Jan-Peter Herbst

Elena Bos
"Overall, the volume manages to fulfil its promise of »providing a broader scope and an overview of metal music studies« (3). Readers will gain a sense of the diversity within metal as a distinct music culture, but also of the broad range of disciplinary approaches and perspectives in metal research. Contributions mostly provide a sound recapitulation of established theories within the field, and, along with the annexed bibliography, which encompasses most of the important recent secondary literature, invite further reading. […] the volume demonstrates the nuanced and constructively critical thinking prevalent in this academic niche, which makes it an essential reading both for established as well as new metal studies scholars and will hopefully inspire more innovative research." (original review)

Dr Reinhard Kopanski:
"The study 'Gear Acquisition Syndrome: Consumption of Instruments and Technology in Popular Music' by Jan-Peter Herbst and Jonas Menze addresses these almost limitless possibilities for upgrading one's own equipment. The authors present […] a first comprehensive academic study on the 'Gear Acquisition Syndrome' in which the phenomenon is explored in a multi-method manner. […] All in all, Gear Acquisition Syndrome is a thoroughly entertaining book, but one with a lot of (methodological and theoretical) requirements and demands a certain affinity for music technology as well as a basic understanding of sound designing and engineering practices. Theoretically and methodologically, the study is well done." (original review)