DVD Review: Metal: A Headbanger's Journey

One of the most sought after pieces of the original doc was The Definitive Metal History Family Tree. Completely interactive and with a write-up for each category of metal music this is a fantastic bit of interactivity for the viewer tracing the roots of metal music. I was so glad that this was included in the DVD set.

What I was also looking forward to watching was the Mini-doc on Norwegian Black Metal, following up on the segment in the full length doc. It turns out that there was some controversy back in Norway. Not so much because Dunn and his gang spoke about the infamous church burnings but because the Black Metal community was concerned that everyone involved in this sub-genre would be perceived in this light. Having provided opportunity for those in the community to say, ‘Hey. We don’t burn churches’; he then looks to uncover the reason why a country with a population no bigger than Toronto can spawn such a dark sub genre.

Inside the Norwegian culture there is such a strong urgency to battle against what is perceived as an attitude of conformity imposed upon the individual. Black Metal in a sense helps some of those individuals challenge the social demographic ideology. And whatever institution conforms to that attitude or solicits it falls under attack from those trying to keep their individuality. That may be the church or the government. It is the imposition on the individual, quite opposite to metal music, that fires their guns.

When it comes to Satanism in Black Metal music there isn’t much to say what you couldn’t have already guessed on your own. Anti-Christian lyrics and imagery go hand in hand with Black Metal. Some believe that it is their goal to ‘procreate Satan’ with their music. Others use it because it is rebellious. But Black Metal has nothing to stand against except for Christianity. So… HA HA!!! Black Metal needs Christianity. But then that was already covered in the doc. It is stressed that what it boils down to is rebellion against sociological norms. Not JUST religion.

But the mini-doc does speak to connecting to something; anything at all. No matter who you are or where you come from you are looking for something to make you feel connected. The mini-doc not only speaks as a commentary on the music sub-genre but also a social/cultural commentary on Norwegian culture [if not all cultures around the world] and it’s failing to reach out to its youth.

There are 17 extended interviews. Watch Alice Cooper speak about the subtlety of the Devil. Dee Snider of Twisted Sister talks about deceptive practices with censorship. Tom Morello of Rage and Audioslave fame talks about creating an anti-racism movement within metal. These are just some of the tasty bits added in.

And you cannot forget the feature of the fabulous Lemmy from Motorhead. He always has something to say. I finally understand an old college roommate of mine, Doug.

And the extras and outtakes are set to a thumping riff and we see a few bits and pieces from Norway, Germany, England the U.S. and Canada.

Overall, the extras disc is a very satisfying follow-up companion to a very good doc. And we are glad to hear that Dunn and his gang of rapscallions are looking to make another doc, Global Metal, in the near future. The only thing that I have to say about the disc and maybe this was just a glitch in my copy but does anyone else have a set where the audio levels between the root menu and the features is way off? Did anyone else have to crank up the volume when the features started playing? That’s my only beef. Keep those audio levels consistent. That way, when I fall asleep into the wee hours of the night on my fourth of fifth viewing of the extras I am not rudely awoken by Chugga Chiggy Wugga.