Metallica Book:

Editorial Review:
With exclusive transcripts of round-table discussions, journal excerpts, and personal comments scribbled throughout, and with approximately 1,000 rare and unique photos, So What! is the first official illustrated chronicle to chart Metallica's career since they formed twenty years ago. The book also gives the honest, inside track on some of their darker days, including an insight into singer/guitarist James Hetfield's rehab. Metallica have sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and have proved to be one of the most enduring rock acts of all time. A must have for die-hards and casual fans alike.

So What!: The Good, the Mad, and the Ugly: The Official Illustrated Chronicle/Metallica Reviews:
Book
2008-02-08 - I expected the book to have wrote of a story, but so far so good.

Good Read
2007-07-06 - Some people viewed this book as a bunch of hype or a bunch of BS from guys who are really full of themselves. I didn't feel it was that kind of book. I felt it was them looking back on how full of themselves they were and how much they had to learn and had learned. I thought the book was worth reading.

A Coffeetable Book, for Metallica Fans with a Coffeetable
2004-12-12 - This book really could have been called "Written Sh*t: Binge and Purge", as it's really the literary equivalent to Metallica's live music box set. Like the box set, it's a bloated, excessive and sometimes self-serving overload to the senses, and it's up to the individual's tolerance for the personalities in the band that will determine whether or not that this a good thing or not.

The book is beautifully put together. Tons of pictures on high-gloss paper make this a feast for the eyes. The articles are of varying quality. Peppered between the yearbook and scrapbook looking sections -- usually put together using notes, pictures and art created by the band - are some of the best interviews of the band in the last 10 years (particularly the round table discussions which, in light of Jason Newsted's departure, are quite revealing). There are even glimpses of James Hetfield's struggle with his demons before going into rehab, that in hindsight should have been pretty obvious to everyone. Weak are the Q&A sections (the band never seems to give straight answers), a lack of great detail in events in the pre-Load era (understandable as these items are pulled from the fanclub magazine started in the mid-'90s), and Lars Ulrich making love to his ego (haters like to say how much the band has changed, but Lars and his ego have remained pretty consistent over the years, if you ask me).

Complaints are relatively minor. Metallica fans that have been members of the Metclub since it's inception will pretty much have all the items in here already (from So What!, the fanclub magazine). The magazines don't look nearly as good as the book though, but it may not be reason enough to buy this for some. At times, the self-indulgence can get a mite irritating, but the honesty and candidness makes up for a lot. The band at times seems more relaxed and sincere in some of the interviews, more so than they have for industry magazines and the press, although any fan with an axe to grind will find plenty of fuel to feed their accusations that the band has sold out, only cares about money and have sucked since (fill in the blank). Those who don't will find quite a lot of revealing details on what makes their favourite band tick - even if one has to be read between the lines sometimes.

As we're not likely to see any autobiographies from the band anytime soon, So What! is the only source for words straight from the horse's mouth and something that fans won't be able to resist.

Oh, Well....
2004-12-07 - Ok, I'll admit that it's been a while since we've heard anything from the guys, but this is absolutely the most funniest book I've read all year. Though it's filled with massive amounts of interesting material, it's still an utter and complete ego trip. But I'd have to say that it's the best book Metallica will ever come out with.

Metallica should loosen their ego.
2004-10-31 - I got this book right in front of Metallica and they signed it too! The sad part about this book though is that it starts from their "Load" era - the era when they started to suck majorly. All their creative juices went down with the drugs, alcohol and fighting. They do show us eventually how Jason Newstead started getting alienated from the band, but do not show any signs of regret. Jason Newstead was the only member of Metallica who did not have the rock star ego (and still doesnt). They did a huge mistake by bringing in Trujillo (who is a pretty bad bassist). There is an article by Torben Ulrich (Lars's dad) that is one of the most pretentious and bombast articles ever written. They should have done without it real easy. Also, they did not include any information about Dave Mustaine who deserves at least some recognition for writing the 'Kill em all' album. Instead, they added useless information about their first bassist Ron McGovney (who hasnt achieved anything and is hatching eggs). People care about Dave Mustaine and no one really wants to hear about Ron McGovney. I am a Metallica fan, but I think this book tries to polish their ego. After all this "some kind of monster" crap, fighting, whining, rehab and losing a band member (Jason), fans would expect a little more humble approach from Metallica. But this book is all "me, me, me, me." And it is really irritating to hear Lars misspell words because he thinks its cool and hip. And yes, there are a TONNE of pix in this ego booster...sadly, a lot of them are of Lars trying to look like a GAP model, James trying his best to look intimidating and Kirk dressing up like a drag queen, trying his best to hide his insecurity by repeatedly mentioning how he doesnt care about other people's opinions. The only cooling factor in this book is Jason. He's the one who comes off as a genuine nice guy, fan friendly, ego free, respectful, courteous, generous, humble, mindful, caring and sensitive. And the funny part is, he left the band! haha!

This is a compilation of Metallica's SO WHAT magazine from 1993 till 2004. The band did not put any effort in making the book. They only wrote tiny introductions to the chapters. For being Metallica's first official book, I hoped to see more band participation. If the band explained matters personally, I would not be giving them a 1 star. But its all just 'copy and paste.' The band just ripped off fans by trying to show they care about what fans have to say. The book is entertaining if you want to study how big rock stars behave (and whine), but you will be turned off by "Larz, Kirk and Jaymz." They are grateful to none.