Atlatl Press, 160 pages, paperback, $9.95

Almost every subculture has a novel or author that immediately comes to mind when it’s discussed. Junkies have Tony O’Neill and Jerry Stahl, folks from The Ozarks have Daniel Woodrell, and rich housewives with nothing to do can always reread Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, to name a few. Now, finally, death metal has its own book, and it’s actually a trilogy: Dean Swinford’s Death Metal Epic.

Book One: The Inverted Katabasis introduces readers to David Fosberg, guitar player for Miamian death metal band Valhalla and employee at Booksalot. David, also know as Azrael when he’s on stage, dreams of a future full of music and tours.Valhalla is under contract with Plutonic Records and the band owes them a second album. Unfortunately for David, the rest of the guys in the band decide to quit. A guy from Plutonic Records keeps reminding him on the phone that the band has to deliver. If they do, the label will send them on a two-week European tour to promote it.

Then David meets Juan, a fellow musician with a knack for weird clothes and an idea for an album based on the cyclicality of the Ouroboros. They get together and record an album under the name Katabasis. Even though it’s not exactly the death metal album Plutonic expected, they like it and decide to send Katabasis to Europe. The tour quickly turns into a depressing experience: Katabasis seems to be unlucky enough to always be in the shadow of Metallica, Juan is a cheapskate, and David’s savings are constantly decreasing. Then Nekrokor shows up and offers David a change, a new label, and a future. The only catch is that he needs to sign the contract in blood.

The first installment of Death Metal Epic is all about what its title implies: death metal. The narrative is full of the music, the clichés, the art, the subculture. Swinford possesses an academic knowledge of the genre, and his writing is both a satire and an homage. The author has torn open the death metal beast and exposed to readers the inner workings of independent labels, reviewing, zines, album cover art, and small-time tours. However, the most enjoyable parts of the narrative are those in which Swinford deconstructs the genre itself. From the characteristic growling vocals and heavily distorted guitars to its sometimes Lovecraftian discourse and ennui-laden lyrics, everything that death metal is, the good, the bad, the amazing, and the ludicrous, is detailed and discussed with a mix of heart and humor that makes it hard to stop reading.

While Swinford’s knowledge is a treat, what makes this a superb first book in what will hopefully end up being the definitive trilogy about death metal is its plot and main character. David is a likable guy with no luck who embarks on a tour that’s doomed from the get-go. The tougher things get, the more likable he becomes. Keeping readers interested in David is great because it means that they will keep an eye out for the second installment.

Death metal lovers will find plenty in Death Metal Epic that will make them bang their head and throw their horns up. However, those that don’t know or don’t care about the difference between heavy metal, death metal, and deathcore will also find this a very entertaining read, and might even learn something from it.

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Gabino Iglesias is writer, journalist, and book reviewer living in Austin, TX. He’s the author of Gutmouth and a few other things no one will ever read. You can find him on Twitter at @Gabino_Iglesias.