Dear friends, the moment is here - Kniha kovu penned by Václav Votruba is today officially published by MetalGate Records! On 285 pages awaits you a journey into the history of Czech black, death and thrash metal through the eyes of those, who guided the evolution of these.

On the global metal map, black metal is inherently connected to Scandinavia, death or nu-metal with America, post-metal with France and Benelux. And what about Czech Republic? Although it does not have similarly dominant standing within worldwide metal, metal as a musical genre has here its tradition and history, its notable figures and bands, its fans and supporters, so even though it may not be visible at the first glance, we Czechs have nothing to be ashamed of. Such is the standpoint through which Václav Votruba penned his second literary work entitled Kniha kovu – část 1 (Book of Metal – part 1), which is now published by MetalGate Records.

As the title suggests, it is the first installment of a planned series that endeavors to map the evolution of Czech metal scene from its inception to present days. And it does so in a way that is specific for two main reasons. First, do not expect a general history of Czech metal, for Kniha kovu structures the historical probe vis-á-vis the individual metal subgenres. Second, do not expect the usual, and somewhat dry, historical narrative, for Kniha kovu leaves it mainly to those, who were there when it went on.

In the first part of Kniha kovu, you will thereby keep track of the local history of black, death and thrash metal, or rather you will live it through the opinions and memories of the scene’s notable figures, be that musicians or journalists. It is thus a living past, accessible simultaneously to those interested in how it went on back then, as well as to those who lived through it themselves.

On Kniha kovu, Václav joined forces with another notable person from the local scene, namely with Tomáš F. Hanzl, the frontman of ANTIGOD and formerly of ISACAARUM, who took care of typesetting and the book visuals in general.

Complete press release available here.