I'm the Man

The Story of That Guy from Anthrax

By: Scott Ian, Jon Wiederhorn, Kirk Hammett - foreword

Narrated by: Scott Ian

From founding member and guitarist of the heavy metal band Anthrax comes a personal reflection of his life and the moments that led him to his role as a staple in rock history.​

I'm the Man is the fast-paced, humorous, and revealing memoir from the man who co-founded Anthrax, the band that proved to the masses that brutality and fun didn't have to be mutually exclusive. Through various lineup shifts, label snafus, rock 'n' roll mayhem, and unforeseen circumstances galore, Scott Ian has approached life and music with a smile, viewing the band with deadly seriousness while recognizing the ridiculousness of the entertainment industry. Always performing with abundant energy that revealed his passion for his craft, Ian has never let the gravity of being a rock star go to his shaven, goateed head.

Ian tells his life story with a clear-eyed honesty that spares no one, least of all himself, starting with his upbringing as a nerdy Jewish boy in Queens and evolving through his first musical epiphany when he saw KISS live on television and realized what he wanted to do with his life. He chronicles his adolescence growing up in a dysfunctional home where the records blasting on his stereo failed to drown out the sound of his parents shouting at one another. He sets down the details of his fateful escape into the turbulent world of heavy metal. And of course he lays bare the complete history of Anthrax—from the band's formation to their present-day reinvigoration—as they wrote and recorded thrash classics like Spreading the Disease, Among the Living, and the top-20-charting State of Euphoria.

Along the way, Ian recounts harrowing, hysterical tales from his long tour of duty in the world of hard rock. He witnesses the rise of Metallica, for which he had a front row seat. He parties with the late Dimebag Darrell while touring with Pantera and gets wild with Black Label Society frontman and longtime Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde. He escapes detection while interviewing Ozzy for The Rock Show while dressed as Gene Simmons and avoids arrest after getting detained on suspicion of drugs while riding the tube in England with the late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton.

In addition, I'm the Man addresses the trials and tribulations of Ian's life and loves. He admits his foibles and reveals the mistakes made along the way to becoming a fully-functioning adult. He celebrates finally finding peace and a true sense of family with his wife, singer/songwriter Pearl Aday, and examines how his world changed after the birth of their first son.

I'm the Man is a blistering hard rock memoir, one that is astonishing in its candor and deftly told by the man who's kept the institution of Anthrax alive for more than 30 years.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2014 Scott Ian (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

Jabby, gabby, and metal-obsessed...exhilarating.—New York Times

Scott writes with real honesty...I'm the Man stands up as a great insight into one of metal's leading figures. And you don't have to be a thrash or rock fan to enjoy it—Jewish Telegraph

Eye-opening...The hard-charging head-banger has assembled his best anecdotes into the revealing autobiography...For every familiar factoid, Ian introduces two or three new nuggets even diehard Anthrax fans probably don't know...Despite the shenanigans and chicanery of Ian's teens and twenties, the man who emerges here is surprisingly level-headed and articulate.—Cleveland Music Examiner.com

Awesome book!

Great book from a great dude. I've always been a huge Anthrax fan and really enjoyed Scott's story. I would recommend this to everyone, even if you aren't a metalhead. The struggles and triumphs Scott and the band faced were monumental.

So Much Fun!

as a long-time fan of Anthrax listening to Scott married his own book was so much fun and I really enjoyed him retelling the past 3 plus Decades of his career with the band give so much more depth to a band I've been following since my childhood that it just made the music that I listen to every day that much more enjoyable Rock on

Awesome!

Amazing read. Gave me more insight into the man. Great stories that really held me there.

great until the end

I've always been anthrax fan. I was looking so forward to this book and it delivered 90% Has a great background of the band the early years the tough years and the rebound . great storyline. Scott does a great job Delivering the message I had no idea all the trials and Tribulations the band went through and it certainly gives great insight to the bands History . probably one of the better biographies until the end when Scott decided to get political and give us his Misguided ideas and beliefs on the Republican party. You will find yourself Wanting to reach through the speakers to choke him and say shut up and play your guitar. I don't give a shit about your Political views. especially since they are misguided and obviously influenced by others. Scott loses a bit of credibility due to his Republican rant and you start to question whether or not he is actually as smart as you thought he was thru the first 31 chapters or just a guy at the right place at the right time and should be thankful for befriending a young Metallica else their story may have been much different. still one of my favorite bands regardless of Scott's misguided political views.

Very entertaining story

This was a very interesting story of a Big 4 band as well as the personal life of Scott Ian. He does a good job breathing life into the story which is what makes Audible so appealing.

Wow!

This is the story of Scott Ian and all the stuff that he's been through. if you're a metalhead, this book is a must! His story had me laughing at some points.

In depth

Where does I'm the Man rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Comparing this to other Metal bios this is one of the best. Mustaine's book, for example, was all war stories I've heard over the last 30 years. This book gets into the real meat of his history and would put it up there with some of the best history books I've read.

What about Scott Ian’s performance did you like?

The Fifty-Year Mission, which is a long Star Trek biography. The detail, depth, and perspective is second to none in those two books. Scott Ian covering his own history is equally as deep.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Scott's performance overall. I'd put his narration up there with Michael Caine's autobiography.

The story of the Man read by the man himself

Scott Ian has always been one of my favorite guitarists so it was awesome to hear him tell his story. He’s really funny too!

Outstanding listen

So cool to hear what was going on behind the scenes. The reading was full of emotion. Reinvigorated my love of Anthrax. Rock on Scott!

YES!!!

Scott Ian IS the man! I've been an Anthrax fan from day one. This book served to open my eyes to a lot of things that went on that we, the fans, had no idea of, and to dispel more than a few rumors. This book came along at exactly the right time. Huge, HUUUUUGE, respect to Scott for bearing his soul to us.