Motion pictures offer the ideal platform to present some of the finest heavy metal music. No matter your musical taste, you can still appreciate some amazing film soundtracks.
Heavy Metal was an animated cult movie released in 1981 featuring songs by Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Devo, Donald Fagen, Don Felder, Grand Funk Railroad Sammy Hagar Journey Nazareth Stevie Nicks Riggs.
Wayne’s World (1992)
This movie is inspired by a Saturday Night Live segment of the same name and stars Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as low-fi cable host Wayne Campbell and his best friend Garth Algar, broadcasting their program from home using public access cable television. They feature outrageous jokes about women, party on, kitsch television shows and occasionally dorky guests such as arcade owner Rob Lowe (Rob Lowe).
This film captures the power of music in people’s lives. Made in 1992 during a peak period for grunge and rock music, director Penelope Spheeris spent two years immersed in both LA punk scene as well as documenting metalhead music resulting in what many refer to as the film that captured “zeitgeist”.
Myers and Carvey shine as Myers capture the energy of teenagers who have found a niche genre they adore, combined with their charismatic screen presence to produce Wayne’s World as an endearing cult classic that remains funny and charming today.
Although this film does have some flaws, they are easily overcome by its constant stream of gags. Myers and Carvey perform admirably as do Mike Myers and Dana Carvey’s screenplay writers – they really know their stuff.
This film proves that when two people share similar interests, there’s no reason why they cannot spend the rest of their lives together. Amidst its humorous plot of misfits finding their place in life and falling in love, this story also explores what it feels like to fall in love.
Metalhead (2013)
Heavy metal music has long been used as the soundtrack of many movies, from horror flicks that utilize this type of music as part of the story to those which use it simply as an ambiance for their storylines.
Ragnar Bragason directed the 2013 Icelandic drama Metalhead as an excellent example of this trend, telling the tale of a troubled young woman who adopts her brother’s heavy metal taste as an attempt to cope with his death and find comfort through music. Not only is Metalhead an effective use of metal within non-horror films but it also features some stunning Icelandic scenery!
This movie takes place in a rural farm community in Iceland and explores issues of grief, loneliness and isolation. Hera is a complex character who often gets into weird situations which are resolved by parents, neighbors and members of their community who understand her loss.
She may be seen as somewhat of an outcast in the village, but she tries her hardest to live life her way. Wearing a black leather jacket and overindulging in alcohol, she often races her neighbor’s tractor down the road at nighttime.
Parents – particularly her father – become very concerned by her behavior, becoming embarrassed at times by it. Eventually she becomes friends with a metalhead friend and an aspiring black metal band.
Metalhead is an impressive film that addresses grief with subtlety and honesty while remaining unexpectedly uplifting, using music and culture as means of self-expression. This movie should be seen by anyone who has suffered the loss of loved ones or has lived through any other form of loss.
Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal (2001)
Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal is a direct-to-video thriller directed by Jorge Montesi and starring John Mann, Monika Schnarre, Craig Sheffer, Gabrielle Anwar and Joe Mantegna. John Mann plays Slade Craven – an Marilyn Manson-style rock star – inviting an intimate group of fans on board his plane for his farewell concert as it takes flight.
The basic premise is straightforward enough: Slade Craven and his band perform their forgettable brand of self-consciously transgressive heavy metal on board an airplane and broadcast it live to millions of internet fans. But things quickly take an unexpected turn when Slade’s evil double, Simon Flanders (also Mann), kidnaps him to replace him with an evil Beelzebub-loving cultist that hijacks and plans to crash it into a church in Kansas – leaving it up to two FBI agents (Joe Mantegna and Gabrielle Anwar) along with computer hacker Craig Sheffer to save everyone on board including Craven himself.
There’s nothing particularly surprising about the plot, but Montesi and his cast make the most of it with an irreverent, dry humor that never takes itself too seriously despite being filled with bloodshed and bullets flying.
This film stands as one of the great classics of horror cinema, alongside Bride of Chucky and Devil In The Flesh 2. Additionally, it showcases one of the finest examples of subversive sequels popular during the heyday of 1990s horror films.
As such, this movie is definitely entertaining and worth viewing. It shows how an enjoyable film can be more captivating without overemphasizing thrills, with lots of zany silliness throughout its storyline adding plenty of comic relief.
Backgammon (2013)
Backgammon is a two-player board game of countermovement in which each player controls 15 pieces known as men (in the UK and Canada, ‘tablemen’) or checkers (in the US, ‘checkers’). The object of backgammon is for each player to move their men around the board by rolling two dice before trying to capture and bear off their opponents’ pieces – should all their own pieces fall, that player wins the game!
Backgammon comes in many different versions, all following a similar formula. Players must move their pieces along 24 points in order to remove their opponents’ pieces before their opponent does – the player who moves first wins the game!
Backgammon was traditionally played using wooden or plastic pieces on a table; however, modern software programs offer online backgammon games utilizing neural networks to analyze and play them; in addition to providing tools to analyze games as well as individual move comparisons.
One of the more well-known software programs, released in 2009, is JellyFish. Using neural network technology to calculate backgammon positions and play against either humans or computers, its weight tables have been developed from months of training sessions allowing it to help players improve their game.
eXtreme Gammon offers another great option, using neural networks and precomputed equity databases to calculate backgammon positions. It features some key benefits over other programs, including its precision in playing bearoff phase with ease and precision.
Backgammon Blitz’s online version supports cross-buy and cross-play, so that you can compete against those who have purchased copies from different platforms. No matter your experience level or desire for new challenges, Backgammon Blitz is an excellent option to try your luck at.
Mayhem (2018)
No matter your tastes in music, heavy metal has gone through remarkable transformation in recent years. There’s an element of theatricality to the music; bands often adopt pseudonyms derived from dark literature or religious imagery as their band names.
Black metal first emerged on the scene during the 80s and gradually began taking an increasingly extreme direction – evident in their use of pig heads and corpse paint for stage performances, as well as bloody outfits worn by band members like Mayhem (a Norwegian black metal band that became a cult act even after two of its founding vocalists had died), particularly Mayhem’s founder Vocalist Dead (deceased).
After some changes in their line-up, they released their debut album and quickly made a name for themselves with their intense live shows and touring schedule. Over time they became well known for their bloody and profane acts which brought in crowds of spectators every night to witness them perform live.
Although their music was distasteful, members of this band were actually very friendly people and many tried their hardest to build relationships with their followers – leading to many positive things happening for the band such as getting several of their songs covered by well-known musicians.
But this also led to devastating repercussions, such as Euronymous’ murder in 1993 by Varg Vikernes of Burzum. Though his crime was punished with imprisonment, once released his political views spiralled out of control.
Mayhem and their underground fans were fortunate to benefit from Mayhem’s continued presence; eventually reuniting with a new singer led to them creating Daemon, which can currently be streamed on Spotify. “Worthless Abominations Destroyed” serves as their latest single and is an aggressive yet short burst of aggression.