Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal years

If anyone has Amazon Prime (US), The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II is currently available to view for free (with ads).

 

I spent a lot of weekends clubbing in Hollywood during both the LA punk and metal eras (‘79-‘89). I can’t imagine how many go-nowhere (hair) metal bands I saw, especially at the Troubadour.

 

A lot of bands both metal and other genres in 80’s Hollywood looked at Van Halen as the template for “making it” in the music industry machine. From wall papering the Sunset Strip with home made xerox flyers to staging a show and performing in clubs as if they were playing the biggest arena.

 

I suppose, but I don't think she understood the genre or had a sense of how it was changing, as many did sense at the time. Yet the term "metal" was still applied to the title, as opposed to, say, "The Decline of Western Civilization: The Sunset Strip ". Heavy Metal was not an LA-exclusive scene, although that was a big part of the overall 80s larger heavy metal landscape. I think the scope of the film with regard to the titular subject matter was myopic and narrow, for the most part.

But I have to admit it was entertaining to watch, even hilarious at times.

 

Decline and "This is spinal tap" where required viewing amongst myself and my metalhead friends. I don't think either of the two took themselves serious, one showed the excess's of being a rock star and the other was parody of being a rock star and it excess's by taking the "piss" out of the idea. I mean come on.. didn't we all wished we could live that life style of sex, drugs and rock n roll

 

You are largely correct. I grew up in Arlington, Texas. In the early -to-mid 80's, everybody pretty much listened to AC/DC, Van Halen, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Rush, and Ozzy. When Motley Crue, Ratt, and Dokken came on to the scene, we embraced them, but we guys often wondered what was up with the hair, clothes, and makeup. Of course, since the girls loved them, we weren't that vocal about it.

I can give her a pass on Guns 'n' Roses because they were still ascending, but Priest, Maiden, and Scorpions were monsters of the genre back then and Metallica's rise was hard to miss.

 

Another music doc that’s way overdue for re-release.

 

Odin did seem a bit more self aware than the other bands interviewed, though - a couple of them were saying something like “Yeah, we’re gonna make it...I mean we have to, we can’t do anything else!”

 

I think in America "metal" meant different things from Europe/UK

 

It was released on DVD by Warner Archives about a decade ago, but I think that’s out of print. I was lucky enough to buy a copy from their website when it was available.

 

I'm no fan of this film, but I disagree that Spheeris displayed little thought on the subject of these bands not being real metal. Her depiction of Megadeth was far more sympathetic than her depiction of the hair bands.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that the entire thesis of the film was that the hair bands were creatively vapid, and that serious musicians served as their counterpoint.

 

Uh....there's at least a 1/2 dozen guys who played in London that went on to have platinum records.

 

Man, I purchased a DVD of "Urgh ..." through Amazon friggin' years ago. It turned out to be DVD-R via Warner. One of those printed-on-demand DVDs. The quality is less than perfect just as the original film is a bit grainy, but I am glad to have it. I still have a VHS copy of it as well, buried in some box of tapes. In particular, it's was my first exposure to Klaus Nomi. The whole movie is fantastic!

 

And of course there's "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" to use as a supporting feature.

 

That DVD-R is the one I have. I haven’t watched in awhile, but I remember the quality being pretty good for a MOD disc.

However, there is a very good copy uploaded on Vimeo:

Urgh! A Music War!

 

Excellent!

Thanks for posting this!

 

Heavy metal is a broad musical genre, not a narrow one.

 

Part 1 was interesting but the hair metal part 2 was pretty cringey. I watched them both a couple months ago back to back.

 

Ads with Prime? Wow, I thought “no ads” was one of the perks.

Anyway, you don’t need Amazon to watch all three parts – Tubi has them (free and legal):

The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years (1988)

The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998)

 

Point being? Nobody in the lineup shown in the movie ever amounted to anything, and London was never much more than a stepping stone - guys like Nikki Sixx and Fred Coury had left for greener pastures years before.

 

Yep. For the most part, "cringey" sums up Part II.

 

Point being that you and the person I was replying to are looking at it through the lens of 2021, not 1988. There was no reason for them to believe they wouldn't make it. If not with London, then in another band.

 

Thanks for the info and links!

 

Just like The Beach Boys.

 

What about part 3?