Not Just Tits in a Corset: A Celebration of Women in Metal Book By Jill Hughs Kirtland - wwvv.jillkirtiand.com Review by Jeff Black - 3.5/5 Dragons Earlier this year, Pennsylvanian journalist Jill Hughs Kirtland won big and doubled her money in an IndieGogo campaign to produce this book. Armed with 140 full-colour pages, three billion words of wisdom from matriarch Doro Pesch and the most flippant title since 'Prcking and Punching', Kirtland seems ready to tear down barriers, forcibly extricate the narrow-minded from whatever rocks they've been hiding under, and illuminate the globe with the glare of CELEBRATING ::*;;;Lw. IN META L burning bras. It would be really easy to use this review as a vehicle to air my opinions on feminism and push some sort of agenda, but that's not what I'm about. That's not what Not Just Tits in a Corset is about either. It's about good vibes, sharing stories, and positive messages and... well, not much else.
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The book is organized into chapters including Triumphs, Challenges, Inspirations and so on, with the meat of each chapter consisting of interview snippets from the various contributors. There's a pretty wide variety of ladies accounted for, including mistresses of the olde guard (Chastain, Hellion, Bitch, Girlschool, etc) along with the classical queens from Nightwish, After Forever, Epica, and more. The extreme end of the spectrum gets a bit of love from Arch Enemy, Holy Moses and Sigh. It ain't just about pretty voices; instrumentalists from Eluveitie, Pathfinder and Blackguard pop in once in a while as well as a plethora of women from across the industry, from photographers to sound engineers. I felt that the 80's broads had some of the stronger quotes, like this gem: "I remember early on at shows when I saw females in the audience, I'd try to bring them in so they'd get it. I don't want to f*ck him, I want to be him." - Leather Leone (Chastain) Other highlights include a harrowing backstage tale from Ann Boleyn, conflict over album art featuring Delain, and a round-table where everyone takes the piss out of Revolver's "Hottest Women in Metal" smut-fest. For those seeking an intellectual experience regarding sexism within the music industry and/or a study of sexuality and heavy metal, this isn't it. Most of the interviews are anecdotal bites, and the cutting-room structure of the book only gives the gals so much room to expand on what ideas they have. At its best, the contributors offer funny or empowering stories, background info on the featured dames and a few nuggets of wisdom on getting into the industry itself. At its worst, it reads like a gossip column. It's pricey too: physical copies start at $50 for softcover, $60 for hardcover. Ebook version sits at a reasonable $7. Overall, this is a feel-good coffee table book that's got nice message for distressed and demoralized damsels, lost and confused lasses, and pretty much anyone needing a wordy reminder that there's a place for everyone in this little niche. Gender roles got you down? Give it a look. Girrrrrl power! 20 VandaiaMagazine.COM - April 2014