The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

Plot synopsis:
The documentary follows the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on the glam metal subgenre. Spheeris explores the more famous musicians, including Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Mustaine and Paul Stanley. She then explores unknown bands, such as London, Odin and Seduce. The film also features interviews with members of Poison, Tuff, Vixen, Faster Pussycat, W.A.S.P. and more. Serious issues such as drug usage, alcohol abuse, and censorship are tackled, as well as vanity issues like celebrity and sales.
The film is well known for its many scenes featuring rock star excess. The scenes include:
Chris Holmes of W.A.S.P. is interviewed in a swimming pool beside his mother while extremely intoxicated. He stumbles through the interview, proclaiming himself "a full-blown alcoholic" and "a piece of crap" while pouring a fifth of vodka both in his mouth and on his head. It was later claimed the bottle of vodka that Holmes poured onto himself was actually water.
Randy "O", the lead singer of unsigned band Odin, insists the band will become millionaires and more famous than The Doors.
An interview with club owner Bill Gazzarri, who at the time organized a 'sexy rock and roll' dance contest, which was presented as being sleazy and sexist, at his club, Gazzarri's on the Sunset Strip.
Discussions with various musicians about the way women in general, and groupies in particular, are treated badly in the metal scene.
Riki Rachtman and Taime Downe, then owners of the Cathouse club in L.A., discuss how girls get entry to the club faster if they dress "sleazy."
Paul Stanley of Kiss is interviewed in a bed while surrounded from head to toe with girls.
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith talk about spending millions of dollars on drugs and compares the band's style to masturbation.
As Ozzy Osbourne cooks eggs in a kitchen, he spills orange juice all over the table, apparently due to uncontrollable shakes. This was later claimed to have been faked. Spheeris also interviews him about sobriety, to which Ozzy replies, "It fucking sucks."
An interview with Lemmy from Motörhead. In his autobiography, he claims that Spheeris interviewed him from a distance, possibly in an attempt to make him look stupid.
Candid and sobering interviews from various artists about drug use, abuse and dying (or nearly dying) from overdoses.
Lastly, Spheeris takes her cameras to Sunset Strip to film the nightlife in 1980s Los Angeles.

Tags: cult

Review:
I have read the comment of my fellow viewer and apparent Heavy Metal Connisseur, who says this film falls short of completely covering the Heavy Metal scene at the time.But I really don't think that that's what Spheeris was trying to do.
Like any truly great documentary, it somehow manages to capture life, raw and unfiltered.The characters are funny, loveable, sad, pitiful, admirable, inspiring, bewildering, all at the same time.
While to the casual viewer the film may seem shallow and all fluff (which is how the LA metal was widely portrayed), if one looks past the hair, excess, bravado, t & a, and flowing alcohol,it is easy to uncover the painfully lonely, opportunistic, naiveté' of the struggling bands, and even some of those who "made it." The scene with Chris Holmes guzzling vodka in his pool was simply heartbreaking...and the expressions on his mother's face were fully able to convey her harsh reality.
One interesting element in viewing the film almost 20 years later, is how some of the bands downplayed or sidestepped the issue of drug use (note the expressions on their faces when substances are discussed), then appear on "Behind the Music" years later to reveal their debilitating addictions.Having been involved peripherally in the scene for a few years, I can say that Spheeris' portrayal was 100% accurate based on what I witnessed.
I would've liked to have seen the inclusion of other important bands of the LA scene (Motley Crue, Skid Row, etc), and a separate documentary highlighting British metal (Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest)would've been fantastic.It was a fun, irreverent, and exciting time!
If you lived through this period (like I did) and loved the music, then you will find much to enjoy here, from the live performances by L.A. staples Lizzy Borden and young (at the time) hopefuls Odin and Seduce, to the words of wisdom from hard rock royalty like Gene (Kiss) Simmons, Lemmy of Motorhead, and Ozzy Osbourne.
Looking at this movie nearly 20 years later you wonder how many of them wound up asking "Would you like fries with that, sir?" when the grunge movement came along in the early '90s and wiped hair metal off of the musical map.
In addition to the unintentionally hilarious interviews with the many band members and assorted hangers-on, the film is worth seeing for two things: the absolutely harrowing scene featuring Chris Holmes of W.A.S.P., who floats in his swimming pool, drunk as a skunk, telling the world "I drink because I'm not happy," and the scenes featuring Megadeth in the studio working on the song "In My Darkest Hour." In their interview scenes, Megadeth seem to be the most "together" and lucid band in the entire film, which is kind of ironic now because that short-lived Megadeth lineup eventually dissolved due to massive drug use.
We hear about struggling metal-heads who use women for their money and their food (they of course plan to pay them back with furs and cars when they get big.)  And the always entertaining Poison treats us to a healthy dose of rock n' roll stupidity.
Interesting, in that almost all the bands showcased are so bad, and the "musicians" so horrid, that you can't take your eyes off them.You get a bunch of big guns, like Ozzy, Alice, Kiss, Poison, Lemmy and a few more.
Only thing is, this film is dead serious."The Delusional Years" would have been a decent title for this movie, when it comes to the unsigned bands they speak to - ALL of them are sure they are going to be rich, wealthy, legendary rock and rollers.
It's kind of cookie-cutter, just like the bands - a typical documentary that really could have been about many genres of music.The saddest part of course is the Chris Holmes sequence, with him drunk in a swimming pool while his mom watches.
The first film is such a brilliant snapshot of a certain time, and the social problems, great music, politics, and lifestyles on display are directly and deliberately contrasted with the dummies (NOT talking about Lemmy, Mustaine, and Aero here) in the "Metal Years" film.
I LOVE THIS MOVIE SOOO MUCH IT HURTSIt's brilliantthe best bits are chris holmes from W.A.S.P. drinking himself to an early grave in a swimming pool while his mother watches and frowns every time he says the "F" word, Odin being laughably awful and claiming they'll be bigger than the Stones and Zeppelin ("What if you don't make it?" "Oh but we will!" "Yeah but what if you don't?" "Oh, but we will though, see!?!")ha haIt has interviews with Aerosmith, Poison, Lemmy, Ozzy Osbourne (before he went all new-metal and put together the Ozzfest (grrr), Faster Pussycat, Riki Rachtman, Janet Gardner (before Vixen got big) & Megadeth and Live stuff from FASTER PUSSYCAT !!!this film is totally amazingIt's just a shame it's really hard to find in the UK!100000000000000000000r out of 10.
This is for 'timsd', You wanted to know where Teri Weigel is in this movie.......When Odin plays the two songs.......during the hot tub scene, Teri is one of the girls in the hot tub.......you cannot miss her.......if you know what Teri looks like........anyway, I guess I need to have 10 lines of bs here before I can post it, so I'll just keep going...........best parts about this movie...........Gene Simmons, Odin being bigger than Zeppelin or the Stones, Gazzarri's pageant, Chris Holmes drinking himself into an early grave while his mother sat by watching.....I remember this movie being right up there with Headbanger's Ball for those of us in the 80s.
Decline of Western Civilization Part 2, The (1988) **** (out of 4) I had seen the Aerosmith and Alice Cooper clips of this documentary via a bootleg but never got around to watching the film until IFC showed it the other night and I'm certainly disappointed that I waited so long because Penelope Spheeris' film is one of the best out there of its type and ranks highly among the best documentaries to be made about rock 'n roll.
I'll admit right off the bat that I didn't respond as strongly to the Decline of Western Civilization 2: the Metal Years as I did to Penelope Spheeris's first film and documentary, even as I know I did like this film.
The former was a kind of fly-on-the-wall (as I recall, not as many direct interviews, more concert footage) look at this way of rock and roll life- of LA punks- that Spheeris knew intrinsically.
In the Metal Years, she here isn't as much a fly on the wall in the sense of just getting the pure feeling of these people as she is getting answers to questions by a mix of highly popular and working-the-bottom bunch of Metal rockers.It of course can't cover everything in such an amount of time, and one might be slightly disappointed to see Britain's metal scene is sort of overlooked in the course of the film (not that it isn't represented in interviews with Ozzy and Lemmy, but Maiden and Priest fans, among others, may wonder wtf).
But if there is any single strength to this seemingly longer-than-90 minute film, with the interviews strung together in a interesting fashion alongside the concert footage, it's that this particular scene of American metal- particularly LA metal's scene- is captured very well.And in this capturing of this time and place and the people all abound in it, it's of course of note to mention that everything the musicians say is not 100% reliable, and here and there it definitely has the feeling of bulls***ing with Spheeris's questions (however clever and funny).
But there are enough true moments to really get the sense of these people at the time, that there is maybe at least some depth to the members of Poison (with really one good song in my opinion), or that Ozzy does have a very clear and honest view of what's gone on with him and the scene, or what rock means or drugs mean or sex.If there isn't always a focus in the line of questioning, or if there doesn't seem to be much of a structure to the film, maybe it's part of the point.
One interview with the drunk in the pool gives the most to try and shake off, even as the manipulation of the filmmaker kind of kicks in with having his mother right there watching him in his over-drunk state.But, it is at the end of the day an entertaining documentary, if only as being a fan of the sub-fold of music myself.
There was, like with other good documentaries, enough talk coming out of people to really chew on, and it shows Spheeris in a sort of different direction than in the other look at life in underground rock and roll.
(He doesn't try very hard....you can almost hear the cash register in his head going ka-CHING!) The other names on display (Ozzy, Tyler & Perry, Alice, Lemmy, etc) at least have genuine affection for the scene and the music - you can tell there's still a fan's heart beating in their chests.Let's hope the Odins and Jaded Ladys on view here didn't end up doing time later on, as these boys are jailhouse date-bait to the nth power.
This documentary delves into that period and only hints at the fracturing of the metal music scene.By the late eighties dinosaur metal bands like Iron Maiden and Judas priest were still around, but Metallica was moving doing speed metal and Venom had created black metal (or death metal) a few years before.
Bands like Megadeth and the godfathers of speed metal, Motorhead, have moments but are not really the focus of the documentary, perhaps because they rarely made it onto the charts or radio.Too bad, since the viewer receives something of a limited exposure to the dark, brooding, violent, and disaffected component to metal that appealed to a large swath of alienated working class and suburban youth.
What's left is the indulgent excess of the hair bands with lipstick, hairspray and spandex.In some ways this limits the movies relevance insofar as pop and glam metal imploded right around 1990 and is now relegated to nostalgia albums.
So while "Decline" barely hints at the parts of metal that survived, it concentrates on the glam elements that have largely disappeared, or been relegated to 100 seat venues in Ames, Iowa.No movie would have been able to gather in the whole spectrum of Metal attitudes, styles, music, history and the like, and this one doesn't even try.
(answer no: Pop Hair Band is more accurate) I would love for her to do a where are they now version---especially because London, Odin, Seduce went nowhere and Alice Cooper now golfs and is an upstanding member of the community (watching his interviews you can tell his persona is just an act...
A decent documentary about heavy metal in the 80's with interviews by Aerosmith, Poison, Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss, and more.
The film includes footage & interviews of popular acts (KISS, Ozzy, Aerosmith, Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Poison), moderately successful bands (Faster Pussycat) and up-and-not-coming artists (London, Odin, Seduce).There are obviously staged parts, like the orange juice spill, Paul Stanley in a bed with three lingerie-clad women and the drunken pool sequence with Chris Holmes & his mother.
These portions were included to amuse, but they're also informative, as far as the commentaries from the actual musicians involved in the 80's metal movement go.The rest of the movie is footage of live interviews and concerts, mostly at clubs with emphasis on bands that frequented the L.A. strip.
The film covers the 87/88 metal scene and the people thereof, their ideas, attitudes, lifestyles and fronts.It's interesting going back in time to see iconic musicians when they were younger, like Lemmy, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Dave Mustaine and Alice Cooper.
so close.) And Lemmy being cool when everyone else (I am looking your way Paul Stanley) is simply trying too hard.The Bad: The bands; while the original The Decline of Western Civilization certainly didn't have all winners they at least had some bands that would later become famous (Black Flag) and some and that was actually good (X).
(Do you wear makeup and dress like a girl because you are in the band or did you join the band to wear make-up and dress like a girl seems to be an obvious softball just hanging there for some of these guys.) There are also very silly asides that drag the movie out such as an interview with the LA prosecutor investigating the Heavy Metal scene and an endless sexy rock and roll dance contest that is neither sexy nor rock and roll.In Conclusion: It is easy to forget with today's youth filming every moment of their lives how rare it was in the eighties for someone to point a camera at you.
A follow up to director Penelope Spheeris' earlier definitive punk rock documentary, its focus on the men (and women) who make hard rock and heavy metal is certainly a natural progression, since so many parental and authority figures abominated these genres as well.The film mostly consists of sit down interviews with some of the reigning kings of the genre and the confident (you could easily call them overconfident) up and comers of the era sharing their thoughts.
Obviously, the aspirations of groups like London, Odin, and Seduce for super stardom didn't pan out, and as Poison front man Bret Michaels points out, it is important to stand out from the pack in some over crowded genres.The sequences with Bill Gazzari, the so-called "Godfather of Rock 'n' Roll", only serve to add a titillation factor (not that some people will complain about that, mind you), and interviews with an anti-metal authority figure will likely get some viewers hopping mad.I found it interesting that Megadeth, one of my favorite acts from this era, are saved for near the end, given that they're one act that's portrayed as actually caring more about the music than fame and lifestyle.Overall, decent entertainment with a variable soundtrack (some of the new music is okay, some of it not so good).Seven out of 10..
I think the film was well worth watching for some of the bigger names: Ozzy Osbourne was pretty funny (when he was at least coherent), Lemmy was probably the most truthful about the scene and industry at the time, KISS (Gene Simmons and Paul Stanly) showing the pretentiousness of it all.
A cleaned-up Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmith relate tales of their narcotic excesses, a rehabilitated Ozzy Osbourne has an amusingly pleasant morning chat while preparing breakfast {at one point, he misses a glass almost completely while pouring some orange juice and talking about his own alcoholism and drug use}, Alice Cooper in full makeup on the theatrical set takes umbrage at a certain band for what he feels is unjustified replication, KISS' Gene Simmons offers intelligent and concise commentary on the going-on within the industry, Paul Stanley also offers cohesive commentary amongst a bevy of beauties in bed, Lemmy Kilmeister of Motorhead offers gruff realities overlooking Hollywood, and WASP's {at the time} Chris Holmes drunkenly rambles on about his intoxicated exploits as his poor mother sits poolside, progressively becoming more inebriated with two bottles of Vodka - one can readily perceive his unfortunate mental degeneration.I thought club owner and sharp dresser Bill Gazzarri had quite a remarkably life-loving attitude, offering great opportunities to many bands who may otherwise would have never seen the spotlight, and initiated salacious events such as dance and strip contests for sexy young ladies.
This film concentrates largely on Hollywood 'pop-metal' and Glam rock._________* Incidentally, 'The Decline of Western Civilization part 3' features interviews with some of the homeless street dwellers of Hollywood..
The film makes the viewer feel smothered, as it pummels us with one horrid band after another, each one insisting, "well, we're not famous yet, but just wait til you hear our new album!" The successful musicians, like Paul Stanley and that drunk guy from WASP, come across as dorks who happened to be in the right place at the right time.
I discovered this film after hearing Megadeth was in it so I tracked down a PAL format VHS to DVD rip of the movie - needless to say, it suffers from the poor quality of the rip but still very enjoyable Anyways, I recently caught it again in hi def on IFC Films and reminded me why I like this so much - so many people who think they can make it by imitating others so much so that no one can tell them apart - great documentary and should be mandatory watching for any band that is up and coming (to keep their heads out of the clouds).One of the things I really enjoyed the most out of this, though, was to look back now and most if not all of the unestablished bands didn't even make anything out of themselves...
We hear from many well-known rock stars from such great bands as Aerosmith, Kiss, Ozzy, and Alice Cooper.
Featuring interviews with such popular musical acts like Kiss, Aerosmith, Poison, Alice Cooper, & others, also showcasing up and coming, unknown bands, like London, Lizzy Borden, Odin and Seduce through musical performances; the documentary electrifyingly chronicled the hair metal scene, from 1986 until 1988.
Besides, Motorhead's Lemmy, the famous musicians in the film, barely related to those locations; so scenes like the dancing contest at Gazzarri's come across as jarring and time-wasting.
Overall: While, the film doesn't have the informative depths that something like 2006's documentary, 'Heavy: The Story of Metal' or the raw edge of the first movie in Spheeris's series; it still worth watching for the amusing musical acts and the hilarious sequences that follow, even if some of them, were highly exaggerated & staged, such as Ozzy Osbourne making breakfast scene & the amount of Vodka that Chris Holmes drinks.