Metal Evolution Series - Sky Arts - starts tonight 9pm

RayCon

Sky + set to record and series link

Distorted guitars, vigorous drumming, intense (and sometimes brute) vocals, long, untamed hair and Satanist t-shirts all comprise that genre of hard rock music which we've labelled “Metal”.

In Metal Evolution, musician, film director, and anthropologist Sam Dunn, whose work predominantly focuses on the culture of heavy metal, explores through the multi-generational phenomenon, proving that you don’t need to fit the above description in order to be taken by its evolution.

Think you know Metal music?

Though it has been criticised for decades, first and foremost by conventional parents, Metal has spectacularly proved that the 'fittest' music genres do ultimately survive and thrive.

Sam Dunn guides us through the genre’s rocky roots with highlights including discussions with some of Metal’s most influential people from Alice Cooper to Iron Maiden, Slash, Slayer and many more.
So, whether you are a classical music fan or a head-banging, tattoo-covered teenager declaring yourself as a born-Metal-fan, this enlightening series will no doubt give you a fresh perspective on this convoluted labyrinth of intense music entitled "Metal".

Episode 1




Watch: Metal Evolution Ep. 1

In an episode dedicated to iconic heavy metal videos, legendary directors Dave Mallet and Wayne Isham discuss films they produced for AC/DC, Queen, Guns and Roses and Black Sabbath.

Episode 2




Watch: Metal Evolution Ep. 2

In the second episode of Metal Evolution, Flower power is declared dead as bands such as The Frost, Aerosmith and Van Halen explode onto the scene.

Episode 3




Watch: Metal Evolution Ep. 3

It’s now 1969 in Britain, where bands like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest begin to challenge the dominance of rock'n'roll.

Episode 4




Watch: Metal Evolution Ep. 4

The denim-jacketed air guitarists of the New Wave fiercely fight back at punk and ban ballads outright in episode 4 of Metal Evolution.

Episode 5




Watch: Metal Evolution Ep. 5

Slash, Motley Crue's Vince Neil and Van Halen's Michael Anthony discuss the vilification of glam rock shedding light to the intricacies and controversies of the genre.

Episode 6
With the birth of thrash came breakneck tempos, disturbing and harshly barked lyrics, Metallica and Anthrax. Find out more on episode 6 of Metal Evolution.

Episode 7
Grungers Kim Thayil and Jerry Cantrell talk about the debt they owe metal giants like Led Zeppelin.

Episode 8
Sam Dunn charts the rise of nu metal, from Rage Against The Machine and Faith No More to Korn and Deftones.

Episode 9
Alice Cooper reflects on the 1969 concert that spawned Shock Rock and brought animal mutilation onstage.

Episode 10
Sam Dunn explores the rise of power metal which revived many heavy metal elements lost during the grunge era.

lord lucan

Just came across a trailer for this last night whilst watching a Monty Python series. Looks excellent.:)

Somnus

Cool, I'll definitely have to check this out. Thanks for the heads up!

JBnaglfar

Thanks for posting this, will watch it tonight.

chin_grin

FFS!

:mad:

JBnaglfar

I remember seeing that thread chin_grin but never got around to looking for the show online. It being on tv just makes it easier.

Somnus

I enjoyed the first part. There was a good collection of band members in that part alone, and they're given lots of screen time, not just short comments. I'm looking forward to seeing who's in the next few episodes.

Welsh Megaman

Enough ferraris, Mr. Malmsteen?

Surprised there was no mention of Tony Iommi's hand injury.

Somnus

Welsh Megaman wrote: »

Enough ferraris, Mr. Malmsteen?

Surprised there was no mention of Tony Iommi's hand injury.

Suppose there was no reason for it to come up. Iommi himself might be in a later episode, so he might mention it there.

Thought the exact same thing about Malmsteen with the Ferrari's. All the logos in his guitar room too

breffni666

Should be moving onto 70s metal tonight, Zep, Purple etc. a good start last night.

LH Pathe

Alright I completely missed this.

set.. to .. reminder. done. episode 6. Can't I filter the mehtallica out?!!

D.Q

Decent enough watch. Only thing is, it's a story we have all heard SOOO many times before.

Somnus

Enjoyed last nights episode. I like how it focused on giving the American story, rather than just doing it chronologically and jumping from country to country.

D.Q wrote: »

Only thing is, it's a story we have all heard SOOO many times before.

Yeah, as much as I'm enjoying it, I can't help but think that a little. Still, it's only the second episode, so there's still plenty of room to expand.

Ash.J.Williams

It's little nuggets like this!!

Elpico Amp (The 'Green Amp') - 1962
I bought this in a radio spares shop in Muswell Hill in 1962. I couldn't afford a Watkins Dominator or a bigger posher amp! I went home and plugged the Elpico loudspeaker's output leads into the input of the AC 30, in effect using the smaller amp as kind of a pre-amp. It sounded great, but I wasn't satisfied. The crowning glory of my simple yet effective experiment was to slash the speaker cone of the Elpico with a razor blade so that the material, although now shredded, still remained intact with the outer side of the cone. As it vibrated it produced a distorted and jagged roar. In fact, the original set-up was so crude that the main amp's hum was almost as loud as the sound I had created. A sound was born, but I didn't know it at the time. Immediately I started using my set-up in live shows that I performed with Ray and our band, in the time leading up to the creation of the Kinks. Ironically, it was that sound, which we used on 'You Really Got Me,' that got the Kinks our first hit. - Excerpt from 'Kink' - An Autobiography by Dave Davies © 1996

Malmsteen was hilarious. breaking his boll*x all day polishing and positioning the cars!! "they say less is more, huh? no it's not" brilliant!

LH Pathe

D.Q wrote: »

Decent enough watch. Only thing is, it's a story we have all heard SOOO many times before.

fears compounded. So I can expect some kind of metallic to dominate a 'thrash' episode again doing it a disservice?

More suited prog / heavy metal / hard rock related episodes. I'll just record the series n skippety

Welsh Megaman

Being a fan of 'hair metal', looking forward to episode five.

Friday night, according to the Sky planner.

lord lucan

I've enjoyed the series so far. The history of Metal is well documented so it's not like we're gonna find many revelations. The guy is enthusiastic about the genre and has gotten some great names involved and some excellent archive footage.

Ash.J.Williams

San Dunns material and sources are always top notch, but has anyone noticed their attention wandering regularly during his shows? Had to hit the rewind button a few times.

Somnus

Thought last nights episode was really good. Really looking forward to the next few episodes seeing how all the sub-genres emerged.

Loved Scot Ian talking about Steve Harris. "Steve Harris is just metal. Whenever I see him I just want to kill people"

Ash.J.Williams

Dr.Poca wrote: »

Thought last nights episode was really good. Really looking forward to the next few episodes seeing how all the sub-genres emerged.

Loved Scot Ian talking about Steve Harris. "Steve Harris is just metal. Whenever I see him I just want to kill people"

..Harris cracked me up when he gave his opinion on punk! At least he was funny, Deep Purples opinion of metal was downright ignorant!!

Welsh Megaman

Puzzled about last night's episode...

No mention of Motorhead who were famous for uniting punks and metalheads at their gigs.

dcr22B

Balls only noticing this now, I wonder can the first 4 episodes be watched on Sky Anytime?

Ash.J.Williams

dcr22B wrote: »

Balls only noticing this now, I wonder can the first 4 episodes be watched on Sky Anytime?

there's another thread on the show here somewhere and it has links to the shows..possibly youtube as it has been shown elsewhere before xmas.

chin_grin

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

there's another thread on the show here somewhere and it has links to the shows..possibly youtube as it has been shown elsewhere before xmas.

................Yes there is.......................thanks. :mad:


:pac:

lord lucan

NEWOBBOM!:pac:

Loved Joe Elliot getting all defensive about Leppard being slated at Reading. 'They were throwing **** at all the bands'!:P

Somnus

lord lucan wrote: »

NEWOBBOM!:pac:

That was very annoying! Just sounds so cringeworthy.

LH Pathe

I liked the guys approach he's a dedicated shredder I will watch all episodes. The story of the Dokken, was it frontman mouth wide open catching one of many a gozzier made me baulk a real highlight. And in classic hair metal fashion she swallowed it. Had to get a tetinus shot!

RayCon

Have to say Im completely enjoying this series - yes there's nothing new here but I think the fact it's spread across so many episodes, Dunn is able to take more time with each subject so it's not as rushed/squashed as the usual 60min "Metal" documentaries (which usually just mention Sabbath, Zeppelin and Ozzy biting the head of a bat :rolleyes:)

lord lucan

Great insight last night into what happened to a lot of the guys after their heyday. Funny seeing the guy from Warrant now selling cars during the week and playing with the band at festivals at the weekend!

The guy from Dokken looked embarrassed admitting that they compromised by going down the power ballad route and going after the money.

LH Pathe

Some of these guys looked like they may have had more Botox than their wives! Who had a lot

Ash.J.Williams

Great stuff so far tonight, what an era that was. Gary Holt sure loves killing people.

Ash.J.Williams

Interesting end to tonights show, a limp wristed metallica performance.

LH Pathe

At least sturdy thrash stalwarts slayer got about equal coverage as some kind of however this episode reeked of bn there / seen that.. so may prove to be the least interesting. Nice to see bostaph however

The host dude was wearing an old Voïvod shirt too but alas, not a mention outside big 4 testament exodus and death angel.

milehip1

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

Interesting end to tonights show, a limp wristed metallica performance.

is there any other kind these days?

Welsh Megaman

What was that Testament song with the cheesefest music video?

Somnus

Really enjoyed last nights episode. Loads of good footage and interview clips. I'm not even a thrash fan, but thought it was just a really well laid out episode.

Looking forward to seeing the rest of the subgenres

RayCon

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

Gary Holt sure loves killing people.

I had to laugh ...

chin_grin

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=75859798

Either merge or delete it.

LH Pathe

For me the 'grunge' episode showed how lost that movement was in itself as a mere form of general rock, or alt rock with a punk ethic with metal of course struggling to find a new angle after it's full circle evolution into ironically the most primitive; thrash.. such was the nature of the genre but for me the most intelligent, 'progressive' band without losing the intensity of thrash was canadian frenchies Voivod up to Angel Rat.

I seriously doubt any episode after thrash will hold up much, a la grunge its not metal; yes they were rockers.. alt rockers but I think the very word 'grunge' indicates the struggle to fill a void and spawn something worthy of being dubbed new already as far back as 20yr+ and the desperation of each new generation to lay claim to a 'new' sub genre since. which continues today.. and always will. Got so bad the hip hop disco 'street' metal fusion was dubbed 'Nu Metal' for fcksake. I think that produced the last of a genuinely new angle but I also think that's because nobody prior particularly wanted to touch it - was almost a form of chav metal.

And so we have a new generation of budding science students with their 'progressive metal' and scandinavians in their fantasy cosplay, elves and orcs seems any rehash today is all watered down now anyhow with modern life having been overpolished I miss the rough around the edges intensity of the 80s and into the 90s some.

Welsh Megaman

Black Flag + Black Sabbath = Grunge

RayCon

Grunge episode was OK .. but then again if I look at my music collection it features feck all of those bands so hardly surprising I felt a bit "meh" about it.

Tonight - Nu Metal - will suck copious amounts of donkey balls - but I'll watch it cos Ive a touch of OCD about watching the entire series.

Raditub

RayCon wrote: »

Tonight - Nu Metal - will suck copious amounts of donkey balls - but I'll watch it cos Ive a touch of OCD about watching the entire series.

I'm the very same! Considerin Nu Metal more or less a hick up in music history! Stiill got to keep watchin like!:cool:

RayCon

Managed to DL the entire series too ... so Ive burned to DVD for prosperity

Ash.J.Williams

Thought the grunge episode was class, turned off bigtime back in the day but appreciate it a lot more now. Alice in chains are great, however if my parents allowed me attend megadeth/pantera/aic I probably would have ignored them! What a major move it was for sound garden to have a metal producer! He said they were in charge in the studio, but I always found it was their heavyness that set them apart from the others. Rusty cage is drop B ffs!

LH Pathe

Grungers still hung out w thrashers.. rockers alike such was the trend then with rave/gansta rap/scangers not an option yet n yet that ****s still new-skool to me. perpetual playschool material anyhow just grunge was 'wimp rock' as tommy tighe might put it, though the nihilism was admirable we just wanted the next faster, more rebellious heavier thing in heavy metal but after thrash / death / gore that was just not possible n with that any remaining possible future shock factor got used up.

Curious that Faith No More are in the upcomig Nu Metal episode but in retrospect, and into the 90s with Angel Dust he may well be able to explain it.. in 15 min

Ash.J.Williams

I was thinking Kerry king had media training or hired a pr guru he's been so positive, but his mask slipped there when he rubbished diablos and therefore Jeffs riffs!

LH Pathe

I think it all got polluted moreso than diluted with the arrival of the 3 stripes of corporate conformity percived as hip in metal, of all places. and with max cavalera in an adidas jumpsuit with his new laid back 'groove' sepultura never sounded as dumb.

Nu metal pretty much removed virtuosity / athleticism from metal and removed anything mature from it, gave it to the kids entirely that's the danger of pandering to what's been popular the past 18yr i heard the term underground mentioned here; bollix every overpolished thing these guys recorded/shot was for kids/ money. Pop-pap. I guess Korn were unique n it still produced some good musicians, rap will never take that out of metal

/notice how there's almost an oversaturation of metal on Sky ARTS yet seemingly no techno nor rap features. aren't rappers the ones that often refer to emselves as artists.. o dear.

Padraig Mor

Been enjoying this series. However, just looked at an episode guide for the series and - despite episodes devoted to Thrash, Grunge, Nu Metal, Power Metal, Prog and "Shock Rock (whatever that is), there is no episode covering Death, Black, Doom, Grindcore etc?! Now, while these genres may never have scaled the commercial heights of Glam, (some) Thrash etc, surely coverage of them is crucial to any series purporting to be a history of metal's evolution, with Death Metal and its offshoots surely being the major metal spin off to have arisen in the last 25 years? And while many of the bands may not be household names (although I'd wager recognition of the likes of Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel and Napalm Death is widespread), the same can surely be said for Rhapsody, Dragonforce and Kamelot, all apparently featured in a later episode?

RayCon

^ have to agree with Padraig Mor ... while Im not a Death Metal fan - I think Dunn has a fairly large, unexplainable hole in his History Of Metal by ignoring this sub genre. You only have to look at the impact Death Metal has had in the Nordic countries.

lord lucan

Series is missing some Venom.:mad:

galwayrush

lord lucan wrote: »

Series is missing some Venom.:mad:

They were on tonight..