The Decline of Western Civilization : The Metal Years

Back in the 80s, MTV was actually a decent source for music and not a station known for idiotic shows such as "The Real World" or "TRL," that seem to air non-stop! Many people caught on to the lifestyle of rock stars, (in this video--particularly Glam/Hard Rock bands.) Several well-known bands, along with a few bands that never made it, were included for candid, uncensored interviews; many of them included one live stage show.

This entire video can be summed up in about four words: drugs, sex, money, and rock n' roll.
Most of the bands interviewed seem too high to really respond with a resonable answer for the questions asked. Nearly all of the bands seem to want non-stop sex, lots of money, as many drugs as they can get their hands on, and to be a rock star until death. Dave Mustaine's always a treat to see, and his response to Hair bands was rather humorous to me, "It's not the size of the pencil; it's how you write your name." ;) Good 'ol, Dave. Other memorable moments include Alice Cooper, who is asked if he's happy with the way many artists have taken his shock image to a success. His reply is something like, 'Many have gone successful; I'd like to wring their necks, but I won't mention any names.' Kiss, perhaps? ;)

Chris Holmes of W.A.S.P. is seen soaking himself in Vodka, sitting in a pool by his mother. He wants to be an alcoholic and and a rock star (seems familiar.) Ozzy Osbourne talks while whipping up some food in the kitchen, and boy were his old hair-doos something else. Lemmy of Motorhead is the same straight-forward guy he's always been and puts forth a decent interview. Aerosmith are seen here they would really hit their commercial prime a few years later.

I found myself fast-forwarding many of the live videos here.  I'm sorry; yes, they are that horrible. However, the video closes with a video of Megadeth's "In My Darkest Hour," a song dedicated to the untimely death of the former Metallica bassist. Great song, and it's a heavy-hitter.

Overall, I didn't like this video very much. Most of the bands put forth a horrible interview, and to top it off, the performances weren't the greatest, either. Megadeth, their live performance, Alice Cooper's interview, and Lemmy's interview are the only segments that save this video. Viewed as a look into the 80s Hard Rock lifestyle--Where are the METAL bands? There are much better videos out there..

                                                      Overall score: 68/100
Reviewed by Sam