Books: Metal Defector

At the age of 10, cherub-faced Seb Hunter wanted one thing for Christmas: heavy-metal band AC/DC's latest album, featuring the raunchy single "Let's Get It Up." Six years later he dropped out of his English boarding school and began a 15-year quest to become a "rock-star god"--and failed. In his new memoir, "Hell Bent for Leather: Confessions of a Heavy Metal Addict," Hunter, 34, documents his encounters with groupies, girlfriends and, of course, sex, drugs and rock and roll. Part social commentary, part personal ode to a dead era of music, "Hell Bent" is more than memoir: it's a crash course in metal. Potential metalers, Hunter explains, should sport long hair to maintain authenticity. And what about clothing? Spandex is the official fabric. It's "skin-tight and comes in a huge variety of rainbow hues and faux animal prints." Rock on.