Im the Man, Scott Ian
Im the Man, Scott Ian
4 Rating(s)
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

I'm the Man
The Story of That Guy from Anthrax

Author: Scott Ian, Jon Wiederhorn, Kirk Hammett

Narrator: Scott Ian

Unabridged: 11 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/25/2017

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

From founding member and guitarist of the heavy metal band Anthrax comes a personal reflection of his life and the moments that led him to his role as a staple in rock history.​

I'm the Man is the fast-paced, humorous, and revealing memoir from the man who co-founded Anthrax, the band that proved to the masses that brutality and fun didn't have to be mutually exclusive. Through various lineup shifts, label snafus, rock 'n' roll mayhem, and unforeseen circumstances galore, Scott Ian has approached life and music with a smile, viewing the band with deadly seriousness while recognizing the ridiculousness of the entertainment industry. Always performing with abundant energy that revealed his passion for his craft, Ian has never let the gravity of being a rock star go to his shaven, goateed head.

Ian tells his life story with a clear-eyed honesty that spares no one, least of all himself, starting with his upbringing as a nerdy Jewish boy in Queens and evolving through his first musical epiphany when he saw KISS live on television and realized what he wanted to do with his life. He chronicles his adolescence growing up in a dysfunctional home where the records blasting on his stereo failed to drown out the sound of his parents shouting at one another. He sets down the details of his fateful escape into the turbulent world of heavy metal. And of course he lays bare the complete history of Anthrax -- from the band's formation to their present-day reinvigoration -- as they wrote and recorded thrash classics like Spreading the Disease, Among the Living, and the top-twenty-charting State of Euphoria.

Along the way, Ian recounts harrowing, hysterical tales from his long tour of duty in the world of hard rock. He witnesses the rise of Metallica, for which he had a front row seat. He parties with the late Dimebag Darrell while touring with Pantera and gets wild with Black Label Society frontman and longtime Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde. He escapes detection while interviewing Ozzy for "The Rock Show" while dressed as Gene Simmons and avoids arrest after getting detained on suspicion of drugs while riding the tube in England with the late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton.

In addition, I'm the Man addresses the trials and tribulations of Ian's life and loves. He admits his foibles and reveals the mistakes made along the way to becoming a fully-functioning adult. He celebrates finally finding peace and a true sense of family with his wife, singer/songwriter Pearl Aday, and examines how his world changed after the birth of their first son.

I'm the Man is a blistering hard rock memoir, one that is astonishing in its candor and deftly told by the man who's kept the institution of Anthrax alive for more than thirty years.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ashley on June 15, 2016

I was first introduced to Anthrax exactly 3 years ago when I saw them live at a festival. Shame on me, I had never heard their music before and I probably never would have if they hadn't of been playing right before another band I wanted to see. I fell in love with Anthrax the moment the first song......more

Goodreads review by Michael on March 31, 2019

I’m not really able to write this review without a bit of autobiographical background for context. I am lucky to have grown up in one of the most exciting times in rock music history. Born in 1964, the year the Beatles first hit American shores, I was washed in sounds from the time I was little. My......more

Goodreads review by Honorata on August 05, 2018

It took me quite a while to read it, but I don't mind. I loved every word here. The way Scott talks about the past makes me wanna be there and experience it all. And I am an introvert.... I am not doing crazy things like that. The history of Anthrax and thrash metal in general is very interesting. I......more

Goodreads review by Michael on March 29, 2015

I have always been a huge Anthrax fan and was excited as hell to read this book. As a fan it peels back the curtain a bit and gives you the full story or at least Scott's version of them. This is the good, the bad, and the ugly. The answers to a lot of questions have finally been answered except fo......more

Goodreads review by Cathal on February 02, 2023

Awesome Aptly titled from an Anthrax song, Scott Ian was and is definitely the man where this band are concerned. Never as commercially successful as the others in the thrash era of the eighties but still a great band back in the day. Scott Ian not only recalls his humble beginnings but recounts all......more


Quotes

Jabby, gabby, and metal-obsessed...exhilarating.—New York Times

Scott writes with real honesty...I'm the Man stands up as a great insight into one of metal's leading figures. And you don't have to be a thrash or rock fan to enjoy it—Jewish Telegraph

Eye-opening...The hard-charging head-banger has assembled his best anecdotes into the revealing autobiography...For every familiar factoid, Ian introduces two or three new nuggets even diehard Anthrax fans probably don't know...Despite the shenanigans and chicanery of Ian's teens and twenties, the man who emerges here is surprisingly level-headed and articulate.—Cleveland Music Examiner.com