This is a fantastic docoumentary that was recommended to me by one of my rad Twitter friends, Moose73.

It chronicles the rise of metal in the 80s and it is an absolute riot. Directed by Penelope Spheeris (yep – she of Waynes World!) and featuring such legends as Steve and Joe from Aerosmith, Alice Cooper and Ozzy, it also shows the other side of the story – the bands that haven’t made it yet, and the bands that will never make it.

Penelope Spheeris

The interviews are honest and revealing. I love how open (and intoxicated) most of the guys are – you get a very spot-on idea of what the scene was really like. I have to say Miss Spheeris is a bit annoying as an interviewer in a couple of spots, but she does manage to get some amazing quotes from the bands.

To touch on a seedier side, in researching the doco I read that some of the scenes were faked, such as a scene where Ozzy accidentally spills orange juice all over his table, insinuating that he is so plastered he can’t hold the bottle properly. This reportedly was filmed using someone else’s hand after the fact. There is also a legendary scene with Chris Holmes from W.A.S.P.,  where he tips a bottle of vodka over his head – apparently the bottle was empty and the production crew filled it with water before filming. This is not cool – and also not necessary. The film is that good, it doesn’t NEED the faked scenes to make it better, it stands well enough on its own and they only serve to take some of the sheen off the whole thing.

Chris Holmes of W.A.S.P.

Regardless of this, the film is captivating and buckets of fun to watch, with so many stand out scenes. There’s Chris Holmes talking about how he is a piece of crap while swimming fully clothed in his pool with his mother sitting next to him. The lead singer from Odin talking about how he might as well be dead if the band doesn’t make it (it didn’t). The boys from the Cat Club talking about how they opened the legendary venue as a place to pull girls.

I recommend this as a really good watch, and (even with the faked bits) a very important piece of 80s music history.