2008 Woodie Awards
Reviewed: The Heroin Diaries
Erich Pilcher
Issue date: 9/27/07 Section: A&E
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Often times we hear of a tell all book and we buy it just to discover it is over-hyped. Or we buy that hot new soundtrack and find out that it is rehashed old stuff we have heard a thousand times over. There is an exception to the rule and that exception is "The Heroin Diaries" by Motley Crue Bassist Nikki Sixx.
"The Heroin Diaries" is a book and CD that recounts Sixx's deep fall into heroin abuse and other illegal drug addictions. Sixx is often looked at as the brain behind rock's most notorious band.
The accompanying CD acts as a sound track where each song represents a chapter from the dark recesses of Sixx's addiction.
With songs such as current radio single "Life is Beautiful" and "Courtesy Call," Sixx tells a tale of drug addiction that is painstakingly real and makes the listener feel as if they are experiencing it, not just hearing about it. What underlines the cutting guitar riffs and mood-setting bass is the fact that this is a tale we all have seen or lived.
The book further emphasizes Sixx's addiction. While reading one can find a very morbid curiosity in desiring to learn about Sixx's addiction and other emotions such as paranoia, loss, depression and anxiety. Readers may begin to feel empathy for Sixx.
The book is covered with words scrawled and typed across the pages to highlight Sixx's mood on that given day. Also, dark scratched out drawings further reach into Sixx's emotions which can even make the most hardened person feel the pain. Your heart will cry out for Sixx as he becomes the hero of the story.
If the CD is a journey, the book is the jagged road you travel on during the journey.
Simply put, you cannot have one without the other. "The Heroin Diaries" is not just a book or just a CD, it is an experience.
"The Heroin Diaries" is a book and CD that recounts Sixx's deep fall into heroin abuse and other illegal drug addictions. Sixx is often looked at as the brain behind rock's most notorious band.
The accompanying CD acts as a sound track where each song represents a chapter from the dark recesses of Sixx's addiction.
With songs such as current radio single "Life is Beautiful" and "Courtesy Call," Sixx tells a tale of drug addiction that is painstakingly real and makes the listener feel as if they are experiencing it, not just hearing about it. What underlines the cutting guitar riffs and mood-setting bass is the fact that this is a tale we all have seen or lived.
The book further emphasizes Sixx's addiction. While reading one can find a very morbid curiosity in desiring to learn about Sixx's addiction and other emotions such as paranoia, loss, depression and anxiety. Readers may begin to feel empathy for Sixx.
The book is covered with words scrawled and typed across the pages to highlight Sixx's mood on that given day. Also, dark scratched out drawings further reach into Sixx's emotions which can even make the most hardened person feel the pain. Your heart will cry out for Sixx as he becomes the hero of the story.
If the CD is a journey, the book is the jagged road you travel on during the journey.
Simply put, you cannot have one without the other. "The Heroin Diaries" is not just a book or just a CD, it is an experience.
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