Twilight of the Gods

I’ll admit it: I approached *Twilight of the Gods* expecting another nostalgic love letter to a dead format. Steven Hyden’s title alone set off my skepticism alarms. But within the first chapter, I was hooked—not by sentiment, but by Hyden’s ruthless clarity. He treats classic rock like a patient in hospice, charting its decline with the clinical precision of a critic who’s done his research but never loses his sense of humor. The chapter on corporate rock’s descent into self-parody alone is worth the price of admission, skewering everything from *Don’t Stop Believin’* covers to the absurdity of reunion tours that cost more than a mortgage payment. Hyden’s writing bristles with the frustration of someone who grew up on these songs but refuses to let nostalgia cloud his judgment. Patrick Lawlor’s narration elevates the material from great to indispensable. His voice has the gravelly warmth of a midnight DJ’s late-show broadcast, perfectly capturing the book’s blend of reverence and bile. When Hyden recounts the tragicomedy of Led Zeppelin’s reunion tour (complete with a $10k VIP experience that included a “golden ticket” to meet the band), Lawlor sells the absurdity with the timing of a stand-up comic. That said, the audiobook isn’t without flaws. Hyden’s chapter on the genre’s racial and gender blind spots, while necessary, feels slightly disjointed from the rest of the narrative, almost like an afterthought tacked on to satisfy a checklist. And while Lawlor’s performance is strong, his voices for certain musicians (looking at you, Axl Rose) occasionally veer into caricature. Still, these are minor quibbles in a performance that otherwise feels like a conversation over beer at 2 AM—loud, opinionated, and impossible to pause.