Punk Pandemonium: Metal Magic 2

By: Brian Barr

Narrated by: Rick Gregory

In this sequel to Metal Magic, a punk musician finds a guitarist grimoire. He simplifies the chord progressions and notes to turn the grimoire's songs into punk songs, which produces some interesting effects. Blood, gore, and mayhem await in Punk Pandemonium! Metal Magic is included in this book as a bonus!

©2017 Brian Barr (P)2018 Brian Barr

Punk has never been so horrific!

Noter: Even though this is Book 2, it works fine as a stand alone story.

I had a lot of fun with this short tale. Joey is all about appreciating the music. He doesn’t want to get caught up in the haters, those that point and laugh at people for not being punk enough. And how punk is punk? Who has the definition of punk down anyway? The spikes and clothespins wearers? The classic punks? How about the new age punk smash ups? No, not Joey. He doesn’t care as long as the punk music rocks his soul.

Unfortunately, there’s Doc Martin heckling him, other patrons (especially those Star Wars t-shirt wearing fans), and the band. It’s a dark, seedy locale but the patrons don’t care about that. It’s just the right atmosphere for a truly punkish night. Joey is determined to not let Doc Martin ruin his night.

And then things get messy. Really messy! I was enjoying the story even as I waited for the gorefest to begin. This isn’t my first Brian Barr rodeo, so I knew it was just around the corner. Barr does not disappoint! Joey experiences the most horrendous night of his life.

The ending loosely ties back to Metal Magic but works fine for a stand alone tale. 5/5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book.

The Narration: Rick Gregory was a perfect match for this story. He makes a great Joey, a guy who’s just trying to mind his own business and enjoy the music. He also makes a great Doc Martin, having an older gruff voice for this obnoxious character. Gregory’s enjoyment of the the final gorefest came through as well. There were no technical issues with this recording. 5/5 stars.

Still feeling the metal and the magic!

What’s better than heavy metal and magic? More of it! So glad this volume 2 adds to the series.

Punk Time

Well, I’m 45, wearing a Star Wars shirt and have a beer belly. I also like classic punk music, so I guess I will stay away from concerts until someone gets rid of the magic music book!

Talk about your thrash metal!

Barr came up with an interesting concept in Metal Magic one, a guitar grimoire, that was laced with impossible chords, and numerous magic spells. He literally made me hope that he was going to do a follow up to that tale, as it ended on a downer for the main character. As a reader, it was spectacular. So, when I saw this was coming out I was thrilled.

Now, my only real complaint is that this is more of a filler story. The first one was a lot longer, and went into far more depth character and background-wise. This story is brief, and while it is edgey and fun, it feels like there isn't as much meat on its bones as its predecessor. I was hoping for more story, and the way this ends there is an easy way for a third more substanative tale to come. I hope that is the case, as this is a grand concept with tons of potential. The writing is slick, Barr knows how to craft a tale, and the ramifications of his stories often go deeper than you might think at first. He makes this a fun and interesting read, but it leaves you wanting more. It feels like that thing skinny people talk about. . . .empty calories. So I sincerely hope that he continues this with more oomph next time.

Rick Gregory goes with Barr like chocolate and peanut butter, like peas and carrots, like soup and crackers. He knows how to read Barr's work, and bring it to animated life. He does incredible voice work, and is smooth and a pleasure to listen to, even as he describes an evisceration. I really enjoy Gregory's work. You will too.

Barr is a great story teller, and has the paranormal genre in his pocket. If you love freaky X-File type stuff then this is the guy to go to; he matched Aleister Crowley and H.P. Lovecraft together in a story that fit together like puzzle pieces edged with super glue. Don't miss out, the story might be short, but the creativity hasn't been spared. Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.

If this review helped, please press the YES below. Thank you immensely!!!

short but loved it

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was a short follow up to Metal Magic, a metal-themed and humorous horror story. Basically, this book has a Punk musician finding the magic book and rearranging the chords to fit his style of music. This results in different effects from the first book which was interesting. For what it is, this is pretty entertaining.