DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH: The Heavy Metal Photography of Peter Beste. Edited by Johan Kugelberg. Foreword by Biff Byford of Saxon.
Brooklyn, New York: Sacred Bones Books, 2019. First Edition. Hardcover. Artist Edition, number 29 of 100 copies with a signed artist print photograph, a 7” featuring unreleased music from blackened thrashers Aura Noir and old-school heavy metallers Black Magic, a two-sided poster, a Defenders of the Faith patch, and five other exclusive patches. Documents the timeless and universal concept of fandom through the elevation of battle vests to the status of religious artifact. Often referred to as the Kutten (German for monk’s robe), the battle vest serves a multitude of purposes: as a musical CV, a badge of authenticity, a creative practice of identity, and a fashion statement. As Beste observes, “For many, it shows how ‘true’ one is by how authentic their patches are, which festivals they have attended, or which bands you got to see way back when. It is an object that gains in value as it deteriorates, and is pretty much never bought or sold. You have to create your own.” Recognizing these personalized artifacts as timeless and artistic expressions of the universal human experience of devotion helps shed light on metal’s place within our cultural history. 285 p. with hundreds of color photographs. Small quarto. Original pictorial boards; issued without a dust jacket. A fine copy, housed in the publisher’s faux leather slipcase and the original shipping carton. Fine. Item #70574
Price: $400.00