I think the main problem with some of these movies is that they try to cater to a young, mainstream audience therefore they dumb down metal to basic stereotypes.
That's my main problem with most metal media. There's way too much entry level stuff. It's always Wacken this, Baby Metal or Metallica that, Corpse Paint, Battle Vests and some Gore. (Looking at you Heavy Trip 1 and 2). But to someone who's deeper into the genre, this stuff starts to feel clichée and - too often - embarrassing. Throw some cringe edgy humor into the mix and you lost me.
Metalocalypse and Brutal Legend are fun because they are made by metal fans for metal fans, but the issue arises when mainstream media tries to make something "edgy" like some lords of chaos bullshit, because it's a trend.
Theres this Icelandic movie called MetalHead, and i heard its very good and actually emohasizes the dramatic side of Metal more than the tongue in cheek side of it.
That's probably because it's a drama/coming-of-age film whose protagonist (and a few side characters) happen to be metalheads, as opposed to having their taste in music be the most significant trait about them, which for various reasons most often leads to the characters coming off as stereotypical. Don't get me wrong, there's a place for that as well, I enjoyed Heavy Trip as a fun(ny) film about metalheads but it's supposed to be a comedy. If you want anything more serious you have to work on your characters more/differently.
Honestly I agree with you, I love metal with all my heart. There's so much that can be done with it but I don't understand why no one is doing it. Sometimes it feels like a lot of the media surrounding metal is made by non metalheads. Which there's nothing wrong with but it doesn't feel as authentic. But I want more out of it. Although, it is kinda hard to come up with a cool idea sometimes, since I've also want to make metal comics myself. But it is possible you just need the right person. Also cool video, first time I watch one of your videos and cant wait to watch more.
Some of the biggest problems with metal media i feel is the strong focus on the metal heads being metal heads instead of it simply being a part of their character, a great example is a film called "The Devils Candy" which follows the story of a family who are into heavy metal but the main plot is more about a serial child stalker and murderer and the father doing what he can to protect his daught with the help of haunty preminitions, you could easily have taken the fact that they are metsl heads out of the plot qnd it would syill work but in my opinion it adds to the story special the badass ending.
I thought Brutal Legend of was actually pretty fun and creative. It's a blend of open world, driving, hack 'n slash, and real-time strategy. It's got a cool world to explore with lots of variety, Jack Black, and the soundtrack is not just a bunch of nu-metal crap. There is actually some really good tunes in there and a lot of classics. But Brutal Legend really is an outlier when it come to metal themed video games and I don't think we will ever get a sequel sadly.
It's always been like that. I saw Tenacious D when it came out. Became a Metalhead and almost every Metal Themed movie was a worse version of it. Heavy Trip is good tho.
But that's what metalheads want, right? Demons, gore, hot chicks, dumb teenagers, cults, spells, etc. But It's pretty limiting what stories you can tell with those thinga.
These are the tropes and stereotypes of the genre. There is one more trope that you hadn't mentioned: the smart scientist or otherwise intellectual that works by themselves listens to Metal and solves problems. They also work off the fantasies of metalheads. It's how to identify people's hobbies. There is one thing Todd has that Deathgasm doesn't: McMurray from Letterkenny. If you want Metal media that isn't all the same, you will need to look for media that just happens to have metalheads or Metal music in it. Here are some movie examples: The Devil's Candy, Demoni, We Summon the Darkness, What Metal Girls are Into. You want Metal social media? Well, Tank the tech is different from Stevie T, who is different from Wyatt's Metal, who is different from Rocked, who is different from Chrissthrash, who is different from 66Samus, who is different from Killbot Gor gor attack, who is different from Mortuary Gaming. We also all need to take breaks. It's different for everyone, but there is a time when Metal just isn't working and it all feels distant. Take a few months to listen to other music and experience non-metal activities. Come back refreshed and ready to slay...errr.
A thing I've learned a fair bit over the years is that for a lot of people, representation is a welcome gesture. To me, the way a lot of metal fans view their representation in media is a lot like way black people, LGBT people, etc. view their own representation in that they're a "minority" group and it's nice to see them get acknowledged. It's not something I like thinking too hard about, but I can understand why it might mean something different to someone else. Do I think representation is over glorified sometimes? Yes. Do I think more could be done? Sure. But that's just my assessment.
I've never heard of Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, I'll have to check it out. While I like pretty much all of the media you discussed I do think we could use more variation in the stories. I will still shamelessly get excited for another "Evil Dead meets Metal" story but it shouldn't be the only thing we get.
To be honest, if we simplify metal genres in general, a lot of them are just as tropey as the films and media that's based on it. Examples: * black metal: Satanism, anti-religion, anti-establishment, nihilism * death metal: gore, anti-establishment, anti-religion, Satanism * power metal: dragons, wizards, LOTR, fantasy shit While there's definitely elements that differ in certain bandw, a lot of the above genres fall into these tropes in their lyrics too. So it's not just in the movies and games, it's in the music too Does that make metal any less interesting? Hell no. Because all media is tropey and full of cliches to a degree, doesn't matter if it's metal, pop, country, rap, etc
I noticed this myself, but mainly with tone, rather than recycled plot details. At one point I wanted to write a book with this type of media as a framework, but I came to a horrifying conclusion after trying to write it, even worse than the copyright lawsuits that could've come my way: It was the worst thing I had ever written. I tried to force in abysmal comedy, metal music was thumb-screwed into all dialogue, and the story was more about cozening metal music rather than being something I truly wanted it to be. Since then, I decided to use History, Anthropology, and especially Paganism to lay the groundwork, and even though it's flawed, I'm having more fun with it. Metal media also tends to lack its own identity, because it loves to flaunt its understanding of the music rather than making a story. The insistence on forcing comedy also feels out of place because of metal music's serious identity. Even the cheesy songs from the '80s were intended to be dark and adult in their presentation, like W.A.S.P. If they weren't, they were more motivational like the song 'Hungry for Heaven' by Dio. Honestly, manga like Berserk, Devilman, and Hellsing, or western media like Spawn, Evil Dead, and even classic literature like The Island of Doctor Moreau feel more like genuine metal media than Deathgasm or Brutal Legend. The manga Jojo's Bizarre Adventure had music references everywhere, including heavy metal but it had its own story, and it's very entertaining.
I think the problem is reliance on 80s nostalgia, and tapping into that Gen X attitude too much. It tries so hard to be funny and edgy, but it ends up being neither. Metal media acts like the Satanic Panic is still happening, even though that was mostly an 80s thing. Over reliance on Satanic imagery, swearing, and sexual innuendo might have still sort of been funny in the early 2000s, but by now it's just predictable and can even be quite cringe at times. A lot of metal media is either for teenagers, or boomers that want to relive being a teenager. It's all pretty juvenile and crude. I do love Brutal Legend though, that has heart put into it, even it falls into many of these tropes.
at least heavy trip made a somewhat original plot with the drummer dying and having to break out a mentally insane person out of a ward to be their drummer lol
Horrible take on the sound of metal. It's not so much about metal as it is about adapting to being deaf. If that's a 'diversity quota" concept to you, than I don't see the point of discussing it through.
Well, I don't know how big the overlap between anime and metal fandom is, but there is that one anime/manga series; Bastard!!! that's is more of a dark fantasy/sci-fi that's not so much about metalheads, but is chalk full of metal fanservice. Characters, places, and spells named after bands and musicians, a freaking Motorhead golem. Fucking King Diamond is a boss-level villain. Then there's Guilty Gear, which was inspired by Bastard with some great tracks performed by the band Outrage. Personally, I'm still waiting for the anime version of Brutal Legend, but I'm not holding my breath.
The next best thing to a metal anime that isn't Bastard!! is Detroit Metal City... although they play death metal (man, j-metal sounds very different), their whole spiel is just Kiss, but with the twist that the singer wanted to make swedish inspired indie music but ended up becoming a metal vocalist who needs the crowd to believe he's Satan and... If you can stand very crass and random humor, you might give this one a try
@fluffydergraueblob1227 I gave it a go a long time ago, but it didn't land. Mostly because Maximum the Hormone came off as more what people think metal sounds like than what it is to me. Maybe both band and series are worth giving another shot?
I'm a new-ish metalhead and I love heavy trip so much. I don't watch any other metal movies so repetitiveness isn't an issue for me. It's generic, yes. But it's fun to watch. I guess I won't be watching any other metal movies because they're all basically the same🤷♀️
Brütal legend and the Heavy metal movie are leeeeeeagues apart in theming, music, story plus Heavy metal is an anthology movie with constantly changing characters and setting (for example one scene could be a scifi centric tale about aliens and another one be almost Conan the barbarian- esque dark fantasy short. many of the themes present in Heavy metal both the comic and the movie are present in Brütal legend but where the latter differs is its tongue in cheek love letter to heavy metal CULTURE (and music of course). i feel this comparison does not hold any ground.
I think the main problem with some of these movies is that they try to cater to a young, mainstream audience therefore they dumb down metal to basic stereotypes.
That's my main problem with most metal media. There's way too much entry level stuff. It's always Wacken this, Baby Metal or Metallica that, Corpse Paint, Battle Vests and some Gore. (Looking at you Heavy Trip 1 and 2). But to someone who's deeper into the genre, this stuff starts to feel clichée and - too often - embarrassing. Throw some cringe edgy humor into the mix and you lost me.
Metalocalypse and Brutal Legend are fun because they are made by metal fans for metal fans, but the issue arises when mainstream media tries to make something "edgy" like some lords of chaos bullshit, because it's a trend.
Metalocalypse is also made for posers who havent heard any death metal
you do know who the director of lords of chaos is, do you?
a close minded guy who just wanted to point out that swedes made first bm and that "varg bad"
@@a.n.t.94Yeah, and the movie is shit
Theres this Icelandic movie called MetalHead, and i heard its very good and actually emohasizes the dramatic side of Metal more than the tongue in cheek side of it.
That's an excellent film
That's probably because it's a drama/coming-of-age film whose protagonist (and a few side characters) happen to be metalheads, as opposed to having their taste in music be the most significant trait about them, which for various reasons most often leads to the characters coming off as stereotypical. Don't get me wrong, there's a place for that as well, I enjoyed Heavy Trip as a fun(ny) film about metalheads but it's supposed to be a comedy. If you want anything more serious you have to work on your characters more/differently.
Sound of Metal was amazing
Honestly I agree with you, I love metal with all my heart. There's so much that can be done with it but I don't understand why no one is doing it. Sometimes it feels like a lot of the media surrounding metal is made by non metalheads. Which there's nothing wrong with but it doesn't feel as authentic. But I want more out of it.
Although, it is kinda hard to come up with a cool idea sometimes, since I've also want to make metal comics myself. But it is possible you just need the right person.
Also cool video, first time I watch one of your videos and cant wait to watch more.
This channel is so underrated.
Some of the biggest problems with metal media i feel is the strong focus on the metal heads being metal heads instead of it simply being a part of their character, a great example is a film called "The Devils Candy" which follows the story of a family who are into heavy metal but the main plot is more about a serial child stalker and murderer and the father doing what he can to protect his daught with the help of haunty preminitions, you could easily have taken the fact that they are metsl heads out of the plot qnd it would syill work but in my opinion it adds to the story special the badass ending.
New Blackmetal Werewolf video! Hell yeah!
It's always a good day when Blackmetalwerewolf uploads a new video. It's always interesting and makes me think.
I thought Brutal Legend of was actually pretty fun and creative. It's a blend of open world, driving, hack 'n slash, and real-time strategy. It's got a cool world to explore with lots of variety, Jack Black, and the soundtrack is not just a bunch of nu-metal crap. There is actually some really good tunes in there and a lot of classics. But Brutal Legend really is an outlier when it come to metal themed video games and I don't think we will ever get a sequel sadly.
Brütal Legend is the only "metal" video game that I know of, do you have any other recommendations? I'd be pleased to hear them.
It's always been like that. I saw Tenacious D when it came out. Became a Metalhead and almost every Metal Themed movie was a worse version of it. Heavy Trip is good tho.
But that's what metalheads want, right? Demons, gore, hot chicks, dumb teenagers, cults, spells, etc.
But It's pretty limiting what stories you can tell with those thinga.
that's not what I want.
@a.n.t.94 what do you want then?
These are the tropes and stereotypes of the genre. There is one more trope that you hadn't mentioned: the smart scientist or otherwise intellectual that works by themselves listens to Metal and solves problems. They also work off the fantasies of metalheads. It's how to identify people's hobbies. There is one thing Todd has that Deathgasm doesn't: McMurray from Letterkenny.
If you want Metal media that isn't all the same, you will need to look for media that just happens to have metalheads or Metal music in it. Here are some movie examples: The Devil's Candy, Demoni, We Summon the Darkness, What Metal Girls are Into.
You want Metal social media? Well, Tank the tech is different from Stevie T, who is different from Wyatt's Metal, who is different from Rocked, who is different from Chrissthrash, who is different from 66Samus, who is different from Killbot Gor gor attack, who is different from Mortuary Gaming.
We also all need to take breaks. It's different for everyone, but there is a time when Metal just isn't working and it all feels distant. Take a few months to listen to other music and experience non-metal activities. Come back refreshed and ready to slay...errr.
Excellent video, man! Reminds me of why Dave Mustaine wrote "Peace Sells".
A thing I've learned a fair bit over the years is that for a lot of people, representation is a welcome gesture. To me, the way a lot of metal fans view their representation in media is a lot like way black people, LGBT people, etc. view their own representation in that they're a "minority" group and it's nice to see them get acknowledged. It's not something I like thinking too hard about, but I can understand why it might mean something different to someone else. Do I think representation is over glorified sometimes? Yes. Do I think more could be done? Sure. But that's just my assessment.
I've never heard of Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, I'll have to check it out.
While I like pretty much all of the media you discussed I do think we could use more variation in the stories. I will still shamelessly get excited for another "Evil Dead meets Metal" story but it shouldn't be the only thing we get.
To be honest, if we simplify metal genres in general, a lot of them are just as tropey as the films and media that's based on it. Examples:
* black metal: Satanism, anti-religion, anti-establishment, nihilism
* death metal: gore, anti-establishment, anti-religion, Satanism
* power metal: dragons, wizards, LOTR, fantasy shit
While there's definitely elements that differ in certain bandw, a lot of the above genres fall into these tropes in their lyrics too. So it's not just in the movies and games, it's in the music too
Does that make metal any less interesting? Hell no. Because all media is tropey and full of cliches to a degree, doesn't matter if it's metal, pop, country, rap, etc
A good example of metal media done right is the GTA4 dlc The Lost and Damned
in dethgasms defence, good fun gore inspired by other new zealand B-horror movies, ABSOLUTELY STELLAR SOUNDTRACK.
Totally right, even though I enjoy all those movies, they all share the same formula.
I noticed this myself, but mainly with tone, rather than recycled plot details. At one point I wanted to write a book with this type of media as a framework, but I came to a horrifying conclusion after trying to write it, even worse than the copyright lawsuits that could've come my way: It was the worst thing I had ever written. I tried to force in abysmal comedy, metal music was thumb-screwed into all dialogue, and the story was more about cozening metal music rather than being something I truly wanted it to be. Since then, I decided to use History, Anthropology, and especially Paganism to lay the groundwork, and even though it's flawed, I'm having more fun with it.
Metal media also tends to lack its own identity, because it loves to flaunt its understanding of the music rather than making a story. The insistence on forcing comedy also feels out of place because of metal music's serious identity. Even the cheesy songs from the '80s were intended to be dark and adult in their presentation, like W.A.S.P. If they weren't, they were more motivational like the song 'Hungry for Heaven' by Dio. Honestly, manga like Berserk, Devilman, and Hellsing, or western media like Spawn, Evil Dead, and even classic literature like The Island of Doctor Moreau feel more like genuine metal media than Deathgasm or Brutal Legend. The manga Jojo's Bizarre Adventure had music references everywhere, including heavy metal but it had its own story, and it's very entertaining.
I think the problem is reliance on 80s nostalgia, and tapping into that Gen X attitude too much. It tries so hard to be funny and edgy, but it ends up being neither. Metal media acts like the Satanic Panic is still happening, even though that was mostly an 80s thing. Over reliance on Satanic imagery, swearing, and sexual innuendo might have still sort of been funny in the early 2000s, but by now it's just predictable and can even be quite cringe at times. A lot of metal media is either for teenagers, or boomers that want to relive being a teenager. It's all pretty juvenile and crude. I do love Brutal Legend though, that has heart put into it, even it falls into many of these tropes.
blackmetal pngtuber
Detroit rock city is my favourite metal movie
You gotta see gummo great movie! Soundtrack is very metal, but metal is not "essential" to the story nor does it use metal as a crutch.
Digging that Carpithian Forest poster flag.
It's true metal media has became predictable and seems to be made by people who don't get metal at all.
at least heavy trip made a somewhat original plot with the drummer dying and having to break out a mentally insane person out of a ward to be their drummer lol
I don't have to try to be dark and edgy. I am dark and edgy.
Horrible take on the sound of metal. It's not so much about metal as it is about adapting to being deaf. If that's a 'diversity quota" concept to you, than I don't see the point of discussing it through.
I honestly hated Deathgasm. It was pretty boring.
Well, I don't know how big the overlap between anime and metal fandom is, but there is that one anime/manga series; Bastard!!! that's is more of a dark fantasy/sci-fi that's not so much about metalheads, but is chalk full of metal fanservice. Characters, places, and spells named after bands and musicians, a freaking Motorhead golem. Fucking King Diamond is a boss-level villain. Then there's Guilty Gear, which was inspired by Bastard with some great tracks performed by the band Outrage.
Personally, I'm still waiting for the anime version of Brutal Legend, but I'm not holding my breath.
The next best thing to a metal anime that isn't Bastard!! is Detroit Metal City... although they play death metal (man, j-metal sounds very different), their whole spiel is just Kiss, but with the twist that the singer wanted to make swedish inspired indie music but ended up becoming a metal vocalist who needs the crowd to believe he's Satan and...
If you can stand very crass and random humor, you might give this one a try
@fluffydergraueblob1227 I gave it a go a long time ago, but it didn't land. Mostly because Maximum the Hormone came off as more what people think metal sounds like than what it is to me. Maybe both band and series are worth giving another shot?
I'm a new-ish metalhead and I love heavy trip so much. I don't watch any other metal movies so repetitiveness isn't an issue for me. It's generic, yes. But it's fun to watch.
I guess I won't be watching any other metal movies because they're all basically the same🤷♀️
Welcome aboard!
I havent even watched an episode of dethklock
All stories can be stripped down to a hero's journey. Nothing is fresh. That is an opinion from someone who works in the entertainment industry.
Deathgasm is such trash. "Yeah let me be friends with someone who constantly betrayed me" 😂
Brütal legend and the Heavy metal movie are leeeeeeagues apart in theming, music, story plus Heavy metal is an anthology movie with constantly changing characters and setting (for example one scene could be a scifi centric tale about aliens and another one be almost Conan the barbarian- esque dark fantasy short. many of the themes present in Heavy metal both the comic and the movie are present in Brütal legend but where the latter differs is its tongue in cheek love letter to heavy metal CULTURE (and music of course). i feel this comparison does not hold any ground.
Comedic metal movies/shows are almost all crap. The Icelandic movie Metalhead is the best movie ever made.
Hey I think you are missing the bottom, you look like a flying torso.
😂