Of Paws & Pentagrams: Metal Cats Merges Meows With Musicians

Despite all of their on-stage theatrics, metalheads still have a soft spot hidden in the haunted forest of their cold, black hearts.

That's the theme of Metal Cats, a new photo book by Alexandra Crockett. It features both felines — who, lacking thumbs, can't exactly do the sign of the horns — and their heavy-metal-loving human owners, who prove that the scene isn't all chainsaw guitar riffs and throaty growls. In it, members of Napalm Death, Thrones, Cattle Decapitation, and more than a dozen others show the furry side behind the corpse paint. After all, every pig squeal must be balanced with a meow.

Best of all, sales of the book will benefit no-kill cat shelters on the West Coast, which is reason enough to pick up a copy, even if you've never heard of Gorgoroth and the like.

To give you a taste, pictured on the cover is Jason Roberts of Night Nurse, Burning Leather, Splatterhouse, and Fall of the Bastards, with his beyond-grumpy cat Oliver. (Sorry, Tard.) Click through to see even more metalheads with their meowing friends. Hail Satan, and also cat snacks.

All photos courtesy of Metal Cats by Alexandra Crockett, published by powerHouse Books.