here was to do it sensitively and in a way that served Randy’s memory with respect and dignity.

10.  SAHME:  You’re working with Glenn Hughes on his autobiography as well, a work that’s three years in the making entitled ‘The Life, Near-Death, and Rebirth of a Rock Star: Deep Purple and Beyond’. What was it like working with such an established figure in the rock world on such an ambitious project?

JM: Oh man, this book has been a blast from start to finish. Glenn’s story will blow your mind. Getting to know him has been a privilege and I’d go a long way for him.

11.  SAHME: Furthermore, after three years of work, how does it feel to finally be able to release the autobiography later on this year?

JM:  Vindication! A lot of publishers turned this idea down, which is their loss as Glenn’s new band Black Country Communion scored a high-charting hit with their debut album recently. The book is being published by Foruli, a unique company led by a visionary called Matt Higham. He likes punk more than metal, but no-one’s perfect.

12. SAHME: The state of Texas has proved to be quite a fertile ground for extreme metal bands. Have you ever thought about doing a biography on a band from the Lone Star State (extreme or otherwise)? I’d love to read a biography of, say, Absu, or one of the more well-known bands like Pantera.

JM:  Absu are killer but I can’t imagine a mainstream publisher touching a book on them, I had enough trouble convincing them to greenlight my Slayer biog back in 2006 (in which, coincidentally, Absu drummer Proscriptor McGovern is interviewed). I’ll do a Pantera book one day for sure. I’d like to cover all the associated bands – Down, Superjoint Ritual and so on. I interviewed Dimebag six months before his death and liked him. Another sad loss.

13. SAHME:  Besides your own work, what are some of your favorite rock biographies or autobiographies? I’m quite partial to Anthony Kiedis’ ‘Scar Tissue’ and Lemmy’s ‘White Line Fever’ myself.

JM:  See, Scar Tissue was an object lesson for me in how not to write an autobiography. Kiedis’s story went from drugs to rehab to drugs to rehab and back again so many times that it got boring really quickly. Its other failing, as I see it (although it sold a gazillion copies, so what do I know?) was that the tone was very clinical, without much personality or charisma coming through the narrative. It was a wasted opportunity, I reckon. I did enjoy Lemmy’s book, but it should have been much longer. Ron Wood’s book was great too, as was the recent Dave Mustaine autobiog.

14. SAHME:  Lastly, you’ve established yourself as a very respected writer in the music business. Do you have any words or pieces of advice to those who are looking to forge out their own path as a professional writer or music journalist?

JM:  Be realistic about your chances of making a living out of music journalism. Maybe one in 200 budding writers actually enjoy a solid income, and that’s an optimistic figure. But if you can write (and don’t kid yourself that you can, if you can’t) and you have ideas that are commercially viable and will engage the reader’s interest, go for it. Make sure you have something unique to offer. I enjoy the work of writers who give you something you won’t find anywhere else.

Finally, remember that writing about music is essentially fun. Once you stop enjoying it, it’s time to get a real job.

For more info:  McIver’s books are available in book stores all over San Antonio, particularly the Barnes and Nobel at La Cantera mall and come highly recommended to metal fans who want to learn more about their favorite bands. Visit Mr. McIver’s website for pre-ordering information on these upcoming titles.  We'd like to thank him once again for granting us this interview!