Jonny Z, real name Jonathan Zazula is a name some people will recognise, particularly those familiar with the early 80’s thrash metal scene and the history behind some of those now iconic bands such as Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and such. Among many things that he is known for including his now historic Rock’n Roll Heaven record store in New Jersey and his involvement in getting Metallica their first album recorded and released, is his record label Megaforce Records and the countless bands linked to that business. His new book, an autobiography titled “Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As Lived by Jon Zazula” is a tell-all story of how he got involved in the music business. From the ups and the downs, the success and the failures, it’s a pretty revealing insight not only into his life but of the music industry itself.
Getting into this book was quite a revelation in many ways because of such detail in some of the stories Jonny shares here. Yes much of it is well documented and especially thrash enthusiasts, myself included are much aware of some of what went on as far as the early days of the thrash scene, both west and east coast with Metallica and Anthrax along with other bands like Overkill and Exodus all playing their parts in creating a whole new form of music. Most fans will be somewhat knowledgeable on Jonny Z’s involvement with Metallica and their debut album which then created Megaforce Records but how it came to be and the results that came after are not super well known to most and that’s where things get interesting.
The story is as much a mental thing as it is the physical side of how history played out with many of the people involved, especially with Jonny Z who dealt with bi-polar through all of it. The way the story is told is effective and you can feel the stress and frustration that he felt through many of the journeys he took, much of which were very risky, some of which landed him in hot water including a stint in prison for a business deal that went wrong (interestingly long before the music business came into play). Family stuff was as important in it’s role in his life as the business and music but the one thing you can take away from it was his effort and passion he portrayed, sincerely giving all that he had in order to help expose the music he loved to as many people as possible.
Many well known people came into his life quite early on, some of which was a little surprise to me as to the impact or role they played in those early days. His work with Ace Frehley was one of the first steps outside of the more metal stuff that he loved but his interaction with Eddie Trunk, at least as far as how far and how important their relationship went in the business was an interesting story. But with only one read through, some of the main cats you read about have become a blur and so a second or even third read is probably a must. That’s largely due to the story having so much going on, that manic side of Zazula can really be felt in the read as one massive event after one failed attempt or one huge success story after another in various different situations is displayed in a very chaotic but honest storyline. If his reputation of being a real dedicated music fan had not preceeded his legacy, some of the stories here would be deemed almost unbelievable.
Many of course will be looking at those early Metallica days and how Zazula managed to get their first recording out to the public. There’s not a whole lot to tell as far as personal interactions with the individual members which included Dave Mustaine and the late Cliff Burton but those looking for more eye catching detail might find the aftermath of that record a little more appealing. Those looking for a big Metallica story might be disappointed though as while it plays it’s pivotal role in Zazula’s career, there is so much more after his dealing with them that will end up being more memorable.
As I said there’s a lot in this book even though it’s not considerably a large read so it may take more than one read through to really grasp just how important Zazula really is to not just the metal scene in those early days but to music in general. Avoiding going into details on what’s covered specifically as to not spoil anything but going from a struggling businessman to such a success story is truly inspirational and I’m so glad Jonny decided to write this book and tell us some of the struggles he went through all in the name of heavy metal. At the very least you will be entertained but this truly is an inspiration to anyone trying to make a name for themselves and what’s wonderful about this story is that he did it with very little compromise.
It’s unlikely we will ever see something of this nature ever happen again in music but you can still take something away from it all, that no matter what you do, love what you do and keep at it. Jonny Z did and he has one hell of a story to go with it.
