The Story of Metal

DBB

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Dec 20, 2005
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The first episode of this is airing tonight.

VH1's Heavy: The Story Of Metal Gives Viewers a Hard Rock Education
Four-Part Documentary Chronicles the History of Heavy Metal From the 1960s to Present Day


PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Metal is rock's untamed wild
child. Metal is rude, crude, irreverent and irrepressibly loud. Metal is
rock and roll just as it's supposed to be, which is why everyone from Black
Sabbath to Iron Maiden to Motley Crue to Slayer to Slipknot, have been hated
by critics, feared by parents, attacked by politicians, and blamed for most of
the world's ills. So how did a combination of the devil and decibels become
such an irresistible lure to generations of metal fans around the world?

What Ken Burns did for jazz, VH1 does for heavy metal -- only a lot
louder. Heavy: The Story of Metal, premiering Monday May 22 at 9PM* each night traces the evolution of heavy metal music and culture, from
its dark, grim beginnings in Birmingham, England to the worldwide force that
it remains to this day.

In a series of four themed hours,"Heavy: The Story of Metal, explores
four decades of music, each hour examining this powerful and often
misunderstood genre, from metal's pioneers to its love of glam and excess;
from the fight for metal's rebellious soul to its storied flirtation with the
devil:

Episode One traces metal's roots in the late-60's in the bombed-out
industrial town of Birmingham England to the spectacular rise of Kiss and
"glam metal" in the early 70's.

Episode Two examines metal's growing pains during the 70's when both
high-brow rock critics and punk rock threatened its very existence. By
decade's end, bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Def Leppard gave
birth to what became known as "The New Wave of British Heavy Metal."

Episode Three sees metal thrive in, of all places, sunny California. Van
Halen, Poison, Motley Crue -- it's the world of hair metal. And, keeping
everyone's Jacuzzi-soaked ego in check, a little film called Spinal Tap
emerges.

Episode Four takes a walk on the dark side: Guns N' Roses, Metallica,
thrash, grunge, and how the music and images of Marilyn Manson became
associated with the Columbine massacre.

Told from the perspective of the musicians, promoters, writers and fans
who have kept metal's flame alive for four decades, "Heavy: The Story of
Metal," contains revealing, hilarious and sometimes shocking conversations.
Interviews include Sebastian Bach, Jerry Cantrell, Phil Collen, Bruce
Dickinson, Fred Durst, Ace Frehley, Rob Halford, Scott Ian, Tony Iommi, Chris
Jericho, Lemmy Kilmister, Chuck Klosterman, Jani Lane, Tommy Lee, Doc McGhee,Bret Michaels, Dave Mustaine, Vinnie Paul, Mark Putnam, Riki Rachtman, Dave "Snake" Sabo, Nikki Sixx, Slash, Dee Snider, Geoff Tate, Eddie Trunk, Rob Zombie and more.

In the same vein as VH1's critically acclaimed, award winning 2004 hip-hop
chronicle And You Don't Stop, Heavy: The Story of Metal, combines interviews, verite moments and rare and exclusive footage and photos, to bring metal's history to life while examining the considerable pop-culture impact of the loudest music that ever was.

Heavy: The Story of Metal, is produced by 441 Productions in conjunction with VH1. Stephen Mintz serves as Supervising Producer. Matt Maranz is Executive Producer for 441 Productions. Brad Abramson, Shelly Tatro, and Michael Hirschorn serve as Executive Producers for VH1.
 
DBB said:
Episode Two examines metal's growing pains during the 70's when both high-brow rock critics and punk rock threatened its very existence. By decade's end, bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Def Leppard gave birth to what became known as "The New Wave of British Heavy Metal."

Judas Priest, part of the NWOBHM?

And punk rock powered a good bit of heavy metal,so...

DBB said:
Episode Four takes a walk on the dark side: Guns N' Roses, Metallica, thrash, grunge, and how the music and images of Marilyn Manson became associated with the Columbine massacre.

*This* is the dark side of metal?

hrm. This whole thing is going to be just as "accurate" as that A&E special on pro wrestling in the late 90s, isn't it?
 
I wonder if episode 4 is the "dark side" simply because this was when real metal died in the mainstream and got pushed back into the underground by grunge and eventually nuMetal.

Also, if they're doing it chronologically, I don't see why Thrash shouldn't appear in episode 3.
 
JayKeeley said:
I wonder if episode 4 is the "dark side" simply because this was when real metal died in the mainstream and got pushed back into the underground by grunge and eventually nuMetal.

Also, if they're doing it chronologically, I don't see why Thrash shouldn't appear in episode 3.

I wonder if grunge and Marilyn Manson will be considered metal right along with thrash, Guns n Roses, and Metallica.
 
There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that M. Manson will be framed as metal. Grunge is another matter. It will be interesting to see how it is handled. Considering VH1 rode the popularity of Monster Rock and Monster Ballads in the late 90s to help usher in the resurgance of "hair" metal, they almost have to cast grunge as a great disruptive force. But........anything is possible.
 
Well...I can report that Ritchie Blackmore appears to be a figment of my imagination and the NWOBHM had much more to do with playing guitars made out of cardboard than any bands beyond Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Chuck Klosterman is also an utter ass...but I already knew that. :)

Anyone else playing along at home?
 
Ugh. I saw some of the "dark episode" or whatever, the one where they cover thrash. So what have they unearthed? 20 minutes of Metallica, and about 1 minute each on Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax and why they all hated glam metal.

And after the commercial break....20 minutes on Guns 'n Roses.

Haha...

Female interviewer: "So Axl, what do you have in common with Iron Maiden?"
Oral Sex: "Nothing, I hope".

I remember that interview -- taken from the Donnington Monsters of Rock fest ('88) where GnR opened for Maiden.