Beginning with the hugely influential mid-1970s efforts of Rush and King Crimson, Wagner unfurls a huge tapestry of sounds and styles, including Queensryche, Fates Warning, and Dream Theater; extreme prog pioneers Voivod and Celtic Frost; Norway’s post-black metal avant garde acts Ulver and Arcturus; and the 1990s global movement that spawned Ayreon, Pain of Salvation, and others.Fighting a tide of tradition and conservatism, progressive metal has proven to be one of the most viable, malleable forms in all of modern music; here its preeminent scholar tells the tale.

    An electrifying live performer, superb writer, and virtuosic vocalist, he has successfully bridged two musical worlds that usually have little use for each other--commercial country and its alternative/Americana/roots-rocking counterpart. Defying the label "too country for rock, too rock for country," Yoakam has triumphed while many of his peers have had to settle for cult acceptance. Four decades into his career, he has sold more than 25 million records and continues to tour regularly, with an extremely loyal fan base.In Dwight Yoakam, award-winning music journalist Don McLeese offers the first musical biography of this acclaimed artist. Tracing the seemingly disparate influences in Yoakam's music, McLeese shows how he has combined rock and roll, rockabilly, country, blues, and gospel into a seamless whole. In particular, McLeese explores the essential issue of "authenticity" and how it applies to Yoakam, as well as to country music and popular culture in general. Drawing on wide-ranging interviews with Yoakam and his management, while also benefitting from the perspectives of others closely associated with his musical success (including producer-guitarist Pete Anderson, Yoakam's partner throughout his most popular and creative decades), Dwight Yoakam pays tribute to the musician who has established himself as a visionary beyond time, an artist who could title an album Tomorrow's Sounds Today and deliver it.

    On their travels, Edward works to overcome the challenge of reintegrating with his siblings and parents. They try to work together in search of a brighter future, all feel the strain of losing their home and livelihood. Edward is not the same boy as when he left home and must balance his hard-fought independence with his role as brother and son.Despite optimism for the future and escaping the destruction of Azalon, a dark threat looms over the family’s hope of rebuilding. Edward’s skills continue to progress, but will it be enough to protect the family’s fragile beginnings? Overcoming his own fears and personal demons is the biggest challenge Edward must face as he chooses a future with his family, or one of an adventurer.

    Constricted by the rigid rules of the East End orphanage she is brought up in, she escapes to dazzling streets of Soho where she is adopted by a group of prostitutes. Soon enough, she too is earning her living 'on the game'.When Billy 'Apples' Rafferty, a Cockney villain with a heart of gold, becomes her protector, Sue swears to give up her racy life. But when Billy is sent to prison, she soon breaks her promise and her earthy beauty makes her one of Soho's most popular hostesses.When a lucky encounter secures Susan a respectable job as a manageress of a small hotel in Devon, things finally seem to be going her way. But then her past catches up with her . . .

    Settle down in a magical place that time forgot, where the snow glistens on the frosty ground, the fairy-lights glow like magical stars in the trees and romance blossoms against all the odds.When the new vicar and his family move to Dream Valley just before Christmas, they need a lot of help.Local playboy, the gorgeous Brad Hudson, takes one look at the vicar’s daughter and, he is the first in line.He will do anything to win Dolly’s heart, but having heard of his reputation, her father has other ideas and does everything in his power to tear them apart.Not used to having to work for love, Brad tries his best but he has never come up against a protective father quite like Scott Macmillan.Ex special forces soldier, turned military vicar, he proves a tough adversary.Brad is determined to make Dolly fall in love with him and rises to the challenge until her father reveals his trump card, leaving Brad and Dolly battling to stay together.Will love blossom under the starry skies of winter or will the vicar have his prayers answered and keep his daughter’s heart safe?Curl up with a sweet, delightful romance to brighten your day and discover an array of quirky characters in a place where magic happens and dreams come true.

    An army from the depths of hell comes with her.In the heavens above, a seraph with more ambition than the heavens can contain is coming to confront her.The Sacred Seas have become a playground for forces beyond their power to contend with. In the war between the Heavens and the Hells, only one man can stand for humanity.But Darren is a keen sword forged in Hell. Growing up fighting demons for as long as he could remember, he is a naked blade that cuts down all in his path. This paladin of the sword must become a shield to guard what he holds dear.Now the King of Limedeep and with new friends to protect, Darren must learn to protect what he holds dear.And he'd best learn fast, for both the heavens and the hells are whispering his name.

    So real, you might wind up in another world. A LitRPG / GameLit adventure full of monsters, portals, loot, and leveling up. Tobias Martin is one of the best gamers in the world, playing the most advanced game ever created. When a mysterious portal in the game appears, he enters a new world of magic that's more real than he ever could have imagined. Forced to start from scratch, he must build himself back up to a top level adventurer if he ever wants to get home again. Along the way, he will explore a world full of wonder and danger, meet new friends, slay terrifying monsters, and level up like his life depends on it. Because it does. Can Tobias survive the most epic adventure he has ever encountered? Otherworlder is the first book in the Epic Blade series. If you like fast-paced fantasy adventures with RPG gaming elements, you are going to love Epic Blade.

    She does, however, get along great with her grandmother. When her grandmother dies, Elsa is devastated. Granny left Elsa with the task of delivering letters to different people whose past she wanted Elsa to understand. Woven into the plot of My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry are the fairy tales that Granny had told Elsa over the years. It is up to Elsa to connect the dots and understand which fantasy character from the Land of Almost Awake is represented by whom in real life.  Features You'll Discover Inside: • 30 Multiple choice questions on the book, plots, characters and author • Insightful commentary to answer every question • Complementary quiz material for yourself or your reading group • Results provided with scores to determine "status" Why you'll love Trivia-On-Books Trivia-On-Booksis an independently quiz-formatted trivia to your favorite books readers, students, and fans alike can enjoy. Whether you're looking for new materials or simply can't get enough of your favorite book, Trivia-On-Booksis an unofficial solution to provide a unique approach that is both insightful and educational. Promising quality and value, don't hesitate to grab your copy of Trivia-on-Books!

    Yet now, more than 20 years after its founders symbolically “destroyed” it, Sarah is among the most passionately fetishized record labels of all time. Its rare releases command hundreds of dollars, devotees around the world hungrily seek out any information they can find about its poorly documented history, and young musicians-some of them not yet born when Sarah shut down-claim its bands (such as Blueboy, the Field Mice, Heavenly, and the Wake) as major influences.Featuring dozens of exclusive interviews with the music-makers, producers, writers and assorted eyewitnesses who played a part in Sarah's eight-year odyssey, Popkiss: The Life and Afterlife of Sarah Records is the first authorised biography of an unlikely cult legend.

    The life of an international DJ playing at the most exotic destinations worldwide, in the most precarious of psychic circumstances, is rich to the point of toxicity. A globally-known DJ choosing to keep his identity secret takes us on a journey into the heart of life lived in the hedonistic fast lane of club culture for 30 years. Whether playing to 10,000 fans in Ibiza or in a local pub function room, this is a cautionary tale for the rave generation whose days of pills, thrills, and bellyaches are behind them. It may, as well, contain advice: though we cannot advise that it is always followed.This book is not an instruction manual - more a cautionary tale that may illuminate anyone who has harboured ambition to pack a dancefloor...

    A faint, swirling effect intensifies with each bass kick and, by the eighth one, the ears have prepped themselves for the metal mayhem they are about to receive. When it all drops, and the joyous onslaught of a hundred guitars is finally realized, you'll have to forgive your ears for being duped into a false sense of security, because it's that second intensified drop a few seconds later — the one where yet more guitars manifest and Andrew W.K. slam-plants his vocal flag by screaming the song's titular line — that really floods the brain with endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and whatever else formulates invincibility.Polished to a bright overdubbed-to-oblivion sheen, the party-preaching I Get Wet didn't capture the zeitgeist of rock at the turn of the century; it captured the timelessness of youth, as energized, awesome, and unapologetically stupid as ever. With insights from friends and unprecedented help from the mythological maniac himself — whose sermon and pop sensibilities continue to polarize — this book chronicles the sound's evolution, uncovers the relevance of Steev Mike, and examines how Andrew W.K.'s inviting, inclusive lyrics create the ultimate shared experience between artist and audience.

    

    Few could or would have predicted that the improvised raps and raw beats busting out of New York City's urban underclass would one day become a multimillion-dollar business and one of music's most lucrative genres. Among those few were two visionaries: Russell Simmons, a young black man from Hollis, Queens, and Rick Rubin, a Jewish kid from Long Island. Though the two came from different backgrounds, their all-consuming passion for hip-hop brought them together. Soon they would revolutionize the music industry with their groundbreaking label, Def Jam Records. Def Jam, Inc. traces the company's incredible rise from the NYU dorm room of nineteen-year-old Rubin (where LL Cool J was discovered on a demo tape) to the powerhouse it is today; from financial struggles and scandals-including The Beastie Boys's departure from the label and Rubin's and Simmons's eventual parting-to revealing anecdotes about artists like Slick Rick, Public Enemy, Foxy Brown, Jay-Z, and DMX. Stacy Gueraseva, former editor in chief of Russell Simmons's magazine, Oneworld, had access to the biggest players on the scene, and brings you real conversations and a behind-the-scenes look from a decade-and a company-that turned the music world upside down. She takes you back to New York in the '80s, when late-night spots such as Danceteria and Nell's were burning with young, fresh rappers, and Simmons and Rubin had nothing but a hunch that they were on to something huge. Far more than just a biography of the two men who made it happen, Def Jam, Inc. is a journey into the world of rap itself. Both an intriguing business history as well as a gritty narrative, here is the definitive book on Def Jam-a must read for any fan of hip-hop as well as all popular-culture junkies.

    You'll follow his intensely personal journey through big breaks and broken dreams, desperate dashboard prayers, and limelight glories. Along the way, you'll find the same constant source of strength that he has--hope that is powerful enough to hold you up through whatever trials come your way.

    In this account of his life, the author has examined every detail of the driver's life - from his very earliest days to the last hours of his existence - as well as the lives of those he left behind.