Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 29, 2015

Note: This film is currently available as part of the box set The Decline of Western Civilization Collection.

It’s kind of a quaint exercise to read through reactions from the general (elderly) populace whenever a new music craze seemingly “infects” teenagers and other younger folks like a modern day St. Vitus’ Dance. Early 20th century movements like ragtime and even jazz were regularly decried as being “jungle music” or similarly pejorative (and racially charged) terms. World War II era parents were left slack jawed and scratching their heads at the ostensibly “hysterical” reactions of young Bobby Soxers to such phenomena as Frank Sinatra. A whole series of dances like the Lindy Hop which arose during the Swing Era also convinced the over 30 crowd that mass hysteria had overtaken the nation’s youth. The disconnect between staid parental units and perhaps admittedly slightly out of control teens only increased when the 1950s gave birth to both easy listening (for the elders) and rock ‘n’ roll (for the kids), with such iconic figures as Elvis finding their television appearances geographically centered above the waist so as to not incite riots. The early sixties gave rise to countless parents demanding that their kids “turn that noise down,” even though to modern day ears that so-called “noise” is surprisingly tame and well mannered. As the youth culture became a bit more pronounced (and probably more than a bit more arrogant), rock music became a bit more aggressive as well, though the seventies were still content to wile away the hours with such decidedly non threatening acts as the Carpenters, even if slightly more “dangerous” artists like David Bowie starting redefining what pop-rock and music stars could be like. But sometime in the mid-seventies, the really iconoclastic kids starting listening to (and, obviously, performing) punk rock, an all out assault on listening sensibilities that actually did make some parents’ worst nightmares come true, with actual riots breaking out at concerts with fair regularity. Penelope Spheeris started documenting Los Angeles’ punk scene in 1979, capturing early performances by future genre stalwarts like Black Flag, X and Circle Jerks. The Decline of Western Civilization premiered in 1981, and famously caused such a ruckus in Los Angeles during its initial theatrical exhibition that police chief Daryl F. Gates sought to have it banned. If The Decline of Western Civilization tended to portray a certain breed of underdog in the corporate music scene, 1988’s The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years took the opposite tack, focusing on much better known and mainstream performers like Steven Tyler and Ozzy Osbourne. Spheeris then ping ponged back to a more disadvantaged class for 1998’s The Decline of Western Civilization Part III, profiling a variety of basically homeless kids who were at least tangentially connected to a renascent punk scene. Shout! Factory has now assembled these three films, all reportedly sourced from new 2K scans, while also providing a bounty of new supplemental features, including commentaries by Spheeris (along with her daughter Anna Fox) and (on a separate commentary) Dave Grohl.

What a difference a few years makes. The Decline of Western Civilization came out in 1981 and featured the scrappy underdogs of the music scene, garage bands (and their ilk) that at least gave lip service to not caring one whit about the corporate rock scene, even if one suspected the band members wouldn’t mind all that much if piles of money from record labels were suddenly thrust in their general direction. The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years was shot in the mid- to late eighties (with a release date of 1988), and climbs several rungs up the vaunted ladder of success, profiling several “big hair” rock stars who were already well ensconced in that iconic trifecta that includes not just music, but sex and drugs as well.

There’s some kind of interesting backstory detailed in the fascinating essay by Domenic Priore included in a nearly 40 page glossy booklet included in this set with regard to punk’s continued presence in Los Angeles as more mainstream “big hair” acts started to rise in prominence at the same time. While the punk scene was known for its excess and the skirmishes which regularly broke out at concerts, according to Priore, there were actually “turf wars” of a sort, centered around the iconic Whisky A Go Go, where metal heads would actually go looking for punks in order to engage them in fights. The (mostly) successful acts documented in The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years don’t really get into any of that contentious relationship, and instead tend to wax philosophical (or at least as philosophical as they’re able to) about their “party hearty” lifestyles, replete with copious amounts of drugs and women.

If some of the punk rockers in The Decline of Western Civilization were suitably contrarian, not caring one whit about traditional music marketing (i.e, the “business”), The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years tends to show guys who are only more than willing to “play by the rules,” convinced that the status of Rock God (and all that that title conveys) will soon be bestowed upon them, if it hasn’t been already. Some, like Steven Tyler and Ozzy Osbourne, were already success stories by this time, and they make no bones about their profligate ways (Tyler in particular seems almost proud of the money he’s blown through because of drugs).

Perhaps because the film is dealing in a different echelon of musician, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years lacks the punch and wallop of the first film, though when taken on its own big haired merits, it’s actually a lot of fun, and actually funny at times. As is revealed in Spheeris’ commentary on the Blu-ray, at least one of the film’s more recognized moments may have actually been staged (the horror!), but even that seems to be part and parcel of this particular niche of the American Rock storybook: these are “artists” used to having their realities manufactured, either commercially or “chemically.” Why should appearing in a documentary be any different?

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. While manifestly clearer and more detailed looking than The Decline of Western Civilization, the elements utilized for this transfer show occasional age related issues like speckling. There's some minor wobble during the credits, though (again) less so than in the first film. Also it appears that on at least a couple of occasions dupe elements may have been utilized, for there are sudden upticks in grain and fuzziness which do not match the overall look of this presentation. Colors are nicely saturated and accurate looking and grain is intact and resolves naturally. There are occasional issues with minimal shadow detail in some dark or nighttime sequences, but generally speaking contrast is consistent and appealing looking. While not overly "sharp" by contemporary standards, there's a nice organic look to this presentation, and close-ups at least offer decent detail.

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years features both a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and 5.1 track. The 5.1 track offers a significantly wider soundstage for the musical elements, and the change in genres from punk to more mainstream rock means that the lower end on this release does not mask the midrange and higher frequencies as much as it did in The Decline of Western Civilization's surround track. As should be expected, the confessional and interview segments are basically interchangeable on both tracks, without much appreciable difference. Fidelity is very good on both tracks included on this Blu-ray.

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Extended Interviews contains the following disclaimer:

  Portions of the original B-Roll were lost, and the remaining elements have degraded over time. The following footage is the only surviving representation of the original work.

  Aerosmith (480i; 19:06)

  Alice Cooper (480i; 18:41)

  Chris Holmes (480i; 15:02)

  Gene Simmons (480i; 20:24)

  Lemmy (480i; 14:42)

  Ozzy Osbourne (480i; 21:43)

  Paul Stanley (480i; 16:18)

• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:34)


• Audio Commentary with Penelope Spheeris and The Nadir D'Priest is another enjoyable conversation, one that gets into some of the rampant artificiality of the lifestyle and (not so coincidentally) of the film itself.

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years doesn't have the same emotional pull that the first and third films in this franchise do, but on its own goofy merits, it's rather enjoyable. Technical merits are generally strong and Shout! has put together some good supplements. Recommended.