''Metal Down Under'' is a 2014

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by Nick Calpakdjian. The film uses interviews, archival footage and animation to trace the history of

heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a Music genre, genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal band ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Calpakdjian partly funded the film through

crowd-funding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance, to fund projects "without standard financia ...

website Pozible. It was released in Australia on 22 August 2014 with distribution by MGM. On 1 September 2014 it debuted on the

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

Top 40 Music DVDs chart at #4.

Content

''Metal Down Under'' traces the history of heavy metal music in Australia from the early influences of bands such as Buffalo,

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

, The Angels and

Rose Tattoo Rose Tattoo are an Australian Pub rock (Australia), rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, which formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' R ...

to present day acts including Ne Obliviscaris, King Parrot,

Karnivool Karnivool is an Australian progressive rock/progressive metal, metal band formed in Perth in 1998. The group consists of Ian Kenny on vocals, Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking on guitar, Jon Stockman on bass, and Steve Judd on drums. Karnivool emerg ...

and

Psycroptic Psycroptic are an Australian technical death metal band formed in Hobart, Tasmania in 1999. Mainstay members are the Haley brothers, drummer Dave Haley, Dave and guitarist Joe. Their lead vocalist, Jason Peppiatt, joined in 2004. In 2008 they ...

. The film is divided into three 55-minute episodes featuring interviews, archival footage and animation sequences with the first episode discussing the early development of metal from hard rock influences to the thrash scenes of late 1980s

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, in particular Hobbs' Angel of Death and

Mortal Sin A mortal sin (), in Christian theology, is a gravely sinful act which can lead to damnation if a person does not repent of the sin before death. It is alternatively called deadly, grave, and serious; the concept of mortal sin is found in both ...

. There is also some examination of the niche record stores Metal For Melbourne and Utopia, ''Hot Metal'' magazine and the influence of

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

on the spread of the genre. Part two looks at the influence of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

band

Allegiance An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed, or freely committed, by the people, subjects or citizens to their state or sovereign. Etymology The word ''allegiance'' comes from Middle English ' (see Medieval Latin ', "a liegance"). The ...

in the development of a national touring circuit, as well as the

Metal for the Brain Metal for the Brain was Australia, Australia's largest heavy metal music festival. The event was held in Canberra, Australia, Canberra annually, usually towards the end of the year, and featured Australian bands almost exclusively. The festival ...

festival and the extreme metal bands Blood Duster,

Alchemist Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

and Sadistik Exekution. The third part looks primarily at several of the more prominent currently active bands with some discussion of the

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

scene and the shape of the scene at the present time.

Distribution

''Metal Down Under'' was released on DVD in Australia through MGM Distribution. It was released in the UK and Europe through Plastichead Distribution on 10 November 2014. Its official release date on iTunes is 18 November 2014 worldwide (ex USA).

Reviews

"Nick Calpakdjian has made a funny and engrossing film that finally sheds a light on a part of Australia's popular culture that has been left in the dark for its entire existence, a vital and important document that even people who couldn't care less about heavy metal should see. After spending two years of his life on this, he deserves nothing but respect." Reviewed by Brian Giffin. "One might even go so far as to say that Metal Down Under is an important piece for the Metal community, as it may well be, itself, a stepping stone to another such feature in the future; and that will hold promise for another time. " Reviewed by Tristan Peterson, Metal Obsession.

Interviews

Non-musicians

Andrew Haug Andrew Haug'is a radio announcer and heavy metal musician from Melbourne, Australia. He is one of the most prominent figures in Australia's largely underground heavy metal scene. Haug started his radio career doing the heavy metal music pr ...

, broadcaster * Lochlan Watt, broadcaster, writer * Brad Wesson, co-owner, Soundworks Touring * Robyn Doreian, journalist, editor ''Hot Metal'' magazine * Greta Tate, record store manager * Simon Lukic, broadcaster * Chris Maric, publicist * Leigh Wilson, collector who has filmed Australian metal shows since 1981 * Brian Giffin, writer, broadcaster

References

{{Reflist

External links

IMDb page
2014 films Australian musical documentary films Documentary films about heavy metal music and musicians 2014 documentary films 2010s English-language films 2010s Australian films English-language documentary films