Jon Kristiansen - Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries Review

In 2011 the distribution of music writing is easy. If you have a computer and the desire to write about metal, putting up a blog or contributing to a website doesn't take a huge amount of effort. That wasn't the case in the days before the internet. People put together zines using typewriters and glue, then paid to make copies or have them properly printed. It was a difficult and time consuming process, and you had to have a lot of desire and perseverance to put one out regularly. Jon Kristiansen, aka “Metalion,” managed to publish Slayer Mag on and off for a quarter of a century.

Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries is a massive tome, collecting every issue of the zine in its entirety. Metalion hails from Norway, and had a front-row seat to the beginning of the Norwegian black metal scene. He became friends with many of the musicians there (and elsewhere in the world), including Euronymous, Jon Nodtveidt, Faust and many others.

There are a couple of zines that predated Slayer Mag that are also included, although they are in Norwegian. There's Norwegian in some of the early issues as well, but eventually Metalion wrote exclusively in English. His writing style is very distinctive and direct, and he isn't afraid to express his opinions. That candor and honesty (from both writer and interview subject) is something that has diminished over the years as metal has gotten less dangerous and more public relation savvy.

Metalion had his favorite bands that were included in almost every issue, but he covered a wide variety of genres and geographical areas. Many of the artists interviewed became well-known (at least as well-known as underground metal bands can be), but some will be unfamiliar to almost all readers. That's what makes Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries so compelling.

Just the zines alone would make this book a must own. What makes it even better is the biographical information Metalion includes, such as what went into creating each issue and many personal adventures with metal bands. His perspective and insights on the whole early '90s Norwegian black metal scene with church burnings and murders is very interesting.

At over 700 pages, Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries isn't a book you'll get through in a weekend, nor would you want to. It's best savored slowly, absorbing two decades of metal history and learning something new in every issue. Metalion has dedicated most of his life to metal, and it has been a worthy pursuit. Readers discovered countless bands because of him, bands got much needed publicity, and this collection will be primary material for those exploring the history of metal. It's well worth the 40 bucks or less you'll spend to buy it.

(published 2011 by Bazillion Points)

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.