Bazillion Points Books has revealed the final cover artwork for METALION: The Slayer Mag Diaries, a mammoth 744-page hardcover journey into black metal, death metal, and beyond by Norway’s metal godfather Jon Kristiansen. “The greatest heavy metal story ever told” will be available June 6, 2011, wherever books are sold, and is available for preorder now with two bonus limited patches at this location:

http://www.bazillionpoints.com/metalion-the-slayer-mag-diaries/

Part anthology, part memoir, and years in the making, METALION includes over 600 reproduction pages from every issue of Slayer Mag, spanning from the early 1980s through 2010. In addition, author Jon Kristiansen recounts his life’s story, from alienated outsider to central figure in Norwegian black metal to world-weary metal survivor. The book also features over 100 rare photographs, including two color sections and a portrait gallery of photographs taken by Kristiansen himself.

The astonishing combination of archival material includes scores of key historic interviews with the most revered figures in extreme metal, including Mayhem, Emperor, Slayer, Kreator, Nihilist, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Cathedral, Entombed, Morbid, Napalm Death, Metallica, Opeth, Cradle of Filth, Sadistik Execution, Usurper, Nifelheim, Darkthrone, Sodom, Destruction, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Exodus, Dissection, Candlemass, Carcass, Sepultura, Gorgoroth, Death, Watain, Sadus, Satyricon, Enslaved, Pentagram, Jarboe, Immortal, Possessed, Overkill, Ulver, Dark Angel, and countless others.

“From the start, I made Slayer Mag as honestly and as well as I could,” says Kristiansen. “I never knew any other way. I hope that I have produced something that will stand the test of time.”

Advance praise for METALION:

“The legendary Slayer Mag gets its long overdue anthology”-Decibel

“Presiding over the birth of extreme metal from its Scandinavian heartland, the first issue of the legendary Slayer Mag was cranked out in 1985 and over the years shifted its coverage to provide an insider view of Swedish death metal and Norwegian black metal through their formative and most controversial years.”-Terrorizer

“Best idea since sliced bread.”-Fenriz, Darkthrone