Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey
December 13, 2006 by Jo Minor
This amazingly well-produced documentary follows the travels of one Sam Dunn, a 30-year old anthropologist who is also an avid fan of metal, into the minds of the world’s leading metal musicians and fans alike.
Sam, who plays the role of narrator and host, seeks to find the answers to heavy metal’s most puzzling questions and succeeds in unlocking some of metal’s darkest secrets; and breaks some of the stereotypes surrounding the genre along the way. He is perfect for the job, as his understanding of the genre and knowledge as an anthropologist helps him seek the information he requires.
The DVD starts off with Sam’s attempt to name the first heavy metal band - a question that has dumbfounded people for the longest time - and pinpoints a good, but rather predictable answer.
On the road, Sam manages to interview some of the biggest names in the genre - including Tom Araya of Slayer, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister - thus, drawing an immense amount of credibility to this documentary. It’s very riveting to see what the people behind the music have to say about the stereotypes that shroud the genre, and personally I feel that this is the best part of the DVD.
As the documentary unfolds, it gets even more and more gripping - it manages to stay so interesting that it feels like a work of fiction rather than a factual one - and soon enough it leads to a rather abstract, but very satisfying finale.
Sam does manage to shed some light on this often- ridiculed style of music, and his efforts have made the DVD as the best tool to help explain the art heavy metal to people who only associate it with social ills, moral decay and the corruption of young minds. He also plays an important role as well; Sam is probably the best example of the average-looking metalhead (long haired and all) who is just as successful and intelligent as your run-of-the-mill lawyer or professor.
The documentary is split into separate sections, making the information collected here easily accessible to everyone. The quality of the footage, Sam’s approach as a metalhead and the stars he manages to interview makes this DVD a must-have for all fans of metal, but on the other hand it might not appeal to others.
Having said that, it’s pretty clear that Sam didn’t want his DVD to be watered-down in any way to make it more appealing to the MTV generation, or to any fair-weather film fans,. He had the fans - the true metal enthusiasts - in mind throughout the production of this documentary, and it shows.
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