This is basically a collection of recipes given by a number of metal bands – big names (Guns N’ Roses, Poison), bands I’d never heard of, and everything in-between. The book’s format is simple and effective : a paragraph introducing the band and its style of music, with links to their website, myspace and facebook page, and then, the band’s recipe(s).

In the e-book version, the hyperlinks are quite cleverly done. The book starts with two clickable tables of contents that take you directly to each band’s section, or to a recipe. The recipe list is ordered by type of food: Breakfast, Sauces, Main Dishes (with Fish, Burgers (!), Chicken, Meat and Vegetarian subsections), Dessert, etc. There is a wide range of recipes, which I’d classify into 4 different categories (with some overlap): 1) comedy dishes (beer, beer and more beer), 2) recipes for non-cooks (most burger recipes, dishes of the “boil pasta, add ready-made sauce and a handful of olives” type), 3) recipes that require a modicum of motivation/skill, and 4) “cheffy” recipes (anything from Mary and the Black Lamb). Most are in categories 2) and 3).

This book is good for a laugh and is – I think – an effective promoting tool for bands. Its introductions had all the right info and were really good at getting me to check out the music, which is easily done via the links provided. In a number of cases, I was a lot more curious about the bands’ music than about their cuisine, which truth be told, didn’t always sound appealing! Unsurprisingly, this is a book for metalheads rather than for foodies. ( )

About five minutes into reading this, I had an "of course!" moment, when I put together the title with the content of the book.
Clearly, I didn't know what I was getting into when I applied for this book through the Early Reviewers program.
Despite my ignorance, I enjoyed reading "For Those About To Cook".
I enjoy cooking, and have been known to waste too much time watching the Cooking Channel, MKR and MasterChef. And here I have a collection of tried and true recipes with real person/celebrity heritage.
As well as interesting recipes, "For Those About To Cook" gives a interesting insight into the backgrounds and lives of many metal bands, most of whom were completely new to me. To be honest, metal is not my music of choice, but I have made a point of seeking out online many of the bands in the book, and sampling their music.
I'd like to get my hands on a copy of the physical book, to see the many photos of the bands off-stage and in the kitchen.
I found "For Those About To Cook" a surprisingly interesting colelction of metal band backgrounds and recipes.
Finally, let me say this collection of recipes is far superior to the WWE recipe book I came across some years ago (don't ask). ButI must ask Bruce, "Why are there no recipes from Devolved?" ( )

Finally received my E-Book of For Those About to Cook Pure Metal and it was tasty. This collection of recipes from various heavy metal bands is a fun addition to any music loving cooks arsenal of cookbooks. Most of the bands featured in the book were completely unfamiliar to me but cooking is practically second nature. Each of the bands was given a very short summary of where they formed and what influenced them. It would have been nice to have a more in depth interview of each band, especially for those who don't normally follow the heavy metal genre. This is not a biography of bands, instead it is a glimpse of the food that keep the bands nourished and a new way to humanize them to the listeners. Some of the recipes have a little background info or commentary from the contribute but most are simply good food presented in a different way. Being a cook I can work with the lack of instructions but novices may find some recipes frustrating to follow. Go ahead and taste the flavors from various regions and enjoy a peek into the world of metal. ( )

I wasn't sure what to expect with this - what exactly do metal bands cook and eat? One expects vast kegs of beer and possibly elk slain by hand, but that's probably not practical when touring. At any rate, I was pleased to see a wide range of recipes from a diverse assortment of bands. Hilariously, there were a lot of salads, even some vegan dishes, and comfort foods like pancakes and muffins.

Each recipe came with a short description of the band, which was a nice way to learn about groups I'd never heard of. There's quite an international collection here, and the bands span a variety of genres. They also have many different approaches to writing the recipes - some are remarkably straight forward and simple, while others really get into the metal spirit of things. Overall, it's a pretty entertaining read. The one downside of the grab-bag style of submissions is that the formatting is all over the place. Sometimes you get a recipe that's clearly laid out, while others are nothing but a huge block of text. Some editing for consistency would have been helpful.

I haven't had a chance to actually make any of the dishes yet, but I think I would, which is a plus; sometimes a novelty cookbook like this is just gimmick and doesn't result in anything an everyday person would really eat. But this certainly has potential and I'm looking forward to trying some of the recipes. ( )

I received this ebook as an early review for Library Thing.

I liked this cookbook, and thought it included unique, yet easy and (sometimes) healthy recipes. Since all the recipes are provided by rock stars, I was expecting tawdry and funny, and some of them were. Any band that provided an innuendo for their recipe, gets bonus points - i.e. "Art of the Choke." There was a recipe for muffins, which struck me as tame, coming from a metal band. I much preferred the awesome dessert title of "RAWkstar cheesecake."

My only complaint is that I was expecting photos of the stars with their finished dish, but I understand for an ebook, it's hard for a large file to be downloaded. It looks like the print version does include pictures. Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I will probably try a few of the recipes. ( )