Review XXXI - Global Metal

Review XXXI
Global Metal (2008)

If there's one thing I've really enjoyed about my post secondary education, it would be that I have been exposed to a lot of cultures I never really knew about. I've always been fascinated with different ethnicities, and I hope, one day, to travel abroad to experience them first hand. However, for now, I take it in by listening to people talk about themselves, watching films (as you guys can clearly see), and listening to different music, among other things. Music can really capture a place, whether it be its beauty or its ideas, and I've learned that restricting myself to one particular genre of music is really just a shame. You miss out on so much and your close minded views don't even benefit you because you only make people groan when you yell out that such-and-such a band is the only good thing out there. I've been trying to get to know the more obscure bands of different countries lately, especially ones I don't really know about, and so I decided to sit down to (finally) watch Sam Dunn's and Scot McFadyen's documentary Global Metal. I watched Metal: A Headbanger's Journey maybe two years after it came out, definitely before Global Metal was made, and I thought it was a really great documentary that got a great view on metal by interviewing people in the metal scene. Did Global Metal do as great a job? Let us dive in and find out!

The title of the film is pretty self-explanatory - the film brings us around the world to discover different metal scenes in areas you wouldn't have guessed actually had a metal scene. While I do listen to Sepultura and Angra from Brasil, and the occasional random metal band from Japan, I was really intrigued when they delved into India, Indonesia, Israel (wow), even Saudi Arabia and Iran. I mean, it seems a bit ludicrous and naive to imagine that absolutely no one from Israel listens to metal, but it's not something I would have ever associated Israel with, nor Saudi Arabia and Iran, that's for sure. But that's the point of the documentary - to show that metal doesn't just exist in North America (Canada and the United States especially) and Europe, but in Asia and the Middle East too.

The film, again, was presented in the form of interviews to present the information, whether it be with well known musicians like Marty Friedman and Lars Ulrich or simply fans of the genre. I really liked this format in A Headbanger's Journey, and I really liked it here. Who knows more about the phenomena of metal in a said country than a fan from that country? Who can speak of the experiences of playing a show for the first time in Indonesia than the band itself? This format makes it a lot more personal, and the people spoke intellectually, at least for the most part, and so I really enjoyed listening to their stories.

The film didn't go into any African countries (though one man from Egypt was spoken to), and I thought that was a bit of a shame. However, I can only name one occasion when someone mentioned hearing about a man from somewhere in Africa who was in a metal band. I don't even know their name or remember much about it at all. I can only assume, without doing a google search, that most of Africa, and I'm talking about more developped countries like South Africa here, doesn't have a big enough growing metal scene. If you have an answer, I'd be happy to hear it.

Global Metal allowed the viewer to see metal's ubiquitousness. While in some it is still small in certain places, it still exists and is growing, even if a country discourages it. I honestly found it inspiring when they interviewed a man from Indonesia when he talked about going to a Metallica show in 1993 (hopefully I remember the date correctly) and being pushed around by officers. I remember scowling because I was talked to sternly at my first metal show when I was twelve... It seems like these people were just rebelling for going to listen to a band - and metal concerts were banned after that concert. It's pretty crazy when you come from a country where you take your freedom of expression and speech for granted.

Personally, I thought this was a great documentary. It was about music, more specifically metal, and it discussed culture in relation to that, bringing two things I love together. I'd give the film eight point four stars on ten, though I don't see it as a documentary everyone can watch. I mean, being a metal fan who's pretty open to different styles of music generally, I was able to appreciate the film with what it delivered. However, if you find metal absolutely repulsive, I wouldn't be able to recommend the film, unless you absolutely love anthropological studies and can overlook the metal aspect. Anyway, if you enjoy metal, I highly recommend it. If you enjoy learning about humanity, I'd recommend it too. It's a well put together film, and honestly one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. [/praise]