synopsis

After her 1981 punk portrait THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION put her on the map, Penelope Spheeris turned to narrative films, until the rise of the heavy metal scene gave her the idea to do a sequel in 1987. Spheeris sticks to the previous film’s structure of balancing performances by bands like Faster Pussycat, Odin, Lizzy Borden, London, Seduce and Megadeth with interviews with metal superstars and hopefuls alike. Fame is the major theme here - what it takes to get there and what happens to you when you do. Spheeris talks with icons like Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Ozzy Osbourne about their struggles with addiction, then watches as W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes nearly drinks himself to death in front of his mother. Clearly less enamored with the output of this bizarrely popular subculture than she was with punk, Spheeris’ merciless depiction of the scene’s overt misogyny and the clueless wannabes led to comedy gold, and rockers like Dave Mustaine later claimed the film’s savage mocking actually killed the glam metal scene once and for all. One things for sure, fans of rock ‘n’ roll and haters alike are sure to love watching this outrageous, iconic rockumentary.