There are 10 days until Christmas, which means there are only approximately 9.6 shopping days left in the holiday season. Chances are you've locked down your shopping list and you've got it all sorted out (congratulations!), but if you're like us, you've still got some shopping left to do. So Michael Christopher and Michael Marotta of Vanyaland put their Michaelness together to whip up a 2016 Holiday Gift Guide, geared towards the music lover in your life. Yeah yeah, we know, we should have published this shit right after Thanksgiving (turns out we're as tardy with our publishing as we are with our shopping). But we live in the age of expedited shipping, so buck up, order some of the goods below, or use it as a template as you venture into the commercial brick and mortar war zones this weekend.
Metallica: Back to the Front
The general consensus amongst heavy metal fans is that Metallica hit their apex with the album Master of Puppets. It’s such a perfect album in so many ways, and was light years ahead of anything else out there. This fully authorized coffee table book celebrates the 30th anniversary of the album with an in-depth look at the making of the record and the ensuing tour both as headliners and opening for Ozzy Osbourne, along with fresh interviews with all of the major players. Unfortunately, it was a period that included the death of Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, who was killed in a tragic bus accident during the 1986 European leg of the tour. Back to the Front is both a tribute to Burton’s memory, and a visual documentation of one of the most important times in metal history.
$39.99, available at metallica.com.
— Michael Christopher
