Metal Evolution is an in depth examination of metal by the man most associated with covering metal on film – though I have yet to see either of his movies.
The positive side of this show is that it is a landmark: I don’t think there’s another documentary series out there which focuses on just a single genre of pop rock music. It’s an in depth look and it’s informative. It’s also enjoyable, which is important for something this long.
The negative: Despite it’s length, it somehow manages to miss a bunch of major sub-genres: There’s little acknowledgement of Black Metal, Death Metal, Stoner Rock/Metal, Grindcore, Drone Metal, Groove Metal and probably other sub-genres which I’m not even aware of. Basically there’s one episode on all of these and it doesn’t really get into much of it at all. And it also feels cursory in its examination of some major bands. I for one was annoyed about how little time was spent on Faith No More but I could understand why nobody else would care about that. Also, the script, such as it is, is awful. Sam says “But what I wanted to find out is…” and various variations of that, multiple times every episode. And there are other stock phrases.
But I think these are minor nitpicks. If you’re into metal, or if you’re into music history, you should watch this.
7/10
- Also known as Metal Evolution: The Series
- Genre: Documentary
- Created by Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen
- Written by Ralph Chapman, Sam Dunn, Scot McFayden
- Directed by Sam Dunn, Scot McFayden
- Presented by Sam Dunn
- Theme music composer: Steve Harris
- Opening theme “The Trooper” by Iron Maiden (“Into the Crypts of Rays” by Celtic Frost for the episode “Extreme Metal”)
- No. of seasons: 1
- No. of episodes: 11