In GLOBAL METAL, directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn set out to discover how the West’s most maligned musical genre – heavy metal – has impacted the world’s cultures beyond Europe and North America. The film follows metal fan and anthropologist Sam Dunn on a whirlwind journey through Asia, South America and the Middle East as he explores the underbelly of the world’s emerging extreme music scenes; from Indonesian death metal to Chinese black metal to Iranian thrash metal. GLOBAL METAL reveals a worldwide community of metalheads who aren’t just absorbing metal from the West – they’re transforming it – creating a new form of cultural expression in societies dominated by conflict, corruption and mass-consumerism.
Rush’s Time Machine shows in 2010 / 2011 were one of the most anticipated tours ever. Celebrating 30 years since the 1981 release of their classic bestselling album Moving Pictures the band performed the entire album live for the first time as the centrepiece of the concerts. The shows also featured favourite tracks from across their lengthy career and two new songs expected to feature on their next studio album.
The film discusses the traits and originators of some of metal’s many subgenres, including the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, power metal, Nu metal, glam metal, thrash metal, black metal, and death metal. Dunn uses a family-tree-type flowchart to document some of the most popular metal subgenres. The film also explores various aspects of heavy metal culture.