I just saw the screening with the film makers on hand. I wish I could have joined them afterwards at the bar which they invited us all to, but I've gotta work tomorrow. Oh, well.
The film was what I had expected. I wasn't expecting a definitive work on one of my favorite kinds of music but rather what had been touted as a love-letter to heavy metal artists and fans. That it was. It was funny in parts, interesting in parts, not overly educational but all in all just what I had wanted...a longhaired, down-to-earth guy giving an overview of us metalheads and some of the music, bands and metal styles that makes us happy. This was not a corny VH1 type of special but rather a heartfelt tip of the hat to a culture that is still going on with teenagers and with us slightly older folks. The teens get their release at the end of a school day and us older ones get our release when we come home from work. We all crank up the metal.
It is a film that is at once scattered in it's presentation but also held together by it's topic. It has a good enough array of commentary from musicians that keeps the pace flowing well. Most of the musician interviews come with at least one good one-liner making metalheads and non-metalheads grin with or grin at the subject. Specifically, as much of a blip as Twisted Sister was in the 80's (and I am not a fan), I keep noticing through the years that Dee Snider is a very adept, articulate and funny person. In my mind he is probably the best spokesman for the heavy metal community. He had me laughing.
I think this film speaks more to the fact that metal is a release. Some people get it and some people don't, but for some reason it works perfectly to some of us who use the music to let loose, no matter what sub genre we are into. This was a great love-letter to metal for both young and old and I look forward to the DVD with the extra footage.
The film was what I had expected. I wasn't expecting a definitive work on one of my favorite kinds of music but rather what had been touted as a love-letter to heavy metal artists and fans. That it was. It was funny in parts, interesting in parts, not overly educational but all in all just what I had wanted...a longhaired, down-to-earth guy giving an overview of us metalheads and some of the music, bands and metal styles that makes us happy. This was not a corny VH1 type of special but rather a heartfelt tip of the hat to a culture that is still going on with teenagers and with us slightly older folks. The teens get their release at the end of a school day and us older ones get our release when we come home from work. We all crank up the metal.
It is a film that is at once scattered in it's presentation but also held together by it's topic. It has a good enough array of commentary from musicians that keeps the pace flowing well. Most of the musician interviews come with at least one good one-liner making metalheads and non-metalheads grin with or grin at the subject. Specifically, as much of a blip as Twisted Sister was in the 80's (and I am not a fan), I keep noticing through the years that Dee Snider is a very adept, articulate and funny person. In my mind he is probably the best spokesman for the heavy metal community. He had me laughing.
I think this film speaks more to the fact that metal is a release. Some people get it and some people don't, but for some reason it works perfectly to some of us who use the music to let loose, no matter what sub genre we are into. This was a great love-letter to metal for both young and old and I look forward to the DVD with the extra footage.