LIFE, PASSION, AND HEAVY METAL IN THE FORGOTTEN CONTINENT
(English Edition)

A sightseeing trip to southern Africa in 2007 opened the author's eyes to an unknown music scene in an unexpected place: rock and metal, alive and raging on the forgotten continent. Inspired by his own love of heavy music and an insatiable wanderlust, Edward Banchs travels through South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, and Zimbabwe, meeting musicians and fans who pursue this music with diverse infrastructure and resources, and with a drive and passion recognizable to metal fans around the world.

From cafes in Madagascar to quiet, dusty towns in the heart of the Kalahari Desert, Edward seeks to understand exactly how the musicians live and struggle—while also experiencing the passion for rock and metal in Africa for himself. Along the way, he discovers the Africa he's never heard of in books, leaves a country in tears, avoids a physical altercation with someone convinced they're spreading Satanism, visits Africa's largest slum, contracts malaria, and even makes a piece of history. All in the name of heavy metal!

With the curiosity of a scholar and the enthusiasm of a headbanger, Edward explores the history, successes, and aspirations of African metal bands as they explore their passions and define their generation the only way they know how: loudly!