God doesn't hate us all, but it's a great fucking title for an album." – Tom Araya
Directed by Sam Dunn, Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey follows this long devoted metalhead on his quest to delve into the culture of heavy metal. On his journey he explores the origins of this often misunderstood and negatively publicised culture, with interviews with famous musicians from bands such as Black Sabbath, Lamb of God, Rob Zombie, Iron Maiden and Mayhem to name a few. The Documentary covers a vast amount of subjects related to the metal culture such as the history and origins of Heavy metal, its influence, controversies and why it is greatly loved and despised among the wider community.
What is so powerful about this documentary is that despite the reputation, Heavy Metal was, and in some retrospect still is one of the most popular forms of music worldwide. Director Sam Dunn emphasises this point by travelling to the ends of the globe, Particularly America, Europe and more interestingly Norway. Here he finds that while culturally diverse, fans love of heavy metal sets them apart whether you are the different kid from a small town or a group of friends heavily suppressed by their boring and monotonous environment.
No stone is left unturned as Dunn investigates the 1984 U.S committe hearings from parents concerned that metal has spawned a violent and possessive culture, who even took it as far as to try and ban the music altogether. This infamous point in the history of metal is renowned for the creation of warning labels on records we see today. As silly as this looks from a Metal fan perspective it is communicated in an unbiased fashion, which gives Dunn a sense of credibility and journalistic integrity.
Fans devotion leading to suicide is discussed to a small degree, although I did find it interesting that despite several law suits, no Metal band has yet to be held accountable of any death due to lyrical themes that suggest and imply self mutilation, hatred and in some cases Satanism. This leads me to perhaps the most interesting segment of the documentary, Dunn’s exploration of the Norwegian Black Metal Scene. This is perhaps both the funniest and most disturbing portion, dealing strictly with Satan worshippers and an interesting insight into the infamous band Mayhem. An interview with a pastor from a church in Norway, who was there to witness the burning of several churches by none other than Varg Vikernes claiming his intended plan was to destroy Christianity.
This is notable because up to this point of the documentary we had seen the fan and musician perspectives on the genre, and this is quite geniously contrasted with the darker and often feared side. A weird interview with gorgoroth vocalist Gaahl, proves that these musicians are men of few words (is that blood or wine in the chalice?). Following is a brief discussion into Death Metal, with an interview with some Cannibal Corpse members who discuss the quiet but ever present fan base and why Metal serves as a sense of purpose to both wayward teenagers and appreciators of technical rock.
While this documentary provides an interesting insight into the world of metal some important factors are overlooked. There was no discussion about the corporate side of metal and why it remains one of the highest selling genres of music. There is also some conflicting or hypocritical remarks about outcasts and rebels in the metal scene and the utter commerciality and success of the metal music industry. After all aren’t “different kids” not into things as gigantic and popular as metal?
Ultimately I recommend this documentary to both metal lovers and people who don’t listen to or know much about the genre. It may not change your mind on past controversial topics such as masculinity or violence in the genre but it will indeed give you a greater appreciation of the music and a different image, one that is not viable to public scrutiny.
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