‘Eviscerated Panda – A metal tale’ isn’t so much a novel as a love letter to the entire genre that is metal, and the weird, wonderful, individualistic characters that inhabit the scene. As such you might expect it to be pretentious, aggressive or self-conscious, but the book turns out to be none of these things, offering up instead a look at the metal scene that is touching, poignant and often very, very funny. That the book succeeds on this level is down to the fact that Sarah Tipper knows metal and the many foibles that make it such a fascinating genre inside out, and the book glows with small references guaranteed to make metallers smile.
Despite being about Eviscerated Panda, a fictional metal band so utterly convincing it’s painful (particularly if you’ve ever been in a band), the central character is a young lady named Cleo who links the various threads of the story and whose thoughts most often come to the fore. Cleo is an intelligent, independent and deeply believable character, as all the characters in the story are, whose thoughts and feelings are laid bare via the author’s omniscience and Cleo’s own personal diary and writings. A highlight of the book is provided, also by Cleo, in the form of ‘A girl’s guide to metal’ which does as good a job of condensing metal into a few pages as one could ever hope to see (although ‘Ozzmosis’ over ‘diary of a madman’ when recommending essential albums was a bit of a stretch!) and which highlights the fact that although this is very much a book aimed at metal fans, it’s heart is warm enough and big enough to accommodate the unconvinced who just want to read something a bit different.
Despite Cleo’s central role it is the band, Eviscerated Panda, who shine. Like all struggling bands they play great gigs and terrible ones; face the crushing disappointment of arriving at empty venues after lengthy journeys fraught with anticipation; find increasingly novel ways to promote themselves and rely, however unconsciously, on the small bunch of friends, lovers and fanatic supporters who make up their entourage and Sarah’s level of insight implies a level of familiarity with the make-up of a struggling metal band that goes beyond artistic imagination – either as a participant or as one of the entourage you can’t help but feel she’s lived this life and her affection for it, however speckled with detached amusement, is heart-warming. Read the book with your favourite music on in the background and you’re liable to lose yourself in the warmly familiar world Sarah has created for hours at a time.
The book itself is one that insidiously worms its way into your thoughts. Sarah’s skill is to make her characters absolutely believable – they think, act and speak as you suspect you would yourself in the various situations portrayed, and her development of the various personalities in the band is spot on – all of which hooks you and makes you desperate to know how each gig and event will turn out. It is impossible to go into detail without revealing essential plot elements, suffice it to say that relationships are fluid, the band faces a number of comically portrayed situations and the conclusion is open ended enough to allow a sequel, should Sarah feel the need to return to her characters (and you can’t help but hope that she does).
Written with great empathy and an obvious love for the metal genre ‘Eviscerated Panda’ is a book that leaves you missing the characters you’ve got to know so well and even inspired by figures such as Jez and Phil who, if they teach you anything, teach you that creativity should never be subverted by age. Perfect reading for metal fans young and old, ‘Eviscerated Panda’ is a wonderfully heartfelt tribute to anyone who’s ever played in a rock band, grown their hair long or simply struggled through the maelstrom of emotions triggered by the uncertain art of growing up and it comes highly recommended.
The book can be found on Amazon here or as one of those vile ebook things here.
