Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
I'm the Man cover art

I'm the Man

By: Scott Ian,Jon Wiederhorn,Kirk Hammett - foreword
Narrated by: Scott Ian
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.00

Buy Now for £13.00

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Access All Areas cover art
My Effin' Life cover art
18 and Life on Skid Row cover art
Face the Music cover art
Best Seat in the House cover art
It's So Easy cover art
Iron Man: My Journey through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath cover art
Mustaine cover art
The Dirt cover art
I Am Ozzy cover art
Fathers, Brothers, and Sons cover art
Born to Run cover art
The Heroin Diaries: 10 Year Anniversary Edition cover art
Rust in Peace cover art
Scar Tissue cover art
Got The Life cover art

Summary

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

More from the same

What listeners say about I'm the Man

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    178
  • 4 Stars
    35
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    186
  • 4 Stars
    19
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    168
  • 4 Stars
    30
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Metal Thrashing Mad!

I grew up listening to Anthrax. It was the first band I got into alongside Metallica when I left school in 87. So hearing the story of Anthrax told by Scott "NOT' Ian was just amazing. The foreword is read by Kirk Hammett. This is a must for metal fans, especially If you grew up with it. Now shut up, I'm listening again. 🤘

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

He Is Indeed "The Man"

This was a really enjoyable listen from the one and only Scott Ian who narrates virtually the whole thing in his own inimitable brash New Yorker way. He perhaps "over shares" in a few place (I could've done without the giving birth part) but on the other hand, he doesn't shy away from some of the frankly bone headed things he's done over the years (drink driving for example) so it comes over as a genuine "warts and all" tale.

I could take issue with some of his analysis about why some of Anthrax's albums failed (fact is, some of them just didn't contain many good songs) but this book is about what he thinks and he gives it with both barrels. He doesn't pull back...ever!

I'm probably making it sound like there isn't much humour in the book but there is plenty of that as well.

All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone with a passing interest in Anthrax or even the history of "thrash" metal from one of the pioneers of the genre.

Warning: this book does contain quite a lot of profanity!



Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Been a fan ofthe band from the beginning. It's good to get some behind-the-scenes insights to Scott's life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The title tells it all

Ithis ticks all the boxes tales from the inception of thrash metal right up to release of worship music. I'd just love to hear Scott's take on the release of for all the Kings.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The “Thrax”Boysz that make the Noise

I’m OLD SCHOOL and my favourite flavour has always been Motõrhead - right from the start. Been on the “piss with the boys etc.” Metallica came along in my circle of friends whilst skateboarding and for me it always has been 2 wheels and so I was the odd sod out ‘cause I was a BMX slave. Moved from Portsmouth in 1984 up to family in West Coast of Scotland for Work.
Anthrax came on the airwaves, my mates were overcome by the energy, the feel etc of the band and I TRIED SHUNNING new music because I’m old school. However, after much harassment from my Skateboard geezers I gave up and afforded half an hour to listen to “Spreading the Disease” and was totally bowled over. They, in my opinion are fresher, sexier and more energetic than two or three certain bands which I’ll not name as this is my personal choice other than to say SLAYER ARE NOT PART OF THAT EQUATION.

At the end of the day, Anthrax, like Motorhead (Lemmy R.I.P - and still owes me a “bar tab bill”) are survivors because the music boasts no bull***t - the music is as honest as the guys themselves. So chuffed Joey back home - that’s not to detract from the fact that Mr Bush is Awesome and should things go belly-up ever again, I’d suspect John would fill. In all, please please read this testament of one of the most iconic bands in “the heavy genre” and even better, do yourself a favour and educate your ears!!!! Thank you very much for the last 35+ years. You’re all awesome. God bless your lad as well 💀🤘🏼

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

He is the man !!

Read with so much energy you cant help but get caught up in it all (caught in a mosh !!) very interesting .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

NOT to be avoided ..

A must for all thrash fans !
Been an Anthrax fan since '84 seeing them many times . This is well written and brings back great memories
😼👍👍

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good insights and great stories

Great insight to the highs and lows of anthrax. Ian comes across as honest and humble and get some cool stories through the evolution of anthrax and the genre. Recommend for all metal fans.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Essential book for anthrax fans

Everything you need to know about Scott Ian’s anthrax journey,from the early days to the triumphant big 4 shows.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

He’s the Man

I love this guy and his stories mixing with the other legends from that metal age all the way up to today are brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!