The Rough Guide To Heavy Metal is a pocket-sized reference book is the definitive guide to heavy metal, from death metal to classic rock! It provides career biographies for more than 300 bands and artists, like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Darkness, Linkin Park, and Kyuss, highlighting their highs and lows, triumphs and disasters, and even the hair and horrors.

The Rough Guide to Heavy Metal also covers sub-genres, from thrash to southern rock, Christian metal to hair metal, and glam. Critical discographies are included for every entry, reviewing the best of what's available on CD, with additional recommendations and reviews of the best of the rest. It also features pictures from the finest metal photographers, concert shots and album covers.