Global Metal

Global Metal

Seven Countries, Three Continents, One Tribe.

Port O’ Call: Filmed around the world – in Brazil, Japan, China, Indonesia, India and the Middle East.

Mateys: Directed by canadian anthropologist metalhead filmaker Sam Dunn (of Metal: a Headbangers Journey and Flight 666 fame) and Scott McFadyen.

The film previews at the Bergen International Film festival in October 2007. in July 2008 a soundtrack was released featuring metal from around the globe.

Premise: In true anthropological style, the film explores the impact of globalisation on the heavy metal scene.

What really happens is Dunn and his crew travel the world talking to metalheads about their local scene … in brazil, jakato, India, Iran, Jerusalam, Japan and China.

Global Metal features interviews with such metal legends as Kerry King, Bruce Dickenson, Max Cavalera, Lars Ulrich and Marty Friedman, as well as lesser-known bands (to me, anyway) – Sigh, Dorsal Atlantica, Kryptos, Ritual Day, Tengkorak, Orphaned Land, Salem and Kahtmayan.

Dunn and McFadyen at a "Camel Crossing" in Dubai

Why it’s Kreig: First, it’s fascinating. CDH and I studied anthropology outselves and, after visiting over 26 countries and experiencing metal in NZ, Australia, the UK, Germany, Norway, Turkey, Syria and Egypt, have our own ideas about the global scene. We saw many of our own ideas expressed, and we learnt a lot about the scene – in Asia and India especially.

Sometimes, we forget how lucky we have it in the west (not that I’d really consider NZ “the west”). We take it for granted we can wear a metal shirt in the street and we won’t be thrown into jail and accused of beng a satanist. We all love metal because of the sense of freedom and power it bestows, but I’ve never experienced real oppression (bullying and assualt, yes. Oppression? no) or real poverty. Not like these guys.

What I loved most about this doco was the sense you got – and this is something I’ve felt for a long time – of how metal unites people who otherwise might never talk to each other. Even in these extreme, poverty-ridden, oppressive enviroments, it didn’t matter what religious or political belief a person held, or their social or racial caste. It really was a global tribe of metalheads – “If you like metal, you’re my friend.” It’s actually rather beautiful.

Second, it’s hilarious. One of my favorite scene was when Dunn talks to metalheads in the middle east about how downloading through the internet has been the only way for them to access metal. The kids speak with such passion about how the internet has changed their lives.

Cut to Lars Ulrich. The look on his face! Fuck, we couldn’t stop laughing. You have to see it.

Thirdly, although some reviewers deride it for not being “definitive” or “all-encompassing”, I think Dunn and McFadyen have done a steller job of expressing a sense of what global metal is, in the short space of time allotted to them. I like that they’ve shown different styles of music – not just focusing on extreme black metal, which – I’ll be honest – I was kind of expecting.

Why it’s emo: We were hoping for an appearance by our favorite Turkish metal band – Mezarkabul, but no such luck. Interesting to note, the more oppressive the country’s regeime, the more extreme the metal.

You don’t hear much actual music in the documentary, which on the one hand was dissapointing, because as a metalhead, we want to hear the music, of course. But on the other hand, this wasn’t a music documentary. It was a documentary about identity and culture and what draws people to embrace metal. It’s easy to find the bands on myspace and listen to their chops.

I would also have liked to see a little about female metal fans in these countries. The only girls in the entire film were the cute Japanese girls throwing the goat. I didn’t see any female fans in the live scenes in India, the Middle east or Jakata. I would have liked knowing what life would be like if I were an Iraqi metal fan. But perhaps that’s a subject for another doco.

Quote:

“We saw album covers of Destruction and they had bullet belts, and we say ‘Bullet belts are totally bad ass. We must have bullet belts or we look stupid.” But we cannot afford bullet belts. So Igor say “If we take AA batteries, and glue them all together, and photograph from far away, they look like bullet belts”. And so that is what we do.” – Max Cavalera (Pantera)

Rating: \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/ \n four-and-a-half horns for making me laugh, and making me proud. (Losing half a horn because now I have to visit Japan and India, and that will cost me a lot more money than I saved by renting this DVD from the library).