The inaugural self-release by hard rock / metal journalist Neil Daniels (whose bibliography includes 2007's 'The Story Of Judas Priest: Defenders Of The Faith', issued by Omnibus Press), 'All Pens Blazing' collects sixty-five question-and-answer interviews with the genre's journalistic elite. If you're a metal fan who's bought some metal books and magazines from time to time, then you'll recognise some of the names featured within - unless you have amnesia, that is. In fact, the man who kindly provided the foreword to this book is none other than Martin Popoff, a bona fide legend as far this reviewer is concerned.
The tome itself proves to be an interesting read, something you can dip in and out of at your leisure. Some have complained about the size of its text, but personally, I haven't found the text's size a problem. In a strange yet engaging way, most of the interviews take you on a journey, where you might sometimes find yourself laughing (Garry Bushell is always game for a laugh) or find yourself becoming angry (at Manowar, for how they treated BW&BK magazine), or even something else. Each Q&A is more or less a biographical overview of a specific journalist, and as a result of that, you also get some biographical information on metal's heavyweight titles, particularly Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.
Some wannabe journalists might purchase this with the hope that some tips are enclosed; even though they aren't per se, you get some flavour of that. With a flair for writing, it seems many got their big break either by chance or by knowing the right person. Politics come into play of course, something spoken about by Dave Dickson.
All in all, 'All Pens Blazing' supplies a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes during the heyday of certain metal mags as well as more recent developments, and is well worth the price of entry. Daniels' decision to favour the question-and-answer style reaps dividends, because he never intrudes - he lets the interviewee chat away, and spill their guts in whatever fashion they please. It'll be interesting to see what else the man has up his sleeve in the future.
Reviewed by Robert Gray
