The new musical film on the Netflix platform uses the great bands of “heavy metal” with its songs, posters and even the participation of some of its stars, but the most important thing is that it tells an endearing story of brotherhood and perseverance.
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The main characters of “Metal Lords” are Emily (Isis Hainsworth), Kevin (Jaeden Martell), and Hunter (Adrian Greensmith). / Courtesy: Netflix
Heavy rock, or metal if you prefer, has been exposed in the cinema with hilarious stories about its irreverence and extravagance —This is Spinal Tap or Wayne’s World—, as well as its excesses and violence —Lords of Chaos —. However, Netflix’s new bet goes in another direction with a youth story where the important thing is music as an escape valve for bullying, mental illness and hormonal development.
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Hunter and Kevin are two boys who go to school and have been friends since the third grade. For Hunter, metal is the reason for his existence. The son of a plastic surgeon, he doesn’t get much love from him, but he does have the financial resources to have a room full of fine electric guitars—like the one used by Van Halen’s Eddie Van Halen—and a powerful car that carries the famous album plates Powerslave, from Iron Maiden. His partner lives in a not so comfortable situation, but he wants to learn everything related to the genre, and even more so to perform as a drummer.
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Together they make up Skullfucker, a group of post death metal, with the serious purpose of achieving glory. To do this, the first step will be to win a battle of the bands that will be held at your school. There they must compete against Mollycoddle, a group that plays a kind of benign rock at parties and weddings that enjoys the approval of most of the students.
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Hunter and Kevin’s friendship is tested when the drummer meets Emily, a cellist of Scottish descent who must take psychiatric medication. Amazed by her ability on her strings, Kevin shares a list of key bands with which he has been learning to punish her drums to induce her in a style very different from the one she practices.
Emily finds an immediate connection to the music, often considered loud and diabolical by conservatives. However, her possible inclusion in Skullfucker is rejected by Hunter. The reasons for the guitarist and singer are also orthodox: because she is a woman and she is not convinced by the way she dresses.
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Metal Lords dynamically manages to develop its argument about the conflicts typical of adolescence, such as identity, social acceptance, first love and defining a future. To do this, it uses humor, and although some situations are quite ridiculous, it has a touch of tenderness that transforms it into a charming film.
It’s backed by a solid soundtrack of pure genre gems: a car chase to the beat of Judas Priest, a class lecture to the chords of Motörhead, an escape from a rehab center to the fury of Metallica, or a call for reconciliation under Guns N’ Roses liner notes.
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We even get to see a sensational cameo in which well-known figures play angels and demons on the shoulders of a confused Kevin: guitarists Kirk Hammett of Metallica and Scott Ian of Anthrax, as well as the sage advice of singer Rob Halford, of Judas Priest, and the appearance of Tom Morello, founder of Rage Against the Machine and executive producer of the film.
When Skullfucker must prove himself on stage, he manages to be convincing. Their distinctive instrumental ensemble is striking, and the song they perform for their classmates, called “Machinery of Torment,” is a metallic blast that would surely secure them a record deal.
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Although the parents of the boys appear, the principal of the school and some therapist with a metalhead past, the focus is on the young talents. There, the convincing performance of Emily (Isis Hainsworth) stands out, the naivety of Kevin (Jaeden Martell) and although he is a bore, little by little Hunter (Adrian Greensmith) is gaining some sympathy.
This is entertainment aimed at a wide audience. It does not pretend to be a musical chair, although it does manage to capture the eye with its imposing instruments and amplifiers, in addition to those nods to those groups that shook and will shake skulls for decades to come. The credits with a tribute to Black Sabbath, pioneers of the style, are a blessing from hell.