| Product: |
Metal - A Headbanger's Journey (DVD) |
| Date: |
05/12/08 (307 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Original footage, engaging structure
Disadvantages: All the genre descriptions are not that accurate (eg. Cradle of Filth is not Norwegian black metal)
'Metal: A Headbanger's Journey' is the ultimate Metal documentary! That is a bold statement. Now let me tell you why. Numerous documentaries have been made about this style of music. Usually they consist of a handful of interviews and some stock footage. What makes this documentary unique is that it was made by Sam Dunn, anthropologist and metal fan from Canada. Sam started asking himself some questions about metal, and in order to answer them he got a film team together and set out on a journey. Are you starting to see how this is a more engaging approach than your typical music documentary? Sam takes you on board for his journey and has plenty or original interview footage and interesting angles. Sam is a an anthropologist, which affects this documentary in that it is slightly more intellectual than your run of the mill metal documentary. It does however stay mundane.
The documentary is broken into sections, such as
'Origins', 'Roots', 'Environments', 'Culture', 'Sexuality, 'Religion' and 'Death'.
The questions Sam seek to answer fit nicely into these categories, such as how metal music originated, why it means so much to some people, while it causes such negative reactions among certain groups, even exploring the phenomenon of church arson ignited by black metal musicians in Norway in the early 1990s and the phenomenon of groupies These questions are being explored through Sam's journey and first hand interviews with artists such as Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Lemmy of Motorhead, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, Dio, Alice Cooper, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Mayhem, Emperor, Gorgoroth, Rob Zombie, Lamb of God, Cannibal Corpse, Slipknot and many more.
'Metal: A Headbanger's Journey' should be seen by any metal fan at all interested in the genre they adore, even if they think they know it all. It's such an entertaining ride! In fact, anyone with a slight interest in the genre, or music in general, might find this entertaining. The 2 disc version of the DVD comes with a bonus documentary about Norwegian Black Metal, which lasts for half an hour and is easily one of the best documentaries about the subject ever put together.
Summary: The most comprehensive look at the Metal genre in documentary form to date
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Last comments:
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- 02/06/09 True, if you're an obsessive genre fan, you might not learn a lot of new things (and you'll be especially annoyed by some of the bands in the genre classification overview) however, I'd argue that even if you know a lot of what is covered here, it's a very entertaining and well done documentary.
I think Necrobutcher was *very* drunk and/or high. It's probably not his proudest moment. I saw a documentary about him on television in Norway a couple of years ago. He has a daughter, and he really enjoys gardening. I think he shows off an exceptionally bad side of himself in 'A Headbanger's Journey'.
The documentary you mention could be interesting, but I also find that a lot of these documentaries simply get boring as they repeat the same stories over and over and show the same old stock footage.
I think Peter Beste's most classic picture is Kvitrafn with corpse paint on standing at the side of the street in Røros or some place like that, and there's an old lady walking past with a priceless expression on her face! |
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- 01/06/09 I thought this was a great documentary but being a metal obsessive it didnt tell me anything I didnt already know. I was astonished at just how much of a cock Mayhem's Necrobutcher came across as though!
I heard a while back that a documentary specifically about the Burzum and the early Norwegian Black Metal scene was in the pipeline.... looking forward to that one.
Also you might like to check out photographer Peter Beste's visual study of Norwegian BM if you havent already....
http://www.pe terbeste.com/bm.html |
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- 31/05/09 This would make a great gift for several people I know. Never heard of it before either, thanks!
:) wishing you laughter |
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