Metal: A Headbanger's Journey

I don't like heavy metal music; in fact I hate most heavy metal music. I loved Metal: A Headbanger's Journey. It had all the best components of a good documentary, one of the best released in a long time and a good companion piece on a par with Metallica – Some Kind of Monster.

Co-director Sam Dunn is both a metal aficionado and a student of anthropology. He knew how and where to delve into the culture with a healthy reverence for his subject matter, but with the objectivity to examine in a way that outsiders could glean appreciation. I found it fascinating.

In a systematic, well-structured manner, heavy metal's origins and history were examined, as was the disparity between its followers and detractors. Fans, band members and industry experts were interviewed. The questions and answers were intelligent. Historic file footage was used. The culture and its many sub-genres was analysed. The relationships between heavy metal and gender, sex, religion, Satanism and violence were all covered in a most interesting and enlightening manner.

It was shot on location, including at various concerts, across North America, UK and Europe. I found Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath and Ronnie James Dio of Dio (accredited as the inventor of the devil horn sign) the most compelling interviewees, though there were many others too numerous to mention. The sum of the whole turned out a rich result.

Unlike many documentaries of late, where the primary goal appears to be light entertainment using celebrity heads, this film is truly insightful, intelligent, balanced, educational, funny and entertaining! Whatever your taste in music, I highly recommend it.

I saw the film today and was mighty impressed. The film captured the buzz in the '80s when heavy metal became the biggest thing going. It was good to see Iron Maiden and Judas Priest contrasted to current bands such as Slipknot to show how the spirit of the genre is thriving. Tony Iommi, Dee Snider and Ronnie James Dio all give standout interviews with Dio's digs at Gene Simmons being especially revealing. It was also great to see '80s curiosities Accept and Quebec's own Voivod being represented. The segment contrasting the grunting, leather-clad bands such as Man O War with the lace-wearing bands such as Poison and Cinderella was unexpected and fascinating. Showing the closeted Rob Halford performing in full cruising gear for a rabid hetero audience was quite poignant. I especially like how the film stresses how the music let its fans dream, cope and find solace. Those like myself, whose interest in metal may have flagged in the intervening years would do well to view it and remind themselves what all of the fuss was about.

METAL: A HEADBANGER'S JOURNEY is probably the best documentary EVER on the Heavy Metal scene. It encompasses virtually all of metal sub-genres like Hard Rock, Glam, Black, Power (although I have trouble with defining this sub genre in particular), death, prog and thrash. The film's mastermind, 31 year old Sam Dunn, does an excellent job dissecting the genre, from its classical and blues origins, to why the Scandinavian black metal scene is so evil. He even goes out of his way to set up a genealogical tree for metal! For the metal fan who enjoys or enjoyed some of the metal sub genres presented here, he/she will be full of ecstasy and for the uninitiated, this is a good place to start. Interviews with SLAYER, MOTLEY CRUE, EMPEROR, IRON MAIDEN, MAYHEM, DIO, BLACK SABBATH, RUSH, SLIPKNOT, KORN, ARCH ENEMY, TWISTED SISTER, etc. will only leave you wanting for more and more. There's a nice flow to the documentary and, in my humble opinion, wasn't bored in the least.

What I didn't like too much was the fact that Sam Dunn barely talks about thrash metal. Yeah, he mentions METALLICA, MEGADETH, and there's the SLAYER interview, but this sub genre is the one that gets least mentioned (taking into account today's biggest metal band, METALLICA, arose from the thrash movement).On the other hand, black metal and death metal receive more film time. Maybe Sam Dunn wanted to leave the thrash part less explored due to the upcoming thrash documentary, "GET THRASHED", which has been in the making for at least 4 years.

Minor complaints aside, this documentary rocks and if you're a fan of the genre you'll do no wrong in getting this essential film in your DVD library. Thrash on!!!

I saw this film on September 22 at the Atlantic Film Festival. I was with some people who had never heard anything heavier than KISS and wouldn't know Black Sabbath from the Black Label Society. It's a mark of this film's excellence that they really enjoyed it and felt they had gained an understanding of the metal scene.

This is no gushing fan-tribute. Well, it is in part, but I couldn't stay objective either were I given the chance to sit down with Bruce Dickinson at the Hammersmith Odeon. Seriously, it rises far above the fulfillment of a metal fan's dreams to explore many different elements of what makes metal both an enduring artform and one that remains on the fringes.

The structure of the film follows distinct topics - Gender, Censorship, Death & Violence, and more. Each area is thoughtfully explored with comments from many musicians and some outside observers. From the calm commentary of Rob Zombie to the wry humour of Dio to the laughable minimalist interviews with Norwegian black-metal players, there's a broad range of experiences and opinions.

This is an excellent documentary in every way.

I knew it was going to be great when I got my first glimpse of the big chart of metal bands that correctly put KISS far away from the actual musicians. Ronnie James Dio further obliged with a running commentary on Gene Simmon's preference for money over music.

You'll get to see and hear a lot of great bands, from the standard warhorses like Maiden, Metallica, Motorhead and Slayer to the less-mainstream stuff like Voivod.

I surprisingly found this DVD hidden in dark and secluded section of a local DVD store, mostly reserved for B grade flicks, art and indie material. Me being a metal-head myself, was thrilled about watching a documentary that digs into the world's most controversial and "forbidden" style of music/art/life. The experience was a little odd.

The first few seconds into the film, when the all familiar intro of Number of the Beast began, with the clips of metal-heads on screen, I shivered, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I felt something very rare, I felt "I'm at home, baby!" \m/ I won't go ramble on about the things everyone knows. Yes, this film is awesome. It has that rare atmosphere, that only a true metal-head could create, like Sam Dunn. If you are a true rocker, you'll feel in sync with the guy, you'll know what he is talking about and why, but if you aren't into metal, you'll have a hard time understanding some of the meaning.

My biggest problem with this doc, is the same as the others: it's too superficial. For me, it's too much about satanism, gore and torching of churches. For me, metal is not about that. Metal is a form of expression, a way of life. I wanted to see more about metal from around the world.

For an anthropologist, Dunn is far too concerned about the different styles of back and death metal, rather than reviewing metal as a phenomenon and culture around the world. He focuses on the US and Norway, but that is just a little piece of the big picture. What about the rest of Europe? What about eastern metal or other regions of the world? What about the other genres of metal? I wanted to hear more about the different genres, the history and pioneers of each of them...etc, how those evolved and transformed over the years, and who are the artists that made it happen.

In a nutshell, it's too one-sided, too narrow perspective. I know it's only 90 minutes, but it could've been done. Okay, I'm maybe splitting hairs here. I agree, it's a decent documentary, and for such an (pardon the term) amateur team, it's a very good film about metal, but it left me with a nagging feeling of "something's missing", it's somehow not complete, and I guess that's what most people are feeling about this documentary. The interviews are very well done, but with the wrong people. I wanted to hear more big names, more name bands and real pioneers of metal. I know the film is very low-budget, and they probably couldn't pay for an interview with Ozzy, Lars, Joacim Cans or even Serj Tankian, but I really miss those bits from a documentary about metal. Other than that, its a pleasant experience, and I recommend it for every metal-head and non-metal-head out there.