Old school metalheads might like this movie...
 

This is kind of a weird post but I was bored this weekend, watching old Black Sabbath documentaries and stumbled upon a Netflix original movie called "Metal Lords".

At its core, it's a cliched HS coming of age story. Not much to see really if it wasn't for the subject matter.

As someone who discovered heavy music in the early 80's, the movie really resonated with me. The kids are heavily stereotyped but the stereotypes ring very true as someone who grew up in a strait-laced, rural Iowa town. Whether it's the jokes about D&D, or the constant references to heavy metal being devil music, or even the metal kid getting the shit kicked out of him by the school's star football player, it brought back a lot of memories.

On top of that, it has a killer soundtrack. Lots of old and new metal - Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden mixed in with Metallica, Mastodon, and Opeth.

Interestingly enough, Tom Morello from RATM produced the movie and was a valued consultant for the film. He also wrote the movie's title track (which the kids perform towards the end of the movie) and it ****ing rips. He also brought in some metal icons for cameos.

All in all, I really enjoyed this movie, teenie tropes and all.

https://www.netflix.com/title/81207588

I watched it a couple of months ago and had completely forgotten how good it really was. Definitely has some cliche moments but it was way better than I thought it was going to be.

Yeah, like I said, it’s really just a HS coming of age story at its core, including the two geeky kids that hookup for the “romance” element. But the main characters are just so spot on that it turned out great.

I've seen it around and been curious about it. I'll give it a go.

Definitely do. I thought going into it that it was going to be horrible with some good music but I came out of it really liking it.

I can’t guarantee you will like it. It’s kinda cheesy in places and it’s definitely not the type of movie I would normally watch but the music stuff drew me in and then I ended up really enjoying it.

Sounds like something I'd totally enjoy, a good rock n roll inspired coming of age tale

It ain't rock and roll, it's straight up metal. It isn't School of Rock (great movie but musically blah to me).

The other thing I really related to was them having to compete for popularity against an Ed Sheeran cover band. God, getting gigs back then was ****ing impossible.

It was a fun movie, I've watched it a few times.

Have you watched Heavy Trip?

If so, how does this one compare?

Had some good tunes, but the story was a bit too teeny bopper and the main dude was too much of a pos to really care about.

Haven't seen it.

IMO, the main dude was the drummer. But yeah, the "metal" guy was a POS. You didn't have one friend in HS that all he did was tell everybody that their music isn't "true metal"? :D

Finnish movie, pretty damn good.

Well, it looks like another way to capitalize on the wave of 80's style entertainment (a la Stranger Things) but this time it's not set in the 80's. These kids today don't know what "metal" is. Their music isn't..."true metal"...heh.

...I went there...

Just kidding. As a child of the 80's who was DEFINITELY a Metal Head, I definitely want to see this.

Well, the movie was produced by Tom Morello of RATM. He's 59 years old, so he came of age in the late 70's/early 80's. It's no coincidence that the movie features bands like Judas Priest and Black Sabbath - I've seen a lot of interviews with Morello about this influences (he's a HUGE Mob Rules fan, as am I). So even though it's not actually set in the 80's, the characters are absolutely 80's archetypes.

As for "kids today" I'm a live and let live, guy. That's why Hunter was so relatable to me - gatekeeping, for better or worse, is extremely prevalent in metal. People act like taste is objective for whatever reason. Just go seek out any social media conversation on the band Ghost and you'll see what I mean.

Maybe i should check this out,i was kind of a late bloomer,but i definitely got into mainstream metal. Then again,i can watch those cheesy metal docs,about some of the old rockers telling the same stories about The Sunset Strip days etc. haha.

were you watching the fan made documentaries or something else?

I've watched a bunch of the fan made ones. Sabotage was the best. Born Again was good too.

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You had me at "old school metalheads"

So the day that I watched this movie, I watched Dio: Dreamers Never Die.

https://www.diodreamersneverdie.com

Of course, there was a ton of stuff revolving around The Rainbow because literally everybody who was somebody in metal was always hanging out there. Other than that, there wasn't much about the Sunset Strip scene because Ronnie wasn't really a part of it.

BTW, here's a clip from Dreamers Never Die. One of the coolest parts, IMO.

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That reminds me,i just watched on youtube a documentary called The Rainbow,its really good,told about the history of the place.

Also,question for anyone,have you seen the film about The Outhouse in Lawrence ? I never actually went there,but i'd really like to watch it,just can't find it without paying for it haha.

I think I have seen it. I'm a huge fan of both Ronnie and Lemmy, both of whom practically lived at the Rainbow.

Ronnie's history with the Rainbow is personal, too. That's where he met Wendy, for starters.

Ronnie and Lemmy man if there is a Heaven that will have them I can just see them leading the choir through Orgazmatron or heaven and hell