In Heavy Tales, Zazula tells the story of how he went from working on Wall Street to selling vinyl records at a flea market to make a living. He and his wife, Marsha, began selling records which led to owning an actual record store and promoting concerts.

It’s possible that you may not have heard of Jon Zazula but he was extremely influential in the careers of many heavy metal bands. Without Jon Zazula, Metallica and Anthrax might not have had the same success.

One day someone brought in a demo of an unknown band named Metallica. Zazula immediately called the band and brought them to the East Coast to record their album, Kill ‘Em All. It was the first album for Zazula’s record label, Megaforce Records.

He does talk about how his bipolar disorder and drug use affected his life to a certain extent. Whatever personal problems Zazula had, he tried to keep it together in order to help many bands become successful.

His wife, Marsha, must be an angel because she stuck by her husband through imprisonment, rock and roll tours, manic depression and a downgrade of their business. They also raised a family at the same time that they were building their record store, band management company and record label. It take a couple of strong people to make it through all of the trials that they had to deal with.

Some of the bands that they worked with include: Metallica, Anthrax, Testament, Mercyful Fate, Raven, Overkill, Exciter, Stormtroopers of Death, Method of Destruction, Ace Frehley, King’s X, Ministry, Mindfunk, Nudeswirl, Warren Haynes, Disco Biscuits.

There are several funny stories. Zazula seems to have a pretty good sense of humor about life in general. Can you imagine having Metallica as a guest at your house?

Recommendation

If you are a diehard heavy metal fan, then you will definitely appreciate this Heavy Tales. It is interesting to see how some of the bands got their chance at really being rock stars.

If you are a fan of censorship or a member of the Parent Music Resource Center, then you might not be a fan of this book.

You can find the book at Amazon and Zazula’s website.

• I received an ARC in exchange for doing a review. All opinions are my own. Obviously.
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