Moving from continent to continent, Assault of the Earth profiles 50 of the best and most unique practitioners of heavy metal. It’s an unprecedented look at a now-universal musical language, interviewing artists who have toured the world and sold hundreds of thousands of albums—but also surveying artists who toil through adversity to play what they love in remote parts of the globe.

In an industry of sagging sales, metal and its countless variants continue to flourish, accounting for a still-growing market share. This infectious form of musical expression has spread around the world, and the digital age makes it possible for localized scenes in unlikely places. These 50 anomalous groups each offer an uncommon perspective on the genre, with styles that range from Egyptian death metal to Scandinavian folk metal, Taiwanese black metal, collaborative Afghan industrial metal, South American sludge, progressive metal fusion, and ambient doom metal.

Join the global metal movement as these artists discuss the impact that a smaller planet, overlapping cultures, and the Internet have had and will have on the still-evolving metal species. Discover how metal has connected people that are thousands of miles apart, learn of the obstacles that are overcome where metal is taboo, and get a glimpse of how musicians spend their time when not exhausting themselves on tour or toiling in the studio.

Featured musicians include Mastodon, Dimmu Borgir, Meshuggah, Nile, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Sigh, Chthonic, Melechesh, Mar de Grises, Nervecell, and many more.