MURDER IN THE FRONT ROW: Brian Lew’s Whiplash Zine Makeover for Metallica’s Fan Mag

MURDER IN THE FRONT ROW coauthor Brian Lew has a place in Metallica history as one of the band’s very first boosters and chroniclers, dating back even prior to their move to his hometown Bay Area. In ye olde metal days, his main outlet for documenting the heavy musical revolution was his carefully constructed, painstakingly “curated,” and relentlessly honest mag Whiplash.

In 2006, Lew wrote a cover story for Metallica’s fan club mag So What! about how those self-published periodicals connecte...