El Diablo Blanco

Back when I was a Netflix subscriber (thanks the the Princess), I was obsessed with renting as many music documentaries as I could. One such film was Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, a fascinating sociological and anthropological exploration of the Metal Underground undertaken by the film's director and certified metalhead, Sam Dunn. It's a pretty amazing movie, even for those who are not huge fans of the genre. Mothra and I watched it together and were left wanting more.

The documentary spans the entirety of metal touching on everything from L.A. Hair Metal to Swedish Death Metal. The real treats in the film are the live performances and the amazing amount of interviews. Sam Dunn interviews insanely rabid fans, some of whom are straight out of Heavy Metal Parking Lot, as well as an incredible array of musicians. There are many highlights including: the metal family tree; the massive amounts of swords and armor that fill the surprisingly short Ronnie James Dio's house; the interview with Slayer's Tom Araya where he admits they aren't really Satanists; the mindblowing shot of Sverd i Fjell (Swords in Rock) on the Norweigian coast. After hearing tales of Norway's black metal purveyors burning down churches and murdering people and then witnessing this gigantic homage to their viking ancestors, you realise that Norway is not faking it.

Sam Dunn is back this summer with his second documentary delving deeper into the world of metal and the metal of the world. Global Metal follows Sam through four continents to see how different cultures react to heavy metal and how they reinterpret it in their own contexts and cultures. Check out the trailer here and try to keep from throwing up your devil horns.