Global Metal (2008) Reviews

• Floored me!

  dbattistuzzi2008-10-06

  Id like to start by saying, that although this film is obviously going to be most enjoyed by fans of Heavy Metal, Don't let never having been in a Mosh Pit stop you from checking out this Grade A work of Documentary film making. I was lucky enough to win free passes with a friend to see an advanced screening of this film presented by Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen days before I was set to see Iron Maiden and Mastodon live. As a big fan of their previous work "Metal: a Headbangers Journey" I had a lot of expectations of this film, but was still pleasantly surprised. Although as a youth I had been somewhat aware of Metals International heritage due to Bands Like Sepultura and the almost endless TV and movie Jokes about Bands making it in Japan, I was impressed by the truly Global scale of this film. Covering some countries most viewers will know little or nothing about, the Film making duo paints a rich portrait of Metal's global flavor. The depth of this documentary is impressive, delving into the politics and cultural contexts behind the Metal scenes in many of the countries. This is part of what raises this film above what could otherwise have been just snapshots of a few bands and fans. On top of it all is the Music, oh the music. After admittedly drifting away from my head-banging youth for the last few years, this film captured the raw energy that got me into Metal in the first place and sent me right back where I belong, into the arms of the Metal Militia. A must see work for fans of Metal, Documentaries or both.

• Fantastic promotional for the mystic of Metal.

  lakamel2009-04-15

  Loved it. No reason to see any flaws because it makes no claim that it cannot hold up. It's purpose to reveal the metal movement in places that you might be surprised it exists. Very moving, insightful and never overbearing. This is not meant to convert but rather to impress upon the free that there are people that exist that will do anything to have their voice heard, that they feel and express through music. Just happens in this case to be metal. Probably no surprise to most life-long metal fans. I am 42, four children and full-time sales/service. Began my love of metal at about 7 and could never see going away for as long as I live. By appearance you might not expect this from me. For me after a long day, too much stress or to clear my head I choose metal. Give this Doc a look, if nothing else it justifies that lyrics that may seem ridiculous to some but are a way of life to the oppressed.

• Eye-opening look at how Metal reaches the world

  Donatien32011-04-30

  In 2005, Sam Dunn's documentary 'Metal: A Headbangers Journey' explored one of the most misunderstood and maligned music genres. His follow-up 'Global Metal' (inspired by the range of worldwide fan mail for M:AHJ) sees Dunn travel to Asia, South America and the Middle East to discover the impact of Metal in non-western society. The most striking thing is how Metal is used to express emotions forbidden by either the country's culture (such as the polite, ultra-organised and workaholic ways of Asia) or the oppressive regimes of the Middle East (a planned trip to Iran had to be diverted to UAE when Dunn wasn't allowed into the country). The doco climaxes with an epic Iron Maiden concert in India, which drew 30,000 fans. The atmosphere is astounding. Throughout his journey, Dunn interviews Metal legends such as Max Cavalera, Tom Araya, Kerry King, Bruce Dickinson and Marty Friedman as well as everyday fans. While Dunn is a proud Metalhead, he never lets his passion get in the way of his job and lets the interviewers and the music (there's a number of clips from domestic Metal bands in each region) tell the story. If nothing else, 'Global Metal' proves that if Metal can exist in oppressive environments then it is truly one of the most diverse and all-encompassing genres.

• Good but not definitive

  PenOutOfTime2008-12-26

  Global metal is the second Sam Dunn Heavy Metal documentary. The first, 'Heavy Metal: A Headbanger's Journey' is, so far as I know, the standard documentary covering the Heavy Metal scene. It does an excellent job of both detailing the history of Heavy Metal, and explaining its appeal, but it is focused on explaining Heavy Metal to those who do not know much about it, and because of this, might conceivably have less appeal to hardcore metalheads. 'Global Metal" by contrast, is probably better calculated to bring new information to the attention of experienced Metal fans, but is not a condensation of extensive knowledge about the global metal scene, and it shows. This is not a bad documentary, but as exploration on Dunn's part, and constituting a light survey, it is not quite so informative as the first. I would further note that this is not a comprehensive documentary on metal throughout the world, but is more a "metal is spreading to exotic places" sort of documentary. This fact is not a criticism, but knowing this is likely to be important to at least some of the people looking up the film on IMDb. A truly comprehensive film covering the history of metal would necessarily be of epic length, considering that this documentary does not cover the US or European Metal scenes in any significant fashion and yet at 93 minutes, the film does not seem to be especially dilute.

• Some of the most horrible narrative execution of all-time

  freddysdead20022009-02-24

  I am appalled at the high rating for this film, especially those claiming this is MORE metal than Dunn's previous effort -- "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey." At least "Headbanger's Journey" had a point. This is documentary film-making at its worst. The thesis of the doc is quickly abandoned by spending 75% of its time on American and European bands. Nothing new is discovered... We spend our time chock full of Maiden, Slayer, Deep Purple. We go to precious few locations and discover in all of South America -- home to legions of awesome death metal -- just ONE band? SEPULTURA!? In Japan, we listen endlessly to Marty Friedman (!?!?). We profile X-Japan, one of the crappiest pop metal bands in existence, and then barely skim over the only EXTREMELY popular Japanese black metal band -- Sigh. Not only do we only see them briefly recording in the studio, we don't even HEAR the actual recording session or talk with them about how they are one of the pioneers of the immense genre. What is this guy out to discover? It's pretty obvious that the filmmakers are not privy to the vast expanse of amazing metal bands, numbering in the hundreds of 1,000's worldwide. We get very little indication of what the music in each country sounds like, and instead, we're subjected to Mr. Dunn walking along famous landmarks with underscores by Slayer and other American metal. Discussions are not probing. Everything in this documentary is simply WRONG. I've visited many of these areas and can attest that there are metal heads out there.. everywhere, bursting at the seams. There are SO many bands out there -- extreme, weird, interesting -- and movements waiting to be discussed. The political nature of these areas is simply glossed over and would've provided a much more in-depth and engrossing piece. This needed to be WAY more full of bands NATIVE to each area, and entire continents are skipped over. It's fairly clear that the filmmakers did most of their miniscule research on the internet (they even state this when they go to China) and didn't even dig deep into sites such as Encyclopaedia Metallum, which illuminates instantly more about this world than this documentary could've ever hoped to achieve. This film is an abomination to metal and should not be pushed onto the public as true information. At least "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" was a decent primer on the subject. I watched it with my girlfriend at the time, and she instantly understood what I saw in the genre. This film is simple tripe. Under-researched, over-funded, and without substance.