Metal - A Headbanger's Journey

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Movie
German title Metal - A Headbanger's Journey
Original title Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
Country of production Canada
original language English
Publishing year 2005
length 94 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Sam Dunn , Scot McFadyen , Jessica Joy Wise
script Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen, Jessica Joy Wise
production Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen
camera Brendan Steacy
cut Mike Munn
chronology

Successor  →
Global Metal

Metal - A Headbanger's Journey is a Canadian documentary film from 2005 about the background and development of the music genre Metal and the cultural aspects associated with it. As a scene report, the film also sheds light on various sociological conditions.

content

Representation of metal genres and subgenres in film

The film opens with a report on Dunn's childhood that shows how he joined the subculture. The main part of the film then begins with Dunn's departure on a kind of world tour, during which he interviews and moderates a wide variety of people and personalities on the subject of metal at festivals, concerts and other locations in England , Germany , Norway , Canada and the USA . In between, concert excerpts are shown again and again.

The actual topic of the film, a comprehensive overview of the metal scene , begins with the early history of the musical style. “Heavy metal fans from the very beginning ” are interviewed, and the rise of the then young band Black Sabbath , at the end of the 1960s / beginning of the 1970s, from the underground milieu to the well-known band, with their “first dark, ' demonic 'way in the history of music'.

In the following, the topics “The Sound” and “Musical Roots” will be dealt with, which will also illuminate the influence of the tritone , classical music , opera and blues on metal. A look at the “environment” of the scene is also taken, for which Dunn interviewed numerous famous artists and bands.

Then it's about the "fans". Here, too, mainly interviews are carried out, but the focus is on metal fans who tell their personal story, how they came to this subculture, what it means to them personally, what feelings are triggered in them when listening to the music or at concerts , and why she is so fascinated and enthusiastic about this music.

A section on the “scene culture” follows. The central part of this section is Dunn's visit to the Wacken Open Air 2004. The aim is to “explore the reasons that unite the fan base”, says Kathrin from the metal webzine metal-district.de . The chapter closes with a rather meaningless, controversial interview with Blasphemer and Necrobutcher from the Norwegian band Mayhem and one with singer Ronnie James Dio .

While in the previous course of the plot only the positive sides and aspects of the topic were shown almost exclusively, more serious and critical topics such as censorship, religion etc. are now dealt with.

This range of topics started with the “first organized attack on metal music” in the United States of America in the early 1980s. At the time, many concerned mothers rebelled against metal bands, the music, and the scene in general, fearing that it would all have a bad impact on their children. So was Dee Snider with the song We're Not Gonna Take It his band Twisted Sister on the list Filthy Fifteen of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) were listed on the bands that were considered harmful to minors at the time. The court case against Dee Snider, in which he had to defend and justify his band, the music and his own lifestyle at the American Congress at the time, is also discussed in great detail.

The following chapter deals with the topics “Gender identification and sexuality”. The place of action is the Las Vegas Strip , to see the singer of the American band Mötley Crüe , Vince Neil , and others in a casino . a. interviewed about the phenomenon of drag queens . Pamela Des Barres , member of the band GTO’s and well-known groupie , asked Dunn about sex life in the 1970s and 1980s and what she actually thought a groupie was.

Then the topic "Religion and Satanism " is dealt with, on which Dunn again u. a. Ronnie James Dio interviewed because this next Gene Simmons of Kiss is said for the popularity of the sign of the horns to be responsible. Even Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, the journalist, author and Church-of-Satan -Reverend Gavin Baddeley , Kerry King and Tom Araya of Slayer and Alice Cooper to comment critically and differentiated to Satan glorification that occasionally the metal by critics, ignorant and opponents is said. The “second wave” of Black Metal in Norway is closely related to this issue , during which, among other things, arson at churches took place in the early 1990s . So Dunn travels to Norway and interviewed the Gorgoroth singer at the time, Gaahl, who made some controversial remarks on the subject.

The documentary concludes with the topic of "Death and Violence", which is treated just as "carefully and critically" as the previous one, "Religion and Satanism". Dunn's interview partners include Alex Webster from Cannibal Corpse , who repeatedly attract attention with bloodthirsty album covers , as well as sociologists . Also addressed is the aspect that various metal bands are considered harmful to young people and are in disrepute for having driven young people to murder or commit suicide. In conclusion, Dunn concludes that Metal is just "harmless entertainment".

background

Canadian cultural anthropologist Sam Dunn has been a metal fanatic since childhood. After completing his thesis on Guatemalan refugees, he decided to research a culture to which he himself belongs and which has been showered with clichés and condemned accordingly since its existence. The aim of the documentary is to try to explain why heavy metal is so polarizing in the reactions to it. As part of this, he interviews numerous musicians from the metal scene, but also sociologists, musicologists, music journalists, fans and groupies .

The film was shown for the first time at the Toronto International Film Festival 2005.

With Global Metal , Sam Dunn has released another film on the subject.

Interview partner

Lettering of the film title

Artist

Others

  • Pamela Des Barres (Groupie)
  • Sam Guitor (Fan)
  • Joe Bottiglieri (Fan)
  • Eric Bryan (Fan)
  • Rolf Rasmussen (pastor in Norway)

criticism

The film received mostly positive reviews, especially from the metal scene, and was also well received by fans. Kathrin from the webzine metal-district.de comes to the conclusion in her review:

“Everyone has to find out for themselves whether Sam [Dunn] can finally clear up the stereotypes. In any case, his film gives a good insight into a subculture that will probably always remain one.
In addition to the [...] documentation, the DVD is of course also equipped with [a lot of] additional material. [...] Absolute buy recommendation! "

- Kathrin

In the general press, opinions were much more complex and mixed. Sometimes the film was praised, but occasionally badly rated or panned. Allison Benedikt of the national newspaper Chicago Tribune writes :

"The film is packed with hilarious, often poignant interviews with metal luminaries."

"The film is crammed with hilarious, often poignant interviews with metal greats."

- Allison Benedict

Jeff Vice, a journalist for the Salt Lake City newspaper Deseret News, comes to a more positive conclusion :

"A film that manages to be intelligent without being boring, making it one of the better music documentaries in recent memory."

"A film that manages to be intelligent without getting boring, which makes it one of the better musical documentaries of recent times."

- Jeff Vice

DVD

The DVD accompanying the film, released on June 1, 2006, also contains around 16 minutes of material that has been omitted and 20 minutes of interviews. Since he had to take some criticism for his portrayal of Norwegian Black Metal , Sam Dunn traveled to Norway a second time and shot the 25-minute short documentary "Black Metal in Norway" about his experiences and extended research.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Overview of the film as a program preview  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , kabeleins.de, accessed on February 16, 2011@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.kabeleins.de  
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Kathi": Metal - A Headbanger's Journey - The film that will take you into the heart of the beast ( Memento of the original from August 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , metal-district.de (detailed review of the film), accessed on February 16, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.metal-district.de
  3. ^ Gavin Baddeley & The Church Of Satan ( Memento of May 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ).
  4. ↑ a b Collection of Reviews and Critiques of Metal - A Headbanger's Journey , rottentomatoes.com, accessed on February 16, 2011 (English)