The Decline of Western Civilization II
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| The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years | |
|---|---|
 Dave Mustaine of Megadeth is featured on the VHS cover and movie poster. |
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| Directed by | Penelope Spheeris |
| Produced by | Jonathan Dayton Valerie Faris Guy J. Louthan |
| Starring | Ozzy Osbourne Aerosmith Megadeth W.A.S.P. Paul Stanley Motörhead |
| Cinematography | Jeff Zimmerman |
| Editing by | Earl Ghaffari |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) |  June 17, 1988 |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Country | US |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) |
| Followed by | The Decline of Western Civilization III (1998) |
| Official website | |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years is a rockumentary film directed by Penelope Spheeris about the Los Angeles heavy metal scene of 1988.
The film features footage and interviews of legendary metal bands such as Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, Megadeth, W.A.S.P.,Paul Stanley and Motörhead.
Tagline: It's more than music...it's a way of life.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The documentary follows the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on the glam sub-genre. Spheeris explores the more famous musicians, including Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Mustaine and Kiss. She then explores unknown bands, such as Odin and Seduce. The film also features early interviews with members of Poison, Tuff, Vixen, 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).
- Paul Stanley of Kiss is interviewed in a bed while covered 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 and spills orange juice all over the table, Spheeris interviews him about sobriety, to which Ozzy replies, "It fucking sucks."
Lastly, Spheeris takes her cameras to Sunset Strip to film an average night in 1980s Los Angeles.
[edit] Musical Performances
- Lizzy Borden – "Born to be Wild"
- Megadeth – "In My Darkest Hour"
- Faster Pussycat – "Bathroom Wall", "Cathouse"
- Seduce – "Crash Landing", "Colleen"
- London – "Russian Winter"
[edit] Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released on Capitol/I.R.S Records, and includes tracks from Armored Saint, Faster Pussycat, Lizzy Borden, Metal Church, Rigor Mortis, Megadeth, Motörhead, and Alice Cooper featuring Axl Rose, Slash, and Izzy Stradlin of Guns N' Roses. The album is out of print.
