The Devil's Metal Read Online Free PDF

band that’s
just coming into their own. We think they’re ahead of their time
and so do you. And so does Edwards. He wants you to write for us,
joining Hybrid on the road for a few weeks next month.”
    “Come again?” He didn’t, couldn’t ,
have just said what I thought he said.
    He laughed appreciatively. “Hey, it was a
surprise to us too. From what I understand, Edwards caught wind of
your work, loved what you said about the band, and he thinks a
female voice would help win over the female fans. Hybrid is too
aggressive for a lot of rock chicks, even though they have Noelle
in the band, and that whole Graham and devil worshiping rumor
definitely hasn’t helped. I mean, it works for Led Zeppelin, but as
hard as these guys try, they aren’t Led Zeppelin.”
    That was actually a line from my review: People keep trying to make comparisons between Hybrid and Led
Zeppelin. I say, let the comparisons stop with their third album,
Molten Universe. They aren’t Led Zeppelin. This album showcases a
unique brand of metal, more grinding, thunderous and—gasp—sexual
than the English rockers. In this case, Hybrid is heavier than
lead.
    It wasn’t groundbreaking writing but it
obviously struck a chord with someone. I just didn’t think it would
be with the actual band themselves.
    And suddenly this was all too good to be
true.
    “Dawn? Are you there?”
    “Yeah,” I said warily. “I’m here. I’m
just…are you sure you have the right Dawn?”
    “Do you think I have the right
Dawn?”
    Good question. If I could eventually get
over what was actually being asked of me, if I could pretend this
was all real, I had to wonder if I was strong enough—good enough—to
actually take this on. Writing for Creem Magazine? Going on the
road with an actual fucking rock band? And a band I actually loved,
a band who was slowly joining the ranks of Black Sabbath, Led
Zeppelin, and Hendrix in the shrine of my heart?
    I couldn’t afford to doubt myself.
    I had to be made for this.
    I pushed uptight, worrywart Dawn somewhere
in the back of my mind and said to Barry, “Yes. You definitely have
the right Dawn.”
    “That’s what I thought.” He didn’t sound as
relieved as I would have thought. I guess this was a story he could
either take or leave. “Obviously, we’ll be paying you too for the
story, if that helps. But the expenses for the hotels on the road
and your food and all that stuff, that will be taken care of by
Elektra, their record label. We’d probably want to run this story
in the October issue, you know to take on a spooky slant or
something like that, which means you’ll have to turn over your copy
at the end of August, beginning of September at the latest. You’re
green, so I expect we’re going to have a lot of editing and
fact-checking to do over here. Also, this is just a one-off thing.
We don’t know if you’re the next Cameron Crowe or not, and we’re
not about to make any commitments beyond this story.”
    He yammered on about this and that for the
next bit but I struggled to pay attention. Suddenly I was no longer
in my kitchen, I was somewhere else. It was taking all of my brain
power to get me focused on the fact that this was reality.
    Oh lord, please don’t let this be a dream.
This was everything I had ever wished and asked for, and I had made
that plea many a time while growing up. I always thought it went
unheard.
    “All right, Dawn. I’ve got to go handle
something. Are you going to need a few days to think about this? I
can give you one. They want you on their bus by August 2nd in
Colorado, start of the tour.”
    “Can I let you know tomorrow?” I asked. As
much as I wanted to do this, needed to do this, I did have my
family to think about. And even though Barry said Creem would pay
me, I’d be up and leaving my brother and father, and I’d be cutting
into some crucial practice time with Moonglow. If I had to be there
on August 2nd, that left me five days.
    “Absolutely,” he