The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

I LOVE THIS MOVIE SOOO MUCH IT HURTS

It's brilliant

the best bits are chris holmes from W.A.S.P. drinking himself to an early grave in a swimming pool while his mother watches and frowns every time he says the "F" word, Odin being laughably awful and claiming they'll be bigger than the Stones and Zeppelin ("What if you don't make it?" "Oh but we will!" "Yeah but what if you don't?" "Oh, but we will though, see!?!")

ha ha

It has interviews with Aerosmith, Poison, Lemmy, Ozzy Osbourne (before he went all new-metal and put together the Ozzfest (grrr), Faster Pussycat, Riki Rachtman, Janet Gardner (before Vixen got big) & Megadeth and Live stuff from FASTER PUSSYCAT !!!

this film is totally amazing

It's just a shame it's really hard to find in the UK!

100000000000000000000r out of 10

Obviously with a screen name like "MetalGeek," I was bound to get around to reviewing this movie sooner or later. :)THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION II: THE METAL YEARS (1988) is an fascinating, occasionally hilarious study of the "Glam Metal" scene that was raging in Los Angeles during the late 1980s. If you lived through this period (like I did) and loved the music, then you will find much to enjoy here, from the live performances by L.A. staples Lizzy Borden and young (at the time) hopefuls Odin and Seduce, to the words of wisdom from hard rock royalty like Gene (Kiss) Simmons, Lemmy of Motorhead, and Ozzy Osbourne. The scenes of bikini contests at L.A.'s infamous Gazzari's night club will also provide necessary eye candy. :) The reason I call this an "incomplete" documentary is that for the most part it mainly focuses on the "hair metal" scene and many of the participants are unknown rockers who (righfully) remained unknown after this movie was released. There is no exploration of the history of the genre, nor is there any talk about some of the other trends in metal (thrash, crossover, death metal) that were also making noise in the scene around this same period of time. In addition, many of the younger band members interviewed here come off as delusional, chortling, sex-crazed dorks who are sure that HUGE success is right around the corner for them. Looking at this movie nearly 20 years later you wonder how many of them wound up asking "Would you like fries with that, sir?" when the grunge movement came along in the early '90s and wiped hair metal off of the musical map. In addition to the unintentionally hilarious interviews with the many band members and assorted hangers-on, the film is worth seeing for two things: the absolutely harrowing scene featuring Chris Holmes of W.A.S.P., who floats in his swimming pool, drunk as a skunk, telling the world "I drink because I'm not happy," and the scenes featuring Megadeth in the studio working on the song "In My Darkest Hour." In their interview scenes, Megadeth seem to be the most "together" and lucid band in the entire film, which is kind of ironic now because that short-lived Megadeth lineup eventually dissolved due to massive drug use. In short, headbangers and hair metallers will love the trip down memory lane that this movie provides, but those looking for a documentary about metal that looks beyond the hairspray may be disappointed. I don't believe the film has been released on DVD (probably too many hassles with music publishing rights) but if you can find it on VHS in an out of the way video store it's well worth your while.

This is possibly the most entertaining sequel in film history. The first "Decline" film presented the punk rock scene of the late seventies/early eighties and captured the rebellion and dissatisfaction found in that movement. This film focuses on the much more entertaining glam-metal scene of the late eighties. We witness such awesome sights as W.A.S.P.'s Chris Holmes getting loaded in his pool while his mom sits pool-side contemplating a very late abortion. Our old pal Ozzy's juice-pouring methods are something to behold and my new favorite band Odin sits in a hot tub with a bunch of metal-sluts and tells us how they want to be bigger than Zepplin and the Stones. This is intercut with their live performance where the lead singer expresses less range than Mark Slaughter and has no ass in his pants! We hear about struggling metal-heads who use women for their money and their food (they of course plan to pay them back with furs and cars when they get big.) And the always entertaining Poison treats us to a healthy dose of rock n' roll stupidity. This film contains some of the stupidest people I have ever witnessed. Why it won no Oscars is beyond me. I think it is one of the truly great films of the decade.

Every bit as funny as "This is Spinal Tap" but it's the real deal documentary and these poor guys aren't trying to be funny. Ozzy Osbourne is a gas. Every nobody interviewed was sure they'd be the next Steve Tyler. These dudes look like ladies.

Full disclosure time: this viewer is a metalhead, and has been for over 30 years, since discovering bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Yet somehow catching this documentary, itself almost 30 years old now, eluded him. A follow up to director Penelope Spheeris' earlier definitive punk rock documentary, its focus on the men (and women) who make hard rock and heavy metal is certainly a natural progression, since so many parental and authority figures abominated these genres as well.

The film mostly consists of sit down interviews with some of the reigning kings of the genre and the confident (you could easily call them overconfident) up and comers of the era sharing their thoughts. Not surprisingly, it's the veterans like Lemmy, of Motorhead, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, and Ozzy Osbourne, that tend to offer the most interesting observations and anecdotes. There is one interview, however, with W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes, filmed as he lounges in a swimming pool while his mother (!) looks on. It goes from amusing to disconcerting in a hurry.

The notion of "Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll" is very much on the minds of various interviewees here. Viewers should be prepared for some pretty frank dialogue. One thing that sobers you up quickly is seeing how many of the young turks proclaim that their lives would have no more meaning if they couldn't play their music. Obviously, the aspirations of groups like London, Odin, and Seduce for super stardom didn't pan out, and as Poison front man Bret Michaels points out, it is important to stand out from the pack in some over crowded genres.

The sequences with Bill Gazzari, the so-called "Godfather of Rock 'n' Roll", only serve to add a titillation factor (not that some people will complain about that, mind you), and interviews with an anti-metal authority figure will likely get some viewers hopping mad.

I found it interesting that Megadeth, one of my favorite acts from this era, are saved for near the end, given that they're one act that's portrayed as actually caring more about the music than fame and lifestyle.

Overall, decent entertainment with a variable soundtrack (some of the new music is okay, some of it not so good).

Seven out of 10.