BANGER FILMS: EXTREME METAL ROAD REPORT #2 – NEW YORK CITY

Canadian Anthropologist and film director SAM DUNN has sent this update about his latest documentary METAL EVOLUTION (featured on VH 1 CLASSIC) as funds have been raised for a new episode featuring extreme metal including death, black and grind genres.

SAM DUNN, directed and narrated the metal documentaries METAL: A HEADBANGERS JOURNEY (2005) and GLOBAL METAL (2008), the first film, his thesis in Anthropology.





FROM BANGER FILMS:
Hey Bangers! Sam checks in with a new Metal Evolution: #ExtremeMetal road report, this time from our time in New York, New York hanging out with Enslaved and a few kvlt friends. Read all about it and don't forget to pre-order your copy of the episode before it's too late!! \m/

Our second stop on the first leg of filming Extreme Metal was New York City. NYC has produced some important Extreme Metal stalwarts (the mighty Suffocation!) but it’s also an amazing hotbed of writers, experts and personalities who really know their metal. We met with Monte Conner, former VP of A&R at Roadrunner, who helped bring death metal to the masses in the late 80s and early 90s; Albert Mudrian, author of the seminal bookChoosing Death; and Brandon Geist, Revolver Magazine editor and all-around metal smartypants.

But the main highlight of our New York jaunt was meeting-up with Norway’s extreme prog-metallers Enslaved. They were on their final tour stop at the legendary Bowery Ballroom and we were stoked that we could link up our schedules to make it happen (not to mention it’s a helluva lot cheaper to interview them in NYC than going all the way to Norway’s remote west coast!). Now, there’s probably a few people reading this thinking “Is Enslaved really a critical band in the evolution of Extreme Metal? Surely there are bands that have made a bigger impact!?” And yes there are. But here’s my case.

First off, let me be frank, I’m a huge of fan of Enslaved. I think they’re one of the most exciting bands in metal today. But this isn’t the primary reason they’re in the Extreme Metal episode. Because Metal Evolution is a series about the evolution of the sound, lyrics, imagery and industry of heavy metal and hard rock, I think it’s vital to include bands that embody this evolution in theirown musical trajectory.

Signed to Euronymous’ pioneering underground label Deathlike Silence, Enslaved began their career amidst the horde of Norwegian black metal bands that emerged onto the scene in the early 90s. And while there were certainly elements of their original sound that hinted at where they were going (tinges of folk-prog, mystical themes, adventurous song structures) they were no doubt firmly part of the black metal pack (blast beats, “primitive” production, buzzsaw guitars). Then something happened. With albums Below the Lights, Isa, Ruun, Vertebrae and onwards, they broadened their sound incorporating clean vocals, soaring harmonies, mellotron and jagged time shifts, all without jettisoning their black metal roots, earning them the respect of die-hards and newcomers alike. They broke free from the rigid orthodoxy that all-too-frequently restricts Extreme Metal bands while maintaining the fury and aggression that keeps the sub-genre unique and meaningful for lovers of underground music.

Have I made my case? I’ll get off my soapbox. You can be the judge when the Extreme Metal episode hits screens!

VIDEO BELOW: In 2012, Banger Films launched an IndieGoGo campaign to fund the creation of Extreme Metal, the final "Lost Episode" of Metal Evolution - the biggest-ever series on the history of heavy metal and hard rock.

Through the overwhelming support of the international metal community, Banger raised nearly $40,000 which funded the research, writing, travel and filming phase of the Extreme Metal episode, making it possible for host/director Sam Dunn and the Banger Crew to hit the road and interview the genre's most influential figures, including Tom G. Warrior and Martin Eric Ain (Hellhammer/Celtic Frost), Shane Embury (Napalm Death), Jeff Walker and Bill Steer (Carcass), David Vincent (Morbid Angel), John Tardy (Obituary), Fenriz (Darkthrone), Necrobutcher (Mayhem), Ihsahn (Emperor), Silenoz (Dimmu Borgir), Joe Duplantier (Gojira) and more.

The funding also enabled us to film some of the most important locations in the history of Extreme Metal including Tampa (the birthplace of Death Metal), Oslo (home of the Norwegian Black Metal scene), Birmingham, England (famous Grindcore hub), and Hellfest (one of the world's biggest metal festivals).

But interviews and travel footage sitting on hard drives is no good to anyone. We need your support to turn this
footage into an episode!

More info here: igg.me/at/LostEpisode/

VIDEO BELOW: METAL EVOLUTION: 

Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson of Enslaved - interview sneak peek

Metal Evolution: Extreme Metal | Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson of Enslaved - interview sneak peek from Banger Films on Vimeo.
METAL EVOLUTION: EXTREME METAL TEASER: 

GLOBAL METAL: TRAILER: 

METAL: A HEADBANGERS JOURNEY TRAILER: 

Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-