Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey | |
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Starring | Sam Dunn |
Distributed by | Seville Pictures Warner Home Video |
Release date | 2005 |
Running time | 96 min. |
Language | English |
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey is a 2005 documentary directed by Sam Dunn with Scot McFadyen and Jessica Wise. The film follows 31-year-old Sam Dunn, a Canadian anthropologist, who has been a heavy metal fan since the age of 12. He sets out across the world to uncover the various opinions on heavy metal music, including its origins, culture, controversy, and reasons it is loved by so many people. The film made its debut at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, and was released as a two-disc special edition DVD in the US on September 19, 2006.
A follow-up to the film titled Global Metal premiered at the Bergen International Film Festival on October 17th 2007, and was released in theatres in June 2008. [1]
Tagline:
- The film that will take you into the heart of the beast
Contents
The film discusses the traits and originators of some of metal's many subgenres, including the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, power metal, glam metal, thrash metal, black metal, and death metal. Dunn uses a family-tree-type flowchart to document some of the most popular metal subgenres. The film also explores various aspects of heavy metal culture. Notable segments include Dunn taking a trip to the Wacken Open Air festival, an interview with Dee Snider providing an analysis of the PMRC attack on heavy metal music, and an interview with several Norwegian black metal bands, many of which whom support Satanism and openly discuss the burning of Norwegian churches.
Interviews
The most insightful information given in the film comes from candid interviews with popular artists from metal's past and present. Notable interviews come from:
In a tragic coincidence, Denis "Piggy" D'Amour died a month before the movie was released. Girlschool guitarist Kelly Johnson (not appearing in the movie, but referenced by Lemmy) passed away in 2007.
Non-musicians
- Bob Ezrin, record producer (KISS - Destroyer)
- Deena Weinstein, sociologist
- Robert Walser, musicologist
- Malcolm Dome, journalist, writer, DJ
- Mike Guitor
- Sam Guitor, fan
- Joe Bottiglieri, fan
- Chuck Klosterman, writer
- Eric Bryan, fan, bass player
- Robert Kampf, founder of Century Media
- Joey Severance, tour manager
- Eddie Trunk, DJ
- Rob Jones, DJ
- Pamela Des Barres, groupie, author of I'm With The Band
- Donna Gaines, sociologist
- Gavin Baddeley, writer
- Monte Conner, senior VP A&R - Roadrunner Records
- Rolf Rasmussen, assistant minister of the Åsane church
- Brian Slagel, owner/CEO of Metal Blade Records
- Rose Dyson, writer
- Keith Kahn-Harris, writer
Soundtrack
- Accept - "Balls to the Wall"
- Arch Enemy - "Silent Wars" (live)
- Black Sabbath - "Black Sabbath"
- Blue Cheer - "Summertime Blues"
- Burn To Black - "Winter Rancid Skies"
- Burn To Black - "Into Shadow"
- Burn To Black - "Microcosmic"
- Burn To Black - "Hellspell"
- Cannibal Corpse - "Decency Defied"
- Children of Bodom - "Needled 24/7"
- David MacDonaldson - "Partita In C Minor - Chorale"
- Diamond Head - "Am I Evil?"
- Dio - "Heaven and Hell" (live)
- Emperor - "Inno A Satana"
- Enslaved - "Havenless"
- Girlschool - "C'Mon Let's Go"
- Iron Maiden - "Run to the Hills" (live)
- Iron Maiden - "The Number of the Beast"
- Lamb of God - "Laid to Rest"
- Metallica - "Master of Puppets"
- Mötley Crüe - "Girls, Girls, Girls"
- Motörhead - "Ace of Spades"
- Motörhead - "Killed by Death"
- Rage Against the Machine - "Killing in the Name"
- Richard Wagner - "Faust Overture"
- Rush - "Working Man"
- Sepultura - "Arise"
- Slayer - "Disciple"
- Slipknot - "(sic)"
- Tim Renwick and Andy Caine - "Ain't Got A Pot To..."
- Twisted Sister - "We're Not Gonna Take It"
- Van Halen - "Eruption" (live)
- Venom - "Bloodlust"
"Definitive metal family tree"
The chart from the film documents various subgenres of metal that have spawned over time, while also attempting to list the prime examples of bands that fall into each category. Below is a typed version of that chart, which can be found on the second disc of the film's special edition DVD package.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Metal_Genealogy.jpg/300px-Metal_Genealogy.jpg)
- Early metal (1966 - 1971)
- Cream - Jimi Hendrix - Blue Cheer - Deep Purple - Led Zeppelin - MC5 - Mountain - The Stooges - Black Sabbath
- Original hard rock (1974 - 1979)
- Thin Lizzy - Blue Öyster Cult - Aerosmith - AC/DC - Ted Nugent
- Shock rock (1968 - 1983)
- Arthur Brown - Alice Cooper - New York Dolls - Kiss - Ozzy Osbourne - W.A.S.P.
- Early punk (1976 - 1979)
- The Ramones - The Damned - The Sex Pistols - The Clash - The Dead Boys
- Power metal (1976 - Present)
- Scorpions - Judas Priest - Rainbow - Accept - Manowar - Dio - Yngwie J. Malmsteen - Helloween - Blind Guardian - HammerFall - Primal Fear
- New Wave of British Heavy Metal (1979 - 1983)
- Motörhead - Saxon - Iron Maiden - Angel Witch - Girlschool - Tygers of Pan Tang - Diamond Head
- Progressive metal (1970 - Present)
- Uriah Heep - Rush - Queensrÿche - Savatage - Fates Warning - Voivod - Dream Theater - Meshuggah - Symphony X - Evergrey
- Glam metal (1973 - 1990)
- Slade - Sweet - Hanoi Rocks - Mötley Crüe - Twisted Sister - Poison - Cinderella - Skid Row
- Pop metal (1978 - Present)
- Quiet Riot - Van Halen - Whitesnake - Def Leppard - Europe - Dokken - Lita Ford - Ratt - Guns N' Roses - Winger - Warrant - Doro - The Darkness
- Stoner metal (1982 - Present)
- Witchfinder General - Trouble - Candlemass - Kyuss - Today is the Day - Cathedral
- Original hardcore (1980 - 1986)
- Bad Brains - Agnostic Front - D.O.A. - Exploited - Black Flag - The Misfits - GBH - Dead Kennedys - Minor Threat
- Thrash metal (1983 - Present)
- Metallica - Slayer - Anthrax - Megadeth - Testament - Exodus - Overkill - Kreator - Destruction - Sodom - Sepultura - Nuclear Assault - Death Angel - Pantera - Children of Bodom
- First wave of black metal (1981 - 1986)
- Venom - Mercyful Fate - Bathory - Celtic Frost
- Norwegian black metal (1990 - Present)
- Mayhem - Gorgoroth - Darkthrone - Emperor - Immortal - Satyricon - Enslaved - Dimmu Borgir - Cradle Of Filth (UK)
- Grindcore (1987 - Present)
- Napalm Death - Carcass - Repulsion - Brutal Truth - Cephalic Carnage
- Death metal (1985 - Present)
- Possessed - Death - Morbid Angel - Obituary - Deicide - Cannibal Corpse - Immolation - Autopsy - Nile - Dying Fetus
- Swedish death metal (1990 - Present)
- Grave - Entombed - At the Gates - Dismember - Arch Enemy - Soilwork - In Flames - Dark Tranquility - The Haunted
- Metalcore (1985 - Present)
- Corrosion of Conformity - Suicidal Tendencies - Dirty Rotten Imbeciles - Machine Head - Stormtroopers of Death - Hatebreed - The Dillinger Escape Plan
- Grunge (1988 - 1993)
- Nirvana - Pearl Jam - Alice in Chains - Soundgarden - Stone Temple Pilots - Green River - Mother Love Bone - The Melvins - Mudhoney
- Goth metal (aka Doom metal on the DVD) (1990 - Present)
- Paradise Lost - Tiamat - Therion - Type O Negative - My Dying Bride - Anathema - Theatre Of Tragedy - Opeth
- Industrial metal (1988 - Present)
- Ministry - White Zombie - Godflesh - Nine Inch Nails - Fear Factory - Marilyn Manson - Static-X
- Hard alternative (1989 - Present)
- Faith No More - Living Colour - Rage Against the Machine - Tool - Prong - Jane's Addiction - The Smashing Pumpkins
- Nu metal (1994 - Present)
- Biohazard - KoЯn - Slipknot - Limp Bizkit - Godsmack - Coal Chamber - Disturbed - Kittie - System of a Down
- New Wave of American Metal (2000 - Present)
- Shadows Fall - Lamb of God - God Forbid - Darkest Hour - Chimaira - Killswitch Engage - Unearth
References
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