152 pages hardcover. Language: german
As the title suggests, this book is about dark music - black metal, the Middle Ages and human abysses: 16-year-old Hella is forced to move with her parents to a deadly boring country town. When she tries to translate a song by the Swedish black metal band BATHORY, her cell phone breaks. A series of bizarre events follow, driving Hella to the edge of endurance as she falls into the clutches of a madwoman...
In "Hella im Black-Metal-Land", Als leben tries to take us back to the roots of black metal with its very own, pictorial language full of symbolism, in which mysticism, darkness, the occult Middle Ages, the Inquisition and death were the focus and not war-glorifying militarism, right-wing uniforms or Nazi runes as with many bands of National Socialist Black Metal (NSBM for short). That's why the book is also a tribute to the former icons and founders of the original black metal from the 90s, namely Quorthon (Bathory), Dead and Euronymous (both deceased members of the band Mayhem), who were anything but Nazis. The mystical style, the old mantics and impressionistic nature myths play a major role in "Hella in Black Metal Land". The author pursues a nature-describing visual language that seems almost ancient and establishes historical references by partly relocating the plot to Schächtitz Castle in 16th century Slovakia, where the notorious blood countess Elisabeth Bathory lived.
About the author:
Abo Alsleben - hedonistic bon vivant from Leipzig-Connewitz. He is musically active in the punk rock band S.U.F.F. - the two-time Guinness Book record holders. His books include: "Tschüss Deutschland", "Ahoi Connewitz" and "Punkrock Hooliganz" - the three novels are a tribute to the Leipzig district of Connewitz and its alternative inhabitants. In 2020, his book "Mayhem live in Leipzig - Wie ich den Black Metal nach Ostdeutschland brachte" was published by Bookra-Verlag. This was followed by "Der letzte Punk" about Otze and Schleimkeim.
