I'm the Man

A brutally honest insight into highs and lows of being in a band

Scott Ian is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist, backing and additional lead vocalist, and the only remaining founding member of the thrash metal band Anthrax. He also writes the lyrics on all their albums. Ian is also the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death (SOD).

Born Scott Ian Rosenfeld in 1963 (name has since been legally changed) to a Jewish family in the Bayside section of the New York City borough of Queens, he has a younger brother named Jason (who was involved briefly with Anthrax) and a half-brother named Sean. Scott attended Bayside High School, with classmates (and future Anthrax bandmates) Dan Lilker and Neil Turbin of the graduating class of 1981.

Witnessing Kiss live at Madison Square Garden in 1977 made a huge impact on Ian, who has been vocal about his love for the band. Ian went on to be influenced by British heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Motörhead and Judas Priest, as well as the punk rock band, the Ramones as an influence. Ian then discovered at the age of 12 that he knew he could become a famous hard rock/heavy metal star. The musical style of his playing and songwriting including fast alternate picking was also largely influenced by the German metal band Accept.

Personally, I've always found Anthrax to be a fairly run of the mill thrash band. A band who showed some promise in the 1980s but then fizzled out as time went on. However, they have managed to string early wins along to the present day. And there is no doubt whatsoever that this has been due to the incredible drive and commitment of Scott. This has allowed Anthrax to continue standing some 36 years later as a respected and active originator of one of heavy metal's most important sub-genres.

I did think that this autobiography wouldn't be up to much. After all, there have been more successful bands in the thrash genre. I couldn't have been more wrong. It not only details the story of how Anthrax came to be and survived for all this time, which is an interesting and inspiring read in itself, but more importantly, it takes us through every conceivable aspect of Scott Ian's life outside of Anthrax as well. Scoot is brutally honest about people, places, and events. Scott also reflects on his decisions, in a very self-critical way. He's not beyond saying that he was wrong. He recognises his mistakes and take responsibility for them.

This all makes for a great autobiography as opposed to the one recently published by Bruce Dickinson. Bruce's read more of a list of activities he liked to do and was passionate about, kind of like an extended interview. This is where Scott's autobiography wins hands down over Bruce's and as such I really liked this book.

We get to hear about his musical projects outside of Anthrax, such as the aforementioned S.O.D. and The Damned Things. We are also told about his dysfunctional home life, abusive childhood, his previous marriages, alcohol binges (not many drugs), affairs, and what he was paid for album deals. It reveals that nothing happens in isolation, how his musical career affected his personal life, and vise-versa. Its amazing just how thin the line between triumph and failure is, not just in the world of music, but in life in general.

In some respects though, Scott is just too honest. What with two failed marriages and his personal relationships in between, the reader is treated to a blow by blow exposition of his love life. At times I thought that this was a little too much of a distraction from the musical aspects of the book. But this is a minor quibble.

Well-written, humorous, moving and downright crazy in places you don't have to be a fan of heavy metal to enjoy this book. “I'm The Man” is a solid four-star effort from Scott Ian. Keep on thrashing, guys!