The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

(Penelope Spheeris, US 1988, 93 min., 35mm)

12 Notes on Film: Metal | New 35mm Print! The second installment of Penelope Spheeris’s music documentary trilogy, The Metal Years documents the LA metal scene of the late 1980s as a cultural phenomenon, deviating from the political and ideological motivations of punk rock in Decline I to explore an altogether different kind of musical excess—one in which music is relegated to the background and women are treated as props in pursuit of money, fame, booze, and teased hair. With a deft curiosity and exhilarating fascination, Spheeris balances her interviews with struggling bands and their fans and groupies with those with metal veterans such as Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, and Chris Holmes—now disillusioned with fame and wrecked by substance abuse. Equally funny and disturbing, The Metal Years is undeniably the most entertaining of the cult trilogy and can be appreciated by metal fans and its detractors alike.

Organized in collaboration with Bop Shop Records.

Arrive at 7:15pm for an extremely special introductory performance from Rochester's own The Highest Leviathan.

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