Decline of western civilization 2:the metal years
Decline of western civilization 2:the metal years, 1987
Starring:Ozzy, Lemmy, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Alice Cooper, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Dave Mustaine, Chris Holmes, Poison, Faster Pussycat, Odin, London, Lizzy Borden, Seduce and some struggling musicians.
The plot:This is a documentary about the world of Heavy Metal. It mainly concentrates on the LA metal scene, but they interview some established acts from other locations as well.
The good- The best interviews are with Lemmy, Alice Cooper and the Toxic Twins Tyler and Perry. All of these guys are honest and sincere. Good live performance from Faster Pussycat who showed a lot of energy. Putting veteran LA band London on here was a good idea. Their songs were mediocre, but it was interesting to show a band who had been on the scene for eight years and were still going at it trying to get somewhere. I also thought Seduce were interesting because it showed how a band could be at the top in their city (Detroit), but they were just another fish in the sea when they came to play in LA. Some of the comments from unsigned artists were interesting and you could see the enthusiasm in their eyes. Interesting to note that members of Vixen and Tuff appeared in this movie and both bands eventually got major label deals.
The bad- Too many of the interviews were the same thing you can read in Hit Parader. Seeing Gene Simmons stand in front of a lingerie shop and Paul Stanley laying on a bed with girls all around him is the same nonsense these guys always did. Poison tried to be honest, but they came across like a bunch of giggling teenagers. Dave Mustaine was about as cool as a turd in a swimming pool and I normally like him. Lizzy Borden had a chance to showcase their talent on a film and they do a lame cover of Born to be wild. Megadeth's In my darkest hour is the same clip they show as their video so my guess is that is wasn't filmed live, but was actually just staged. Seduce sounded good, but look closely and they are playing on a stage and they never show an audience. My guess is they didn't want to actually be filmed live so like Megadeth it's another fake. Too much of this film is spent on the same old questions and nonsense instead of live performances and the work that goes into the music.
The ugly- The whole Chris Holmes part was unnecessary and I think it was staged. Hearing stories of addictions from Alice, Tyler and Perry made a far greater impression than the spectacle of seeing Chris Holmes acting drunk.
Final word- This film is a mixed bag overall, but worth seeing if you get a chance. It's not out on dvd yet so I had to watch my vhs copy that I bought in like 1990. Director Penelope Spheeris directed this film as well as Wayne's World. On the commentary for Wayne's World she said that she was offered the chance to direct This is Spinal Tap and declined because she respected the music too much to do a film making fun of it. Then several years later she does this film which is supposed to be a documentary yet it makes metal look just as silly as This is Spinal Tap yet it's not nearly entertaining and it's supposed to be a documentary. I will buy it if comes out on dvd because there are some good parts, but it could have been better.
Grade: C
The next movie that I will review is Airheads, but it may be two days before I get to it. Oh and have a Happy Valentine's Day. Just be glad that you are getting red letters because there is no way in hell that I am putting pink on this blog entry.
Starring:Ozzy, Lemmy, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Alice Cooper, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Dave Mustaine, Chris Holmes, Poison, Faster Pussycat, Odin, London, Lizzy Borden, Seduce and some struggling musicians.
The plot:This is a documentary about the world of Heavy Metal. It mainly concentrates on the LA metal scene, but they interview some established acts from other locations as well.
The good- The best interviews are with Lemmy, Alice Cooper and the Toxic Twins Tyler and Perry. All of these guys are honest and sincere. Good live performance from Faster Pussycat who showed a lot of energy. Putting veteran LA band London on here was a good idea. Their songs were mediocre, but it was interesting to show a band who had been on the scene for eight years and were still going at it trying to get somewhere. I also thought Seduce were interesting because it showed how a band could be at the top in their city (Detroit), but they were just another fish in the sea when they came to play in LA. Some of the comments from unsigned artists were interesting and you could see the enthusiasm in their eyes. Interesting to note that members of Vixen and Tuff appeared in this movie and both bands eventually got major label deals.
The bad- Too many of the interviews were the same thing you can read in Hit Parader. Seeing Gene Simmons stand in front of a lingerie shop and Paul Stanley laying on a bed with girls all around him is the same nonsense these guys always did. Poison tried to be honest, but they came across like a bunch of giggling teenagers. Dave Mustaine was about as cool as a turd in a swimming pool and I normally like him. Lizzy Borden had a chance to showcase their talent on a film and they do a lame cover of Born to be wild. Megadeth's In my darkest hour is the same clip they show as their video so my guess is that is wasn't filmed live, but was actually just staged. Seduce sounded good, but look closely and they are playing on a stage and they never show an audience. My guess is they didn't want to actually be filmed live so like Megadeth it's another fake. Too much of this film is spent on the same old questions and nonsense instead of live performances and the work that goes into the music.
The ugly- The whole Chris Holmes part was unnecessary and I think it was staged. Hearing stories of addictions from Alice, Tyler and Perry made a far greater impression than the spectacle of seeing Chris Holmes acting drunk.
Final word- This film is a mixed bag overall, but worth seeing if you get a chance. It's not out on dvd yet so I had to watch my vhs copy that I bought in like 1990. Director Penelope Spheeris directed this film as well as Wayne's World. On the commentary for Wayne's World she said that she was offered the chance to direct This is Spinal Tap and declined because she respected the music too much to do a film making fun of it. Then several years later she does this film which is supposed to be a documentary yet it makes metal look just as silly as This is Spinal Tap yet it's not nearly entertaining and it's supposed to be a documentary. I will buy it if comes out on dvd because there are some good parts, but it could have been better.
Grade: C
The next movie that I will review is Airheads, but it may be two days before I get to it. Oh and have a Happy Valentine's Day. Just be glad that you are getting red letters because there is no way in hell that I am putting pink on this blog entry.
posted by Metal Mark at
12:05 AM
3 Comments:
I have not seen this documentery. Thanks for the heads up.
Ben- It really should have been better.
Fuzzbox- Next year will be the 20th anniversary so maybe it will get a dvd release then. I think it used to be shown on VH-1 like in the early 90's.
I have seen it on VH-1 Classic, I think ... part of a Metal Mania weekend. And it was on something else a few years back. I would like to see it again--not because it will endear me to heavy metal, but because it shows a lot of these guys in their prime (or closer to it) than anything else but the generally horrid music videos of the early 80s.
And my Tap review is up! Looking forward to your post (and yours too, Ben).
-- david
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