Electric Wizards

JR Moores is resident psych-rock columnist for both The Quietus and Record Collector, and his work has also appeared in The Wire, The Guardian, Bandcamp Daily and Vice.

"Simultaneously hilarious, provocative and sensitive; wildly entertaining while always getting to the heart of the matter . . . Just take my goddamned bitcoin already." - John Doran, The Quietus"The landscape of heavy music is vast, its existence is ever evolving. There is no better person to explore its dynamic terrain than JR Moores." - Matt Baty, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs"JR Moores covers a rich landscape of sounds . . . What’s more, he achieves a rare feat in rock criticism of saying something fresh and interesting about The Beatles." - Dan Franklin, author of HEAVY: How Metal Changes the Way We See the World"This book will open a wormhole in your brain." - Joe Thompson, Hey Colossus"A depth-charge exploration to the bloodied heart of heavy. Essential, energetic writing – JR Moores is the netherworld guide we always needed." - Harry Sword, author of Monolithic Undertow: In Search of Sonic Oblivion"An enthrallingly funny read, and one that’s hard to put down despite its girth." - Record Collector"Electric Wizards is a superbly written book about what JR Moores calls “heavy music”. Not heavy metal, heavy music, which he persuasively and wittily argues includes musical artists as diverse as, for instance, Black Sabbath, Babes in Toyland, Funkadelic and all kinds of bands and singers in between . . . Fed up with the bland musical fare offered up by radio and “music tv” this is the book for you, and once you hear doors slamming and the neighbours banging on your walls you pretty much know you’re in the presence of heavy music - just make sure JR Moores is there to guide you." - The Crack"As a compendium of leap-off points, Electric Wizards is a mind-riot . . . Heavy music has deserved its own tome but the only thing heavy about his book is its weight – its tone and style are illuminatingly light and wonderfully convivial throughout. Someone get Electric Wizards on the national music curriculum now." - Neil Kulkarni, The Wire

• PrefaceIntroduction1 The Prehistory2 Sabbath Phase I: Black Sabbath3 Acid Rock and Beyond4 Funk5 The 1970s Experimental European Underground6 Punk Rock: The Non-Heavy Genre that was Vital for Heaviness7 Industrial Rock8 Noise Rock9 Sabbath Phase II: Melvins’ Gluey Porch Treatments10 The Global Impact of Napalm Death’s Scum11 The Late 1980s and Early 1990s Pre-Grunge Underground12 TAD: The Heaviest and Least Celebrated Grunge Band13 Steve Albini: Heavy-duty Engineer14 Sabbath Phase III: Earth, Sleep, Electric Wizard and Other Assorted Stoners15 The Nadir: The Late 1990s and Early 2000s16 The 2000s Noise Scene17 Post-rock and Post-metal18 Sabbath Phase IV: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs and the Modern Heavy Underground19 Never Say DieReferencesFurther ReadingSelect DiscographyAcknowledgementsPhoto AcknowledgementsIndex