From quasi-Motorhead tribute act to one of the biggest rock ’n’ roll bands on the planet, the Metallica story has been crying out for a proper telling which it finally gets courtesy of this meticulously researched biog. While sometimes a bit too anoraky for its own good – do we really need to know the line-up of Jason Newsted’s school band? - it doesn’t shy away from contentious issues like James Hetfield’s boorish redneckery or their bullying of fan websites. The band do their bit too with Kirk Hammett sufficiently trusting of McIver to reveal that a neighbour not only sexually abused him but his dog.