Murder in the Front Row

In the 1980s, the San Francisco Bay Area was heaven for hardcore headbangers. Shunning Hollywood hairspray and image in favor of a more dangerous street appeal, the Bay Area thrash metal scene was home to "Exodus," "Metallica," "Testament," "Possessed," "Death Angel," "Heathen," "Vio-Lence," "Attitude Adjustment," Forbidden," and "Blind Illusion" and served as a second home to like-minded similar bands like "Slayer," "Mercyful Fate," "Anthrax," "Megadeth," and more. Beginning as teenagers taking snapshots of visiting heavy metal bands during the 1970s, Brian "Umlaut" Lew and Harald "O." Oimoen documented the birth and growth of the local metal scene. Featuring hundreds of unseen live and candid color and black-and-white photographs, Murder in the Front Row captures the wild-eyed zeal and drive that made "Metallica," "Slayer," and "Megadeth" into legends, with over 100 million combined records sold. "