LSC Heavy Metal Archive

The Collection of Heavy Metal Music Material (Collection 2269) is a group of books, documentary films, sound recordings, magazines, and archival material which includes biographies and autobiographies of members of Kiss, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Megadeth, Black Sabbath, Twisted Sister, lamb of god, Anthrax, and others. The books also contain histories of the genre, collections of album cover art, a study of metal’s role among Muslim fans, as well as considerations of race and gender in the fan culture. There is even a heavy metal cookbook called Hellbent for Cooking. The collection boasts more than six hundred flyers promoting metal shows in the Bay area and around Los Angeles, dating from about 1980 to 2000, at such venues as the Troubadour, the Roxy Theatre, Gazzarri's, Chuck Landis's Country Club, The Stone, The Omni, and Mabuhay Gardens. Bands as diverse as Poison, Faster Pussycat, The Lovedolls, Saint Vitus, LA Guns, Taz, Metallica, Slayer, Leathur Panteez, Death Angel, Flotsam & Jetsam, Wendy O. Williams, Body Count, Armored Saint, and Primus are represented. The collection's battle vest, adorned with 24 patches of various bands' logos by a long-time metal fan, is a favorite of UCLA Library Special Collections staff, researchers, and students.

We no longer actively collect materials that relate to this music genre and culture.