Neil Daniels
Encyclopedia
Neil Daniels is a freelance British
writer
specialising in rock
and heavy metal
. Educated at Middlesex University
, where he obtained a BA Honours degree in Film Studies
, he has written books on Judas Priest
, Robert Plant
, Bon Jovi
and Linkin Park
. He co-authored Dawn Of The Metal Gods: My Life In Judas Priest & Heavy Metal with original Judas Priest
singer and co-founder Al Atkins
. It was published in 2009 by the revered Berlin-based publishing company Iron Pages. It features many rare and previously unseen photographs of the band from the early years (1969–1973) as well as bits of memorabilia.
In 2009 Neil had four books published. His tomes have been reviewed in Q Magazine, Mojo
, Classic Rock
, Rock Sound
, Record Collector
, Metal Hammer
, Terrorizer
, Big Cheese, Fireworks, Powerplay, Zero Tolerance and Rock N’ Reel.
He regularly writes for Fireworks, Powerplay and Get Ready To Rock.com, and occasionally contributes to Record Collector
. He has also written for The Guardian
, Big Cheese, Rock Sound, MediaMagazine, Drowned In Sound and musicOMH. His interests include classic rock
, heavy metal
, cult films and novels and American comics
.
Part of his official website includes a rapidly growing archive of exclusive interviews with writers of pop culture. So far he has conducted interviews with such scribes as Joe Ambrose, Jeff Apter, Gavin Baddeley, Chris Charlesworth, Ian Christe, Jerry Hopkins, Joel McIver
, Colin Larkin
, Matthias Mader, Ben Myers, Kim Newman, Dave Thompson, Everett True, Chris Welch and Rich Wilson.
In August 2009 he published his first "print on demand" book called All Pens Blazing: A Heavy Metal Writer’s Handbook. With a foreword by the Canadian metal historian Martin Popoff
, the book collects 65 exclusive (and extensive) interviews with famed rock/metal writers, including Geoff Barton, Dante Bonutto, Paul Brannigan, Steffan Chirazi, Ian Christe, Dave Dickson, Malcolm Dome, Paul Elliott, Lonn Friend, Neil Jeffries, Howard Johnson, Dave Lewis, Dave Ling, Peter Makowski, Matthias Madder, Joel McIver
, Alexander Milas, Derek Oliver, Martin Popoff
, Greg Prato, Dave Reynolds, Steven Rosen, Xavier Russell, Brian Slagel, Paul Suter and Jeb Wright, et al. It won critical appraisal in the rock/metal press. A second volume named All Pens Blazing: A Rock & Heavy Metal Writer’s Handbook Volume II is planned for mid 2010.
In August 2009 Neil briefly joined Colin Larkin
and his team on the groundbreaking interactive website Btoe 'The Best Thing On Earth', on a temporary basis. His tenure ended November 2009.
Other books planned for 2010 include Rock ‘N’ Roll Mercenaries: Interviews With Rock Stars Volume I, which collects 40 interviews with rock/metal artists as well as some well-known rock scribes.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
specialising in rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. Educated at Middlesex University
Middlesex University
Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
, where he obtained a BA Honours degree in Film Studies
Film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to films. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies...
, he has written books on Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
, Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
, Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
and Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
. He co-authored Dawn Of The Metal Gods: My Life In Judas Priest & Heavy Metal with original Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
singer and co-founder Al Atkins
Al Atkins
Alan John "Al" Atkins is an English heavy metal vocalist, perhaps best known for his association with Judas Priest...
. It was published in 2009 by the revered Berlin-based publishing company Iron Pages. It features many rare and previously unseen photographs of the band from the early years (1969–1973) as well as bits of memorabilia.
In 2009 Neil had four books published. His tomes have been reviewed in Q Magazine, Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
, Classic Rock
Classic Rock (magazine)
Classic Rock is a British magazine dedicated to the radio format of classic rock, published by Future Publishing, who are also responsible for its "sister" publication Metal Hammer. Although firmly focusing on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also includes articles and reviews of...
, Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
, Record Collector
Record Collector
Record Collector is the United Kingdom's longest-running monthly music magazine. It distributes both within the UK and worldwide. It started in 1979.-The early years:...
, Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
, Terrorizer
Terrorizer
Terrorizer is an American grindcore and death metal band formed in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. After disbanding, its members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands, such as Morbid Angel , Napalm Death and Nausea...
, Big Cheese, Fireworks, Powerplay, Zero Tolerance and Rock N’ Reel.
He regularly writes for Fireworks, Powerplay and Get Ready To Rock.com, and occasionally contributes to Record Collector
Record Collector
Record Collector is the United Kingdom's longest-running monthly music magazine. It distributes both within the UK and worldwide. It started in 1979.-The early years:...
. He has also written for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Big Cheese, Rock Sound, MediaMagazine, Drowned In Sound and musicOMH. His interests include classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, cult films and novels and American comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
.
Part of his official website includes a rapidly growing archive of exclusive interviews with writers of pop culture. So far he has conducted interviews with such scribes as Joe Ambrose, Jeff Apter, Gavin Baddeley, Chris Charlesworth, Ian Christe, Jerry Hopkins, Joel McIver
Joel McIver
Joel McIver is a British author. The best-known of his 20 books to date is the bestselling Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica, first published in 2004 and selling close to 50,000 copies in nine languages since then. McIver's other works include biographies of Black Sabbath, Slayer, Ice...
, Colin Larkin
Colin Larkin
Colin Larkin is an Irish professional footballer, who plays primarily as a forward. He currently plays for Hartlepool United.-Playing career:...
, Matthias Mader, Ben Myers, Kim Newman, Dave Thompson, Everett True, Chris Welch and Rich Wilson.
In August 2009 he published his first "print on demand" book called All Pens Blazing: A Heavy Metal Writer’s Handbook. With a foreword by the Canadian metal historian Martin Popoff
Martin Popoff
Martin Popoff is a Canadian-born music journalist and critic who covers the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles magazine, he has additionally written over twenty books that both critically evaluate heavy metal and document its history...
, the book collects 65 exclusive (and extensive) interviews with famed rock/metal writers, including Geoff Barton, Dante Bonutto, Paul Brannigan, Steffan Chirazi, Ian Christe, Dave Dickson, Malcolm Dome, Paul Elliott, Lonn Friend, Neil Jeffries, Howard Johnson, Dave Lewis, Dave Ling, Peter Makowski, Matthias Madder, Joel McIver
Joel McIver
Joel McIver is a British author. The best-known of his 20 books to date is the bestselling Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica, first published in 2004 and selling close to 50,000 copies in nine languages since then. McIver's other works include biographies of Black Sabbath, Slayer, Ice...
, Alexander Milas, Derek Oliver, Martin Popoff
Martin Popoff
Martin Popoff is a Canadian-born music journalist and critic who covers the genre of heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles magazine, he has additionally written over twenty books that both critically evaluate heavy metal and document its history...
, Greg Prato, Dave Reynolds, Steven Rosen, Xavier Russell, Brian Slagel, Paul Suter and Jeb Wright, et al. It won critical appraisal in the rock/metal press. A second volume named All Pens Blazing: A Rock & Heavy Metal Writer’s Handbook Volume II is planned for mid 2010.
In August 2009 Neil briefly joined Colin Larkin
Colin Larkin
Colin Larkin is an Irish professional footballer, who plays primarily as a forward. He currently plays for Hartlepool United.-Playing career:...
and his team on the groundbreaking interactive website Btoe 'The Best Thing On Earth', on a temporary basis. His tenure ended November 2009.
Other books planned for 2010 include Rock ‘N’ Roll Mercenaries: Interviews With Rock Stars Volume I, which collects 40 interviews with rock/metal artists as well as some well-known rock scribes.
Published works
- The Story Of Judas Priest: Defenders Of The Faith (Omnibus Press, 2007)
- Robert Plant: Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page & The Solo Years (IMP, 2008)
- Dawn Of The Metal Gods: My Life In Judas Priest & Heavy Metal (IP, 2009)
- Bon Jovi Encyclopaedia (Chrome Dreams, 2009)
- All Pens Blazing: A Heavy Metal Writer’s Handbook (Authorsonline, 2009)
- Linkin Park – An Operator’s Manual (Chrome Dreams, 2009)
External links
Interviews:- Get Ready To Rock (2007): http://www.getreadytorock.com/reviews2007/judas_priest_book.htm
- Metal Shrine (2007): http://web.telia.com/~u43123410/mfintervju244.html
- Get Ready To Rock (2008): http://www.getreadytorock.com/bstage_heroes/neil_daniels.htm
- Thrash Hits (2009): http://www.thrashhits.com/2009/04/behind-the-hits-002-neil-daniels-bon-jovi-encylopaedia/#more-1753
- I Heart Guitar (2009): http://www.iheartguitarblog.com/2009/08/interview-neil-daniels.html
- Ultimate Guitar (2009): http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/interviews/interviews/neil_daniels_i_want_the_book_to_be_seen_as_a_historical_document.html