Author(s): Stephen Davis

Music

If ever there were Satanic Majesties of rock their name was Led Zeppelin. The band that out-sold the Rolling Stones and made Robert Johnson's deals with the devil look like a playground game of conkers were as high, inflated and glorified as their namesake. In Stephen Davis' scorching account of their phenomenally successful career, no aspect - however disquieting - is ignored. The infamous encounters with willing groupies in hotel bedrooms, the narcotic, alcoholic and psychotic wreckage they wreaked, the disturbing influence of the notorious mage Aleister Crowley on lead guitarist Jimmy Page and the death of John Bonham are all recorded. Above all, the exultant, blazing charge of their music and its effects on Led Zeppelin and their fans is scrutinized. "Hammer of the Gods" is a fierce and fearless story about a band that remain a legend of musical, sexual and mystical power. It is the last word in rock 'n' roll savagery. 'The biggest surprise success of the year ...the Led Zep tale, drenched in sex, drugs and psychic abuse, demonstrated the validity of all the old adages about talent, power and corruption.