INSIDE METAL SERIES (2015-2018)

A series of six(!) movies about the L.A. metal scene.

INSIDE METAL: PIONEERS OF L.A. HARD ROCK AND METAL (2015)
INSIDE METAL: PIONEERS OF L.A. HARD ROCK AND METAL 2 (2015)
INSIDE METAL: THE L.A. METAL SCENE EXPLODES (2016)
INSIDE METAL: THE L.A. METAL SCENE EXPLODES 2 (2016)
INSIDE METAL: THE RISE OF L.A. THRASH METAL (2018)
INSIDE METAL: THE RISE OF L.A. THRASH METAL 2 (2018)

How much do you like SoCal metal? Six full length documentaries worth? These are incredibly nerdy fanboy style documentaries about the Los Angeles scene beginning in about 1975 and mostly ending in about 1985. Cheaply produced, but manages to get lots of big names. I was never really bored, but not really enthralled, either. Possibly because I was never much of a metal guy.

One thing I thought was interesting is how different the metal scene was from punk in terms of the emphasis on technical skill. It's like technical skill > songwriting > any sort of emotional input to songs > friendships. Good players get passed around from band to band looking to be the next band to break.

Hard not to laugh at seriously these people were taking themselves with their silly outfits and dumb as dirt lyrics, but I guess that's what metal is. This is an enjoyable waste of time if you are doing something else simultaneously.