In hard rock history, there is the time before Metallica and there is everything that has come since: metal, punk, industrial, grunge, alternative-all of it absorbed, transformed, and reinvented by the band that, for decades, has ruled as both the Beatles and the Stones of heavy music.

From garage rock to the avant-garde, indie pop to hardcore punk and, of course, all shades of metal, If You Like Metallica . . . illuminates the sounds and styles that influenced and have been influenced by this band, in addition to nonmusical elements such movies, books, and cultural iconoclasts.

Just as Metallica expanded heavy metal to new meanings and new possibilities, If You Like Metallica . . . expands being a fan of the band to an education and a treasure hunt that, put as bluntly as a devil-fingered salute to the face, rocks.