Check out another text written by one of our WikiBrothers:
by Allan Lima
Information is the foundation of everything, and having knowledge about a subject defines the difference between someone being ignorant, prejudiced, or a lover of it. Therefore, I will dedicate these first lines of 2013 here on our beloved website to gathering information about something we love most in life: Heavy Metal.
Considered a subgenre of Rock born in England, rooted in classical music and Blues, and highly developed in the USA, the greatest characteristic of this style of music – and why not say, of life – is freedom, ratified here on the site by Daniel Dystyler's excellent text .
We can add rebellion and attitude. The fans, these (read: us), often have a religious devotion; the bands, throughout the decades, have defined a behavior averse to the impositions of society. The songs express love, sex, politics, religion, occultism, or simply nothingness or chance, and that doesn't make them any less important.
Perhaps that's why the masses feel so close to them, and when it comes to freedom, documentaries express this very well. Below I've listed what I consider the most important in terms of artistic and informative relevance, without a technical/cinematographic analysis (production method, etc.), and I've included national films. Let's look at them:
1. Noise from the Mines, by Felipe Sartoreto.
Based on a Communication Studies thesis from UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais), this work portrays the scene of the time, the emergence of bands like Sepultura and Sarcófago, the genesis and difficulties of what is known as Brazilian Heavy Metal
2. Botinada – the origin of punk in Brazil
Produced by former MTV VJ Gastão Moreira (released by ST2 in 2006, based on the other documentaries Punks, Garotos do Subúrbio and Rota ABC, it narrates the story of the beginning of the punk movement in the country, which took place between 1976 and 1984):
3. The Exploited: Rock'n'Roll Outlaws.
A documentary telling the story of one of the most effusive and powerful punk rock bands, featuring footage from the private video collection of the band's leader, Wattie Buchan, and an interview with him. A must-see for fans of the genre
4. Get Thrashed – The Story of Thrash Metal.
Directed by Rick Ernst, starring prominent interviewees such as Dave Mustaine, Lars Ulrich, Scott Ian, and others. It recounts the impact of the style and how bands lived between the 1980s and 1990s
5. Full Metal Village, by Cho-Sung Hyung, in 2007.
This documentary details the biggest heavy metal festival in the world, the Mecca for headbangers, Wacken Open Air. The detail portrayed in this documentary is the paradox between the peaceful people of the village of Wacken, dedicated to organizing WOA, and the explosion that is the event itself
6. Metal: A Headbanger's Journey.
Written by anthropologist and heavy metal fanatic Sam Dunn , one of our great interviewees at Wikimetal.
Traveling the world, Sam interviews various icons of metal music, trying to identify its origins, variations (or subgenres, if you prefer), unique characteristics, culture, and why it's such a beloved lifestyle around the globe.
The documentary's final line fills any fan with pride. A must-have in your DVD collection
7. Global Metal, also by Sam Dunn.
As essential for a Metal fan as the previous one, or a classic film from those "things you must do before you die" lists.
An analysis of the genre's roots, provocation, and prejudice (Sam visits countries outside the US-UK axis, such as Brazil, India, Japan, and Indonesia). It explores the differences between peoples, united in a single unity: Heavy Metal in its essence. Personally, I prefer this one to "A Headbangers…", but they complement each other. If in doubt, watch both:
8. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky.
They decided to film the group therapy session the band underwent during a period of crisis in the early 2000s.
Jason's departure, the fights between Lars and Kirk, James's rehabilitation from alcohol abuse, in short, the fragility of a relationship over time and the ways to treat and recover it. An interesting perspective that shows the other side of one of the greatest metal bands of all time.
9. Anvil! The history of Anvil, by Sacha Gervasi.
Everything that could go wrong for a band that had everything going for it (like a plate of food offered as payment after a show in the Czech Republic, for example). The lack of talent and money, the struggle for certain ideals, the difficulties in touring Europe and Japan, all permeated by the friendship between Canadians Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner.
10. The Spinal Tap.
A classic satire, also in documentary form, that tells the story of the band Spinal Tap about their tours, failures and stardom, but a good part of the script consists of metaphors that happened in real life with real bands, mostly English (Saxon, Led Zeppelin and others).
Watch and you'll understand why Wikimetal's lists have 11 items, not ten!!!
11. Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage.
And here are the excellent Sam Dunn and Scott McFayden again, this time with a 2010 documentary about the greatest progressive band of all time, RUSH!
If you still have doubts about the grandeur and technique of these Canadians who have been active since the early 70s, watch the DVD “Rush in Rio”, and if you want to specialize even more, watch this documentary, which talks about the musical evolution of the Power Trio, in addition to interviews with big names in Rock and Heavy Metal, old and new, such as Kirk Hammet, Mike Portnoy and Gene Simmons, people involved in the band's production and also their families…and of course, lots of quality music, such as the tracks Far Cry, Working Man and others, taken from great shows throughout their beautiful career.
Simply unmissable:
PS: I'm not including "Brasil Heavy Metal," a documentary about Brazilian Heavy Metal featuring bands from the 1978-88 decade that sang in Portuguese, produced by Ricardo Michaelis (Micka, from the band Santuário), due to a lack of information regarding its official release, scheduled for 2013, as well as the official music video. Let's wait and see!
Therefore, you can see – or rather, observe – that there is extensive and diverse material available, both in terms of production and related to the subject matter. Much of it is available online, or you can purchase the original DVD from specialized stores.
I hope our WikiBrothers enjoy these 11 tips and draw their own conclusions about what Heavy Metal represents in terms of culture, how it was shaped by fire and iron, or even just have a good laugh and enjoy our good old music. Before we go, get your popcorn, beer, and neck ready! Big hug!
Allan Lima
Thanks to film critic Cesar Nogueira, from Cine Set , for the tips and enthusiasm for the topic.
*This text was written by a Wikimate and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the site's authors.
Click here to see other texts by WikiBrother Allan Lima!
