Search - Global Metal on DVD

Excellent follow-up to Metal: A Headbanger's Journey

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 01/26/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Global Metal is the second documentary by Sam Dunn, and serves as the perfect companion piece to his documentary about/love letter to heavy metal Metal - A Headbanger's Journey. In Global Metal, Dunn travels the globe to take a closer look at metal outside of the traditional American and European settings. Along with members of metal bands in each country he visits, Dunn gets some perspective from members of Slayer, Metallica and Iron Maiden, among others.



Some of his destinations are obvious. He starts in Brazil, home of the massive Rock in Rio festivals, where he speaks to members of Sepultura and Angra. Japan is another obvious choice, as their love for metal has been rock solid for decades (hence all those elusive Japanese-only bonus tracks). In Japan he profiles Sigh and X-Japan, but sadly not Loudness or Anthem.



After that, Dunn's travels lead him to some surprising countries. Who knew China and India had emerging metal scenes, or that there were enough metal fans in Arab countries to warrant a festival in Dubai? His stop in Israel, where he spoke to the singer of the brilliant Orphaned Land, was illuminating, especially when the topic of Slayer's controversial "Angel of Death" came up. It's unfortunate that the members of Slayer weren't called upon to address this directly. I did, however, find it admirable that Dunn pressed the member of an Indonesian metal band (whose name escapes me) about the contradiction of wearing an anti-swastika patch while actively calling for the destruction of Israel.



The film closes in India, where the first-ever concert by a major metal band - Iron Maiden, no less - is finally taking place. Dunn attend the show with a huge crowd of eager fans, and taking the scene in you can't help but agree with Dunn's assertion that as metal fans we really are part of a larger global community, a brotherhood even, with something important in common.



I ended up enjoying Global Metal even more than I did Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, and would absolutely recommend it to any serious metal fan."

Global Metal

D. Lynton | Sydney, Australia | 11/05/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I loved Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, and although this wasn't quite as good, as with the first film, I could have watched another hour or two easily. It's interesting to see different cultures interpreting metal in their own way and like Headbanger's Journey, Sam Dunn has made another great film about a still misunderstood genre of music. Can't wait until his next film. The Maiden film is fantastic as well."