Film review/ Metal Lords

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR

Movie: Metal Lords

Director: Peter Sollett

Cast: Adrian Greensmith, Jaeden Martell, Isis Hainsworth

Music: Ramin Djawadi

Genre: Musical/ Heavy metal 

Streaming on: Netflix

Rating: ***

The main character dons Anthrax and Messhugah tees. The rehearsal set list includes Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs' and Tool's 'Schism'. Artwork of Pantera's 'Vulgar Diplay Of Power' and Iron Maiden's 'Aces High' are on display. In this world, Metallica, Slayer and Judas Priest are the gods.

Directed by Peter Sollett and written by Game Of Thrones co-creator D.B. Weiss, Metal Lords is a 98-minute Netflix feature film that pays tribute to the heavy metal genre. More specifically, it focuses on death metal and doom metal - for these folks, Rock Of Ages is bland and outdated. Thus, there is plenty of screaming, shredding and power-drumming.

In some ways, it is the metal follow-up to the Jack Black hit School Of Rock. Metal Lords may have a predictable storyline, and some absurd moments, and its title may sound for a rockumentary. But the intentions are honest, making this an engrossing watch. Ramin Djawadi's score focuses on metal, but where the situation demands, there's western classical and pop too.

Vocalist-guitarist Hunter (Adrian Greensmith) is your trademark anger-spewing teenage metalhead, who's teamed up with the more 'normal' drummer Kevin (Jaeden Martell, looking like a very young Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree). They have a band Skullfu**ers, whose main purpose in life to win the high school Battle Of The Bands.

The duo is looking for a bassist to complete the line-up, but the odd candidate doesn't fit in. Kevin becomes friendly, and more, with Scottish-American cellist Emily (Isis Hainsworth) and realises she can play Sabbath as well as Schubert.

The idea of getting her into the band is mooted, but Hunter rejects it as it doesn't go with their macho image. For this self-imposed band-leader, metal is life, and it's serious business - an outlook caused by growing up in a dysfunctional family. Naturally he loses his cool when his drum chum turns up late for rehearsal.

Skullfu**ers decide to continue as a duo and contest the big 'Battle'. They even have an original song called 'Machinery Of Torment' (co-written for the film by metal hero Tom Morello). After a turn of unwarranted events, including a bizarre classroom speech by Hunter and an outburst by Emily, the vocalist's father gets him admitted to a treatment centre. His disease: addiction to metal.

In a weird twist, Hunter meets one of his idols at the centre and lands up in time for the contest, where the band has to change its name to Skullflowers and faces competition from a pop-rock band called Mollycoddle, We're avoiding spoilers here.

Despite the weak storyline and a shortage in the humour department (barring one scene involving a security guard which is hilarious), the film works on the strength of its subject and music. The performances go well with the characters, and the language is angry-late-teen, with all those cuss words and slang.

Most importantly, with all that band-name dropping, the film makes you want to dig out your favourite metal record (or even check the new Messhugah album Immutable since Hunter wears their tee). Probably, it would have made for a better theatre experience than an OTT outing.