Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2006)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

From my favorite movies..

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

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.

Over a year ago I saw this documentary at the Melbourne International Film Festival (I think). Not being a headbanger, per se (though I do like some heavy metal), I found this documentary very informative and interesting.It's presented by avowed "headbanger" (so called for how fans react to this music) Sam Dunn. Now, there is no doubt some interest in a fan-boy waxing lyrical about their favourite things, but what raises this documentary above the average is that Sam Dunn just happens to be a scholar-an anthropologist-thus ensuring that the content is well thought out and articulated.Of particular fascination to me was the "family tree" diagram featured frequently in this docu of how the various genres of heavy metal relate to each other...that must be the anthropology angle kicking in, I think. When I contacted a site related to this docu, someone mentioned that the DVD of this may have the diagram (or at least future editions would) as a distinct element of the DVD.The docu covers heavy metal as a genre-it's various sub-branches and its putative father, so to speak. What was particularly good about this was that whilst Dunn did posit who he thought created heavy metal as a genre (Black Sabbath), he does provide video footage of bands which piqued my interest in the subject and which could perhaps be argued to have created the genre themselves. In other words, you don't get a completely biased view of the subject from Dunn.Many of the legends of the genre are interviewed in this docu-Tommy Iommi from Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Lemmy from Motorhead and Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson. Not being a great fan of Iron Maiden, I must say that Dickinson was a highlight of this docu for his honest and insightful comments on the art of performing.As there is a school of thought, perhaps, that Metallica are the pinnacle of this genre, they are conspicuous by their large absence from this docu.I've reviewed some heavy metal albums at Amazon under this id. e.g. Coldseed.

This film was just about perfect. My main complaint would be that it was not long enough.It is right up there with The Decline of Western Cilvilization: The Metal years and VH1's 4 part series on Metal. If you like punk, then you would enjoy American HardCore as well.The cool thing about these documentaries is that having grown up when most of these sounds were just kicking in, you get to relive the excitement and fill in a great deal of blanks about what happened behind the scenes.Sam's next film should be out soon: Global Metal. I look forward to that one as well. The more music documentaries the better!!!!

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!!!