Back in my teenage days, I was obsessed with punk rock and heavy metal music. I listened to (and enjoyed) several bands that might now be considered politically incorrect (S.O.D. and The Meatmen were two such bands). Even back then The Mentors, from what I had heard of them, seemed to go further than I wanted, although I did admire the fact they played in executioner hoods (the band liked the movie Mark of the Devil).
The Mentors: Kings of Sleaze Rockumentary is a sometimes interesting, sometimes frustrating look back. Coming out of Seattle in the late 1970's, El Duce (drums and vocals), Sicky Wifebeater (guitar), and Dr. Heathen Scum (bass) formed a band that shocked and appalled most with offensive lyrics (the band were branded "rape rock," a description the band wore proudly). The band was even banned in Canada. Punk (and heavy metal, to some degree) was always about shock ("Belsen was a gas" the Sex Pistols sung back in the day). Offensiveness comes with the territory. Still, wearing the banner of "rape rock" and singing a song, no matter how tongue in cheek, about beating up homosexuals, post Mathew Shepard, seems too much even by my apologetic standards.
The documentary does not do much to address the controversy, praising the band for upsetting Tipper Gore and the PMRC. All of the interviews are laudatory in nature. That is one of the problems of the documentary. To be fair, filmmaker April Jones should have interviewed musicians from the era who were offended by The Mentors. Another problem with the documentary is the ending. El Duce (real name Eldon Hoke) was an alcoholic since he was a teenager. In 1997, he (while drunk) was hit by a train. This was shortly after he gave a rambling interview where he claimed to know who murdered Kurt Cobain. Jones suggests that El Duce was murdered because he knew too much. Sure, and for a C note I will tell you what happened to Jimmy Hoffa.
All in all, the film did hold my interest. There were some funny stories told. I particularly liked the one about how The Mentors inadvertently ended up playing a little kid's birthday party. The film, however, did not make me want to track down The Mentors music, and as journalism, the film is mostly a miss.
