The upcoming book “No Big Deal” reveals the previously little-known story of the groundbreaking METALLICA and ANTHRAX concert of 1984

On July 27, 1984, the indie record label Megaforce Records released Metallica’s Ride The Lightning in the United States. A few days later, on August 3, a show called “A Midsummer’s Night Scream” took place at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. It featured three underground bands: Raven, Metallica and Anthrax. It was a coming out party for independent metal in America and a legendary event in the history and metal music of Metallica and Anthrax.

It is common knowledge among fans of the band and music industry insiders that a young man named Michael Alago, an A&R man for Elektra Records, was in the audience. Shortly after seeing this show, Alago signed Metallica to Elektra. The group was on a path to something never seen before.

A new book, No Big Deal: Chasing the indie music dream in the last days of the record business, by former music industry executive Dean Brownrout, offers a deeper look into the story. It was Brownrout who, along with Steve Martin, now a leading music agent, convinced noted promoter John Scher that a Raven/Metallica/Anthrax bill could work at the Roseland Ballroom, a 3,500-capacity venue in the heart of Manhattan.

Brownrout said, “In 1983, at 21, I had just moved to NYC and found work as a talent agent signing and booking music acts. I became aware of an underground heavy metal scene that was about to break through and began working with Megaforce Records, a small independent record label that was deeply rooted in that community. Their artists included a little-known group called ‘Metallica.'”

Brownrout continued, “Steve Martin (an agent, not the comedian) and I persuaded John Scher to book the concert, but Scher and his team remained skeptical that these three unknown bands would play any role in ticket sales. The show was sold out.”

2024 will mark the 40th anniversary of this groundbreaking concert.

In his memoir, No Big Deal, due out October 1 from Guernica Editions, Brownrout reveals lesser-known details about how this event came about and offers the reader an overview of this transformative era in the music business.

Born in the early ’60s, Brownrout grew up in the Buffalo, NY area. As a teenager, he put on rock concerts and managed local bands. From 1980 to about 2000, he had an uncanny habit of finding himself at the forefront of cultural changes – from the emergence of new wave and thrash metal to the advent of the commercial Internet. Brownrout worked as an agent with other emerging talent before starting his own record labels (he signed the Goo Goo Dolls to their first record deal).

“No Big Deal” is a humorous and nostalgic journey through a groundbreaking era in the music industry.