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Hell Bent for Leather: Confessions of a Heavy Metal Addict

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Seb Hunter was a heavy metal fan and he's not proud. In fact, he was more than a fan; he was a blind devotee who threw away his education and future prospects to become a rock star. Hell Bent for Leather is his toe-curlingly funny confession of fifteen years spent trying to hit the big time -- taking readers on a (very loud) musical journey from first guitar (his dad's) to first gig, and on through groupies, girlfriends, too many drugs, spiraling egos, musical differences, and, finally, the end of the dream and a much needed haircut. Along the way, Seb offers a crash course in the way of heavy metal, with choice illustrations. You will learn to spot a Fender Telecaster from a Gibson Flying V, Thrash Metal from Glam Metal, and "the Priest" from "the Gunners." Hell Bent for Leather , with a wink and a nod, will also show you how to play a drum solo, wear spandex and white leather sneakers, and exactly what to do in the middle of a muddy field when you are surrounded by a mob of screaming metalheads and you desperately need to relieve yourself. But Seb Hunter's memoir, more than anything, is a moving story of adolescence, of playing air guitar in your bedroom, of living with parental disapproval, and of struggling for acceptance among friends when you carry a shameful secret obsession. It is an affectionate and irreverent memoir told with the nostalgia inspired by a love letter to an old flame.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

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Seb Hunter

6 books8 followers

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5 stars
145 (27%)
4 stars
191 (36%)
3 stars
129 (24%)
2 stars
41 (7%)
1 star
13 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
9 reviews1 follower
May 5, 2010
This guy is pretty much a douche but the book is still funny. I was going to give him two stars but I just remembered that he called motley crue "shit" so he gets only one star from me.
Profile Image for Paisley McClellan.
12 reviews
December 4, 2008
I just loaned this to someone in Sarasota who never gave it back before I moved! Seb Hunter is to Chuck Klosterman as Johnny Carson is to Ryan Seacrest He reminds anyone who lived through the hair metal '80s just how ridiculous it all was while managing to paint an endearing portrait of an awkward teenager with a guitar and a dream. Plus, he's British so he's awesome.
Profile Image for Eh?Eh!.
393 reviews4 followers
December 30, 2007
hilarious! a memoir of a time that must be cringe-inducing for the author now but at the time was so serious and important to him, all with dry british wit, interspersed with a metal primer. i now know the correct way to dress metal, and the 6 steps of putting on a metal show (actual playing is last).
Profile Image for East Bay J.
633 reviews24 followers
February 20, 2012
Seb Hunter’s Hell Bent For Leather rules. It really does. It’s the kind of story that has all the requisite chills and thrills (and spills) but is told in a light hearted, witty, non self important/indulgent/loathing voice that keeps it well away from being an irritating struggle to get through. At times, it is nothing short of hilarious, though it may be less hilarious to those who have never done their time in the world of metal.

Metal is funny. No, seriously, it’s super funny. Trust me. There are those who take it 100% seriously but the rest of us, whether we love it or hate it, know damn well metal is a three ring circus laugh riot. It looks funny, it smells funny, it acts funny, ergo it is funny. Hunter has tapped into that hilarity and rather subtly detailed it in all its glory.

Metal fans are funny, too. They like to argue about what is and isn’t metal. Like, years ago, if Hunter and I were sitting in a pub, I might ask what metal he is into and he might say Dogs D’Amour, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and KISS. I would respond that I do not think of any of those bands as metal at all but more as hard rock. He might then ask what metal bands I am into, in which case I would list off Iron Maiden, High On Fire, Cirith Ungol, Celtic Frost, Slayer, etc. He would get why I questioned his list of bands but would not give a hoot and would ask me something funny and British like, “What about the ‘DC?” I would reply, “AY CEE DEE CEE is a rock ‘n’ roll band and please don’t call them “the ‘DC;” it sounds like some stupid teen TV show.” And so it would go.

I’m not saying I support or subscribe to the notion of genrefication. In fact, I am opposed to it. One of the great beauties of music is that it’s there for you to define and enjoy. Or not.

Hunter does address his more or less open ended way of defining “metal” in a pretty metal sort of way: “If you think I’m being free and easy with my heavy metal tagline, I don’t care. It’s how artists were perceived by metal fans that’s important here, not what their music actually sounded like.” Yes. Just so.

What Hunter gets very right is the passion, indeed the obsession, that metal fans have for their music. That, for me, is one of the best things about this book. Metal fans like their bands and often hate your bands (especially if they dress differently than their bands) and they’re decidedly unconcerned with the logic (or lack thereof) in their opinions and statements. It’s a very adolescent mentality but it’s also extremely entertaining to overhear at your local watering hole.

“Slayer sold out after Reign In Blood, man.”

“No way! South Of Heaven is awesome!”

“Okay, it’s not bad, but it’s no Reign In Blood.”

“Dude, nothing is Reign In Blood except Reign In Blood. At least they’re not as bad as Metallica.”

“Yeah, man, Metallica betrayed their fans! Those guys are pussies!”

“Too bad Cliff died, man. He would never have put up with the crap these guys have pulled.”

“CLIIIIIIIFF!”

It’s awesome. It really is.

So I read Confessions from an increasingly adolescent metal head point of view, up to the point it became more a memoir than a book about heavy metal (dirty trick, there, Hunter) and it was really fun. I’m not kidding. Like, he calls Anthrax the “U2 of metal.” And I was, like, "Excuse me? What the f*ck did you just say? The U f*cking 2 of f*cking metal? I don’t think so, sailor!" Like that, see? It’s fun to get all riled up! Made me feel sixteen again.

The glam metal thing, though. To me, that’s an oxymoron, like “military intelligence” or “music business.” I don’t think there’s any such thing. I think that’s what the lady boys told themselves so they would still feel all butch and tough in their scarves and camisoles. But I believe that, deep down inside, they all knew they were not metal.

And, really; keyboards are girly but makeup and women’s clothes are not?

I will admit I went out and bought that first Poison LP the second it came out. It just seemed like they were having such fun in the video for “Talk Dirty To Me”! I couldn’t help it! I thought they were like The New York Dolls or something. Never thought of ‘em as any kind of metal, though.

We agree about death metal, though. Especially the Norwegian death metal thing. Good grief. I didn’t realize the Society For Creative Anachronisms had a metal chapter, right? Am I right? Satanic/Pagan Renaissance Faire, anyone?

He’s also correct about that Priest cover of “Johnny B. Goode”. It is wretched. And Maiden's Live After Death probably is the best live album, ever. And he’s spot on with his descriptions of Led Zeppelin and Guns ‘N’ Roses. And I love the thing about Aersosmith being the real Smiths. YES!!!

He made up that thing about Iron Butterfly playing the first drum solo in ’68, though. Jazz drummers have been indulging in those since at least the 40’s. Bloody drummers. But what he made up is a riot!

Biggest laugh/revelation was learning Pantera used to be a girly glam band. I didn’t know! BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! From glamor girls to jock rockers to follow a trend! Priceless.

None of that is the point, of course. What this book is about is Seb Hunter, the man, the myth, the legend in his own mind. I don’t mean that in a snarky way. We've all been there, one way or another. It’s a treat to hear Hunter’s story told Hunter’s way. And it’s because of his blunt, brutal honesty that this book works so well. He does not pull any punches and actually kind of lines himself up and takes his time for the ones he aims at himself. It’s damned charming and engaging and extremely entertaining.

Just like Tiggers, this book is fun, fun, fun, fun, fun. I can’t say all metal fans will like it, though; just the ones who like to read and who learned not to take themselves so seriously. Those ones will find it hysterical.
4 reviews
January 5, 2011
Unexpectedly fall-off-the-couch funny. It's a Heavy Metal (always capitalized in the book) memoir, but would recommend to people who like deadpan humor and have a medium-sized interest in music.

A few enjoyable parts, among many:

The "Lewd, Crude and Tattooed: Glam!" subchapter, in which Hunter names Glam subcategories ("Junkie Vampire Glam (LA Guns), Guys, It's Not Working Glam (Jetboy)," then delves deeper into Poison ("..they winked in all their photos! Why did they do that? It was incredibly exciting...")

The advent of the pointy headstock (a cosmetic change to the end part of an electric guitar, where the turning pegs are) "shook the Metal world to its stack-heeled foundations"

The how-to instructional bits, including dress, name, logo and performance (below):

"These inflatables pretty much design themselves. But if you've given your album a more abstract title, like Lunging Sodomy for example, then you need to consult some 'conceptual artists' (or your tour manager), and choose an inflatable that you feel will get across the essence of the album title. Remember, the audience will need to be able to make the connection between the two, or they won't understand what's going on. The Lunging Sodomy tour, and you've got an inflatable of a giant machine-gun? Eh? But a massive blow-up backside being clutched either side by a pair of leather-gloved fists? Of course. This is the Lunging Sodomy tour! … Since Eddie the Head features on all of Iron Maiden’s album covers, you might be worrying about how the band managed to stay ahead of the game. How could they find a new way of presenting the same thing inflatably onstage every year? Did they leave him at home a few times? Did they have a spaceship or something else instead? No, they did not.”
Profile Image for Marissa.
924 reviews45 followers
March 11, 2015
There might be something interesting in the last 7/8 of this book, but I'll never know. Because it's impossible to get that far. The first four chapters are written by a metal fan who absolutely loathes the fact that he loves metal. You can feel the shame dripping off of him as he describes his first true love, AC/DC - which is not a fun way to read about AC/DC. Maybe if you're some sort of ironic-irony-loving, self-loathing hipster, this is the right book for you. But if I just wanted to listen to people whine about liking metal, I could go to a metal show. At least there, we love that we hate that we love metal.
Profile Image for Hilary Mortz.
Author 14 books75 followers
March 4, 2015
This must be my favourite rock memoir of all time. I work in a holiday resort in Cyprus and my friend working in the car hire shop next door to our studio found it on the back seat of a returned car; she gave it to me because she knew I am into Metal. I have read and re-read it quite a few times since then.

Lovely, lovely book full of humour and humanity.
Profile Image for Larry.
51 reviews1 follower
October 31, 2007
Great read about a guy who spends his youth and 20s trying to make it as a rock star. Funny and well-written. I enjoyed this book as what it is meant to be. There are no life-lessons or self-help programs here. It is strictly entertainment, like a good episode of Cheers!
Profile Image for Luke.
25 reviews3 followers
November 19, 2007
Nirvana killed heavy metal, and that's not really a bad thing.
Profile Image for Kate.
217 reviews10 followers
January 7, 2009
The sound a keyboard makes: the sound of lettuce. Thank you, Seb Hunter for giving me something I can keep forever.
Profile Image for Adrian Turner.
111 reviews
June 30, 2023
An inconsequential but good-natured and inoffensive look at the life of an English heavy metal fan and hopeful musician in the late 1980s and early 90s, and though the musical focus of the book is obviously heavy metal in all its myriad forms, music enthusiasts of all types will recognise the stages of manic fandom the author goes through, from that first “wow” moment of discovering your favourite band or genre for the first time, through obsessive collecting and discovery, and eventually making like-minded friends and becoming part of a “tribe.”

The author goes further than most of us though, in learning to play the guitar and forming a number of rock bands of varying degrees of seriousness, as he makes his uncertain way from Wiltshire to London, and then… well, not much actually happens. This is very much a tale of frustrated stardom, and despite all of Seb’s efforts, none of his bands appear to come even close to releasing a record or even recording a radio session, and the peak of his fame is a short live review in metal magazine Kerrang!

The author also spends a lot of time writing about his borderline abusive alcoholic father (“Fa”) in a sensitive and touching manner, but the “take-away” from the whole story for me is the observation that the sex and drugs and arguments of the band lifestyle are nothing to do with success – they just come with the territory.

So, as a narrative it lacks drama and dynamics, but it’s an interesting slice of a very particular type of life, and the author is never anything other than an engaging tour guide, even though the cynic in me suspects that this book only ever came to be published because both Seb and his wife subsequently found careers in the book industry (as illustrated in the concluding “Where are they now?” section.) Minus a star if you’re not into rock music, but worth a casual read for metal devotees.
1 review
March 21, 2021
I first read this when I was reviewing books for a magazine and it was one of the few I binge rear from cover to cover simply because I wanted to. It really is one of my favourite books and one of the few I've read more than five times, let alone read twice.
I love how it's a memoir and Heavy Metal history lesson, and how it shifts between hilarity and sadness. It takes a special memoir to care so much about someone who know nothing about and Seb nails it.
Now to hassle my nephew to get my very dog-eared copy back.
Profile Image for Matthew Eyre.
418 reviews8 followers
May 22, 2023
Tremendous All I ever wanted to do once I'd heard the glorious sounds of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Bachmann Turner Overdrive through the door of the Venture Scouts den. I recall asking O e of those mid teen gods what they thought about Slade And wondering why they all collapsed laughing Only Seb actually took it further, and more power to him for that. Even today, if I hear Bon Scott or Lemmy I am right back there. Great read
Profile Image for Matt Parks.
31 reviews
January 17, 2024
A memoir of Hunter's years in a series of ill-conceived teenage metal bands in the '80s, Hell Bent For Leather never quite resolves a tension between nostalgia for the time and its metal and irony regarding its delusions and excesses. There's a pleasant "we did this/it didn't work, we did this/it didn't work" rhythm to the book without much context for what was driving the metal scene in England at the time.
Profile Image for Kelsey.
114 reviews3 followers
August 18, 2025
Enjoyed the author’s sense of humor but it got a bit tiresome 3/4 of the way through. It was interesting to read about the music scene from those days, especially as at least half of the bands he talks about aren’t what I (a metalhead for over 2/3 of my life and counting!) would even consider metal. In the end he really wasn’t addicted to heavy metal, just the idea of fame and love. Still a fun beach read for a metalhead as long as you don't take yourself too seriously.
Profile Image for Aria.
599 reviews45 followers
October 15, 2026
Best book I've read in ages. Perfectly encapsulates a generational subset's moment in time. I laughed so many times. I have already highly recommended this to multiple people I know. I'm so grateful to you for writing this book. You did a good thing for tribe. Thank you, Seb.
2 reviews1 follower
November 2, 2024
I have read many music related biographies and memoirs but Hell Bent For Leather earned its place as one of the headliners. Witty, nostalgic, funny, and capturing the zeitgeist in the 1980s.

One error, though. KISS played at The Marquee Club in 1988, not in 1990.
Profile Image for Sophia Ghafoori.
10 reviews
January 9, 2026
so so so so so interesting to read although most of his takes were incredibly annoying....
Profile Image for Michaela.
77 reviews36 followers
October 15, 2026
Bloody brilliant. (Also, wankers dissing it because he rightly called out trash bands for being trash are the reason the genre deserved its public execution. You lot were/are the problem.)
Profile Image for Creag Smith.
7 reviews
June 9, 2021
Funny book that I read when much younger and was able to relate to his early life. Good easy read
Profile Image for Kitten.
795 reviews4 followers
April 26, 2021
Popsugar 2021: A book where the main character works at your current or dream job.
Profile Image for Pete.
46 reviews4 followers
March 5, 2017
Great little book about the trials & tribulations of an 80's wannabe Sleaze Rocker.
Profile Image for Gina Covarrubias.
Author 7 books29 followers
April 19, 2013
Hell Bent for Leather is a gateway drug that leads to the hard stuff, like leather pants.

According to the “customers who bought this book also bought” feature on Amazon, the people who bought Hell Bent for Leather: Confessions of a Heavy Metal Addict frequently purchased leather pants immediately afterward. I must assume this is because, as the title states, heavy metal really is addictive.

During the height of hair metal’s popularity I lived less than an hour from the Troubadour and the Rainbow, but I was too darn punk rock to go. After reading Seb Hunter’s hysterically funny ode to heavy metal, I can’t help but feel like I missed out on something. Not necessarily something I would have enjoyed at the time, but something just the same.

Had Hell Bent for Leather been written a couple of decades earlier, I might have learned to appreciate the subtle nuances of metal before I was too old to bang my head. This book is a love letter to a pyramid spike riddled genre that will make you swoon over metal right along with Mr. Hunter. I never got the impression that Seb was condescending toward metal music or its fans while I was reading this book. He was just poking good-natured fun at how seriously he took both metal and himself at the time, the same way other people do about Beatlemania, disco dance moves, liberty spikes, and countless other things from other eras that we remember fondly enough that we can now appreciate their absurdities.

To the contrary, this book is the main reason I am now laughing with metal rather than at it. I never thought I would say this, but I love Iron Maiden. My husband and children can now attend Slayer concerts without the fear of having to listen to me complaining about the cost of tickets. Whether you are into metal or not, if you are a person who ever went through a stage where you defined yourself through the music you listened to, you will relate, and you will laugh.
If you weren't around during the glam metal heyday, Hell Bent for Leather will make you wish you were, only perhaps with less Aqua Net.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews