5/5 A Big Book for Extreme Music
  by Corpsie (Redlands, CA United States)
First off, what a deal Amazon has on this. Pretty much half off what a person would pay in the store.

Anyway, like the other reviews here, this book is no slouch. It's meant for the coffee table and if you don't have a coffee table then it garners an extra seat on the couch. When people visit they have to sit next to the large front cover of Nattefrost holding up his inverted crucifix. It's definitely a conversation starter.

I've been a fan of this sub-genre of metal for a while now. I'm not going to lie and say that I've liked it or even knew about the "second wave" when it was happening. I was happily listening to my death, thrash, and classic metal albums at the time. But, when I finally did discover it, I found a new form of extreme music that paralleled my tastes at the time (around 1996).

Pros: Peter Beste's True Norwegian Black Metal captures some of the most memorable photos of the scene throughout the years. My favorites are in here and it's nice to have them on hand and just sit and look at the various photos in detail. There is additional information and old reviews/interviews with the Norwegian black metal alumni near the back as well as a tribute to ex-Mayhem vocalist "Dead". I was expecting to see Dead's body (Dawn of the Black Hearts) but alas, it was nowhere to be found. I'm neither disappointed or elated.

Cons: There is an index with page numbers and names of individuals and/or bands, but a lot of good the page numbers do when the pages have no numbers printed on them! That's probably my only gripe.

Objectively, looking on the scene then and now, my opinion remains slightly mixed on the scene's ideals, chest thumping, and rebellion. On one hand, some of the pictures such as Kvitrafn of Wardruna standing in Bergen is one of the most sociological telling pictures of the 20th century. The look on the woman's face passing on the left side is priceless next to Kvitrafn's grim countenance. The lone pictures of single individuals amidst forested backgrounds, vast plains, or in front of large mountain ranges hints at an even more darker, and to a certain extent, the lonely place where these musicians dwell in their minds and hearts. Cut off from the world and insignificant when compared with the majesty of nature, they emit a feeling of solitude which only the strong-willed are able to withstand.

In other parts of the book though, we see the less majestic to the point of the absurd and just plain sad. Nattefrost seems evil and armored for battle in most of his photos. But in one (almost candid?) shot we see him lying in his bathtub, shirtless, grasping a bottle of booze, yet still trying to ham it up for the camera even though his persona has been whittled down to little than a drunken buffoon. Unfortunately I have to say that as much as I love Immortal, Abbath hams it up for the camera even more. I'd much rather see Abbath in a more grim mode ala Pure Holocaust than say...At the Heart of Winter (which is an awesome album, but the band photos...meh).

That's about it. I love this book. Frontwards and back. I'm looking forward to sharing it with my metal buds who I know will appreciate it as much as I do.

Keep those horns raised high.

5/5 Beautiful, disturbing--a must have
  by J. Wright (Seattle, WA USA)
I'm sure most black metal fans are familiar with Peter Beste's True Norwegian Black Metal. We've seen the selections that are online, and maybe you've been lucky enough to attend one of the shows. I haven't.

Just got the book today after preordering it. It's amazing. The book itself is quite large and impressive. The quality of the paper and binding is good in my opinion. There are many more photographs here than what you may have seen online, and as a whole they are really impressive from a aesthetic perspective. I like the choice of quotations to go along with the work. Also includes some older photos, letters and articles documenting the Mayhem story as well.

You owe it to yourself to buy this. It's definitely a nice thing to have in your collection for anyone interesting in Norwegian BM. $40 bucks well spent!

5/5 Black Metal receives an appropriately artful treatment
  by D. Chilstrom (Germany)
Peter Beste has made this book an essential photographic record for fans of the genre and anyone interested or curious about it. Although the inherently extreme nature of black metal symbolism makes for an easy target this collection presents the subject matter through crisp, stunning visuals and an overall volume that's made with class and objectivity, if perhaps some enhancement of the philosophy behind the music with several grand quotes. This book also includes a great timeline of the black metal genre as well as a collection of tabloid-style newspaper and magazine (Kerrang, for one) feature articles regarding the "bad old days" of Norwegian black metal.
If you've listened to black metal for years, are just starting, or are curious about the genre, go ahead and pick this up. It's well worth every dollar of Amazon's reduced price tag.

5/5 Gr1m, kvlt, and fr0stbitten! (Did I mention tr00?)
  by T. Regan (Baltimore, MD United States)
First of all this book is huge (4 pounds!). Second of all it's full of black metal! It's mostly photography (obviously) but there are also some articles and letters and such. There are a couple (unintentionally) hilarious photos in there, too. For example, there is a great image of this black metal guy trying to look all evil, but there's some old lady walking by giving a disgusted look. Besides making me chuckle, it really does sum up how the average Norwegian feels about the whole scene. But I digress. I suggest you dig up some Immortal (or CoF for you posers out there), pour thyself a chalice of virgin's blood, light some candles, and grimly frown whilst you read this book!

5/5 THE BEST BLACK METAL BOOK EVER!!!!!
  by Andrew Armstrong (Mechanicsburg PA)
If Your a fan of the whole Norwegian Black Metal scene then this IS THE BOOK FOR YOU!!! Weighing in at over 4 POUNDS!! This book delivers a Black Metal punch like no other one before it or since it's release. Peter Beste's photos bring out the true nature of the Black Metal scene in an arsenal of both color (that literally explodes off the page!) and the black and white photos that are both haunting and cold. The images in the book really capture the atmosphere that is so present in the Black Metal scenes music style. There are both Band photos and individual Band Member photos that are exclusive only to this book (The Nattefrost photos for example). The MAYHEM material at the back of the book is worth the cost alone. I can't recommend this book to you enough it's really a terrific piece and I am really glad Peter Beste put such a monster of a book out for us Black Metal fans. Some of the Bands featured in the book include: Nattefrost/Carpathian Forest, Mayhem, Dimmu Borgir, 1349, Gorgoroth, Immortal, and MANY MORE!!If You have been considering picking this up please don't hesitate! You will NOT be dissapointed!!!! HAIL NORWAY!!!!!!
P.S.Make sure to leave plenty of room for this book it is absolutely HUGE!!!!