Eddie Trunk - the host of VH1 Classic's hit television program That Metal Show - is featured in a new interview with Jeb Wright at Classic Rock Revisited discussing his new book, Eddie Trunk's Essential Hard Rock And Heavy Metal. An excerpt is available below.

Jeb: Let’s talk about the importance of books like this. Our genre that we love, Hard Rock and Metal, are becoming…well…older.

Eddie: "I think the classic bands are alive and well, and maybe healthier than they have been in a long time. AC/DC is the biggest band on the planet and not stopping almost 40 years on. BON JOVI has been huge on a global level for decades. On the metal side, The Big 4 are doing massive stuff all over the place. I’m also impressed with the new music the classic bands are making. The new WHITESNAKE, BCC, WARRANT, ANTHRAX, MR. BIG, MOTÖRHEAD and RUSH are great new music. I just wish more people would support it or care about it. It's amazing the music some of these older bands are doing now, but sadly they get little airplay or interest. That, to me, is a big problem, people only want the hits and don’t want to explore new stuff."

Jeb: Do you feel that the eras of the late '60s, the '70s and the '80s will prove to be the most celebrated music in rock history? If so, why and if not why?

Eddie: "That’s impossible to say. Sitting here in 2011, and growing up with that stuff, it’s our music, so of course we feel that, but who’s to say in 40 years someone won’t look at that era like we view the ‘50’s and they will talk about the 2000’s as the Golden Era? It’s all relative."

Jeb: In your book, you feature 35 bands as the most essential. They range from speed metal, to melodic hard rock, to old school metal. Hard rock and metal have so many offshoots that it can be difficult to categorize this music, let alone write a book about it.

Eddie: "I have always loved hard rock and heavy metal. In radio, TV, and now this book, I clearly define what the difference is. I’m actually not a fan of the name That Metal Show for TV because clearly the show is a Rock & Metal show, but VH1 wanted that name. Every show opens with me saying 'Hard rock and heavy metal.' In TV, radio and the book, it’s all classic leaning rock and metal from mostly the ‘70s and ‘80s. It's what I love and have grown up with and is targeted toward that generation. I am fully aware there are tons of other eras and styles, but this is what I do. My book has everything from BILLY SQUIER to SLAYER. Both I have loved and supported and I think are important for the reasons I state in the book. I have always been about that."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Abrams Image released metal guru Eddie Trunk's Essential Hard Rock And Heavy Metal, a new 240 page book featuring 150 color photos, on April 1st. PiercingMetal.com attended the official release party at the Hard Rock Cafe at Times Square in New York City. An excerpt from Ken Pierce's recap is available below.

"For many years the general public has known Eddie from his radio shows both satellite and terrestrial and then as the main man on the VH1 Classic hit program That Metal Show. Now he can add author to his listing of accomplishments. The affair was not open to the general public but some of the shows fans were given the opportunity to win a spot in the room and also to receive a copy of the book to take home with them after it was all done."

Click here for more, including photos featuring Trunk, ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy, TWISTED SISTER's Eddie Ojeda, and GUNS N' ROSES' Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal.

A description of Trunk's book reads:

Known as a leading expert on all things hard rock and heavy metal, Eddie Trunk continues to entertain fans on the radio and as the host of VH1 Classic's hit television program That Metal Show with his passion for music. In his debut book, Eddie discusses his most essential bands, his unique personal experiences with them, his favorite "Stump the Trunk" anecdotes and trivia, as well as his favorite playlists.

Whether you're a classic METALLICA or MEGADETH metalhead or prefer the hair metal of old-school BON JOVI or POISON, Eddie Trunk's Hard Rock and Heavy Metal salutes all who are ready to rock!

The new book also features a foreword from JUDAS PRIEST frontman ROB HALFORD. Check out a trailer below: