The Decline of the Western Civilization II - The Metal Years

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)



It's more than music...it's a way of life.





Video Frame Size........352 x 264

Framerate...............23.970fps

Duration................2:00:10

Decompressor............XviD MPEG-4 Codec

Video Data Rate.........780bps

Size....................845MB

Rar Files...............60 x 14.31



Audio Sampling Rate.....44100Hz

Channels................stero

Compression.............MPEG Layer-3 Codec

Duration................24:30.50

Audio Data Rate.........192 kbps





The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is a rockumentary film directed by Penelope Spheeris about the Los Angeles heavy metal scene of 1986, 1987 and 1988.



The film features footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal bands and artists such as Aerosmith, Kiss, Megadeth, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne, W.A.S.P, and Alice Cooper.





Synopsis



The documentary follows the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on the glam metal sub-genre. Spheeris explores the more famous musicians, including Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Mustaine and Paul Stanley. She then explores unknown bands, such as London, Odin and Seduce. The film also features interviews with members of Poison, Tuff, Vixen, Faster Pussycat, W.A.S.P., and more. Serious issues such as drug usage, alcohol abuse, and censorship are tackled, as well as vanity issues like celebrity and sales.



The film is well-known for its many scenes featuring rock star excess. The scenes include:



* Chris Holmes of W.A.S.P. is interviewed in a swimming pool beside his mother while extremely intoxicated. He stumbles through the interview, and pours a bottle of vodka both in his mouth and on his head.



* The unsigned band Odin talks about being more famous than The Doors and expects to become millionaires (It should be noted that Odin's guitarist, Jeff Duncan, while not topping the Doors' popularity and arguably not becoming a millionaire, managed later to secure a guitar slot in the more well-known band Armored Saint).



* An interview with club owner Bill Gazzarri (deceased) who used to organise a 'sexy rock and roll' dance contest, which was presented as being sleazy and sexist.



* Discussions with various musicians about the bad way women in general, and groupies in particular, are treated in the metal scene.



* Riki Rachtman and Taime Downe, then owners of the Cathouse club in L.A., discuss how girls get entry to the club faster if they dress 'sleazy'



* Paul Stanley of Kiss is interviewed in a bed while surrounded from head to toe with girls.



* Steven Tyler of Aerosmith talks about spending millions of dollars on drugs.



* As Ozzy Osbourne cooks eggs in a kitchen he spills orange juice all over the table, apparently due to uncontrollable shakes. However, in a 1999 interview for 'A.V.Club', Spheeris admitted that the orange juice spill was faked and the kitchen was not that of Ozzy Osbourne. Spheeris also interviews him about sobriety, to which Ozzy replies, "It f@#&ing sucks."



* An interview with Lemmy from Motorhead. In his autobiography, he claims that Spheeris interviewed him from a distance, possibly in an attempt to make him look stupid..[page # needed]



* Lastly, Spheeris takes her cameras to Sunset Strip to film the nightlife in 1980s Los Angeles.



Performances by:



* Lizzy Borden – "Born to be Wild"

* Faster Pussycat – "Bathroom Wall", "Cathouse"

* Seduce – "Crash Landing", "Colleen"

* London – "Breakout", "Russian Winter"

* Odin – "Little Gypsy", "12 O'Clock High"

* Megadeth – "In My Darkest Hour"