Metal Lords – Film Review

Two kids want to start a heavy metal band in a high school where exactly two kids care about heavy metal. Hunter (Adrian Greensmith) is a diehard metal fan who knows his history and shreds. His dream is to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands. He enlists his best friend Kevin (Jaeden Martell) to man the drums. But with schoolmates more interested in Bieber than Black Sabbath, finding a bassist is a struggle. Until Kevin overhears Emily (Isis Hainsworth) playing her cello. The motley crew must contend with school, parents, hormones and teen angst while trying to get along long enough for Skullf*cker to win the Battle of the Bands.

Heavy metal isn’t the kind of music I ever find myself wanting to listen to. It’s far too loud for my liking and I just can’t get into the feel of the music. For me, my favorite genres are pop, indie, and alternative. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have an appreciation for metal – because I surely do.

Both of my brothers absolutely love metal, meaning that I’ve definitely heard my fair share of it throughout my life and I do like quite a bit of it. I just wouldn’t ever go out of my way to listen to it. Metal is music just like any other genre. But what’s amazing about Peter Sollett‘s Metal Lords is that it gave me a newfound appreciation for the genre.

A lot of it comes from the two leads’ fascination and absolute adoration of metal. It’s practically their oxygen. They’re always spitting ideas for new songs to each other and they can’t stop praising their idols like Metallica and Iron Maiden, wanting to become even better than them.

And what’s incredible is that these two teens actually have the spirit within them to say that if they practice hard enough and if they work at it for years and years, they can be better than their favorite bands. Of course, since this is a comedy, they obviously have some ups and downs, but no matter what happens, they always get back on their feet and rock on.

The script from D.B. Weiss is a breath of fresh air, even if it is far too short and a bit formulaic. The film plays out like any other coming-of-age movie and there really aren’t any major surprises in store for viewers here, but that’s okay. The film needed to be a sweet, funny, and uplifting movie, and Weiss succeeded in crafting exactly that kind of script.

Jaeden Martell and Adrian Greensmith have terrific chemistry together in the roles of Kevin and Hunter, respectively. They work wonders off one another, and they probably do have the best chemistry of the year so far. It’s just so infectious to watch these two gush over their love for metal for an hour and a half.

Metal Lords doesn’t do anything new for the coming-of-age scene, but its uplifting story and extremely charismatic lead performances really make the film rock.