The Decline of Western Civilization II
Encyclopedia
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years is a documentary film
directed by Penelope Spheeris
about the Los Angeles
heavy metal
scene from 1986 to 1988. It is the second film of a trilogy by Spheeris depicting life in Los Angeles at various points in time. The first film The Decline of Western Civilization
dealt with the punk rock
scene during 1979-1980. The third film The Decline of Western Civilization III
chronicles the gutter punk
lifestyle of homeless teenagers in the late 1990s.
The film features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Aerosmith
, Kiss
, Megadeth
, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne
, W.A.S.P, and Alice Cooper
. The film premiered at The Wiltern Theatre and featured David F. Castagno, Publisher/Editor of Screamer Magazine as the master of ceremony.
sub-genre. Spheeris explores the more famous musicians, including Alice Cooper
, Aerosmith
, Ozzy Osbourne
, Dave Mustaine
and Paul Stanley
. She then explores unknown bands, such as London
, Odin and Seduce. The film also features interviews with members of Poison
, Tuff
, Vixen
, Faster Pussycat
, W.A.S.P., 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:
that this film was partially responsible for the death of glam metal and the subsequent rise of Thrash Metal
and Grunge
. The suggestion in the documentary is that fans, disgusted by the scenes of excess, decided to turn elsewhere. A similar claim was made by Dave Mustaine
in his autobiography and in the book Hell Bent for Leather by British author Seb Hunter.
Some of Spheeris' featured musicians, and live footage of Sunset Strip clubs, ended up as part of the 1987 MTV Music Awards, broadcast around the world from Universal Studios in Los Angeles. In addition to a clip of the band Foxx performing onstage, the awards show that year had several presenters that were stars of The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.
, Spheeris admitted that the scene with Ozzy Osbourne spilling orange juice was faked and the kitchen was not Ozzy's.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by Penelope Spheeris
Penelope Spheeris
Penelope Spheeris is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known as a documentary film director whose works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization...
about the Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
scene from 1986 to 1988. It is the second film of a trilogy by Spheeris depicting life in Los Angeles at various points in time. The first film The Decline of Western Civilization
The Decline of Western Civilization
The soundtrack was released in December 1980 by Slash Records on LP. In the late 1990s it was released on CD as well. It is currently out of print. Germs singer Darby Crash appears on the soundtrack album cover. He died shortly before the film was released, though the promotional images for the...
dealt with the punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
scene during 1979-1980. The third film The Decline of Western Civilization III
The Decline of Western Civilization III
The Decline of Western Civilization III is a 1998 documentary film directed by Penelope Spheeris that chronicles the gutter punk lifestyle of homeless teenagers. It is the third film of a trilogy by Spheeris depicting life in Los Angeles at various points in time. The first film The Decline of...
chronicles the gutter punk
Gutter punk
A gutter punk is a homeless or transient individual who displays a variety of specific physical traits and characteristics that often, but not always, are associated with the punk subculture...
lifestyle of homeless teenagers in the late 1990s.
The film features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, W.A.S.P, and Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
. The film premiered at The Wiltern Theatre and featured David F. Castagno, Publisher/Editor of Screamer Magazine as the master of ceremony.
Synopsis
The documentary follows the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on the glam metalGlam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
sub-genre. Spheeris explores the more famous musicians, including Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...
and Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley
Stanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
. She then explores unknown bands, such as London
London (heavy metal band)
London is an American heavy metal band, based in Hollywood, California. The band is perhaps most notable for featuring members that would go on to play in more famous bands such as Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, W.A.S.P...
, Odin and Seduce. The film also features interviews with members of Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
, Tuff
Tuff (band)
Tuff is an American glam metal band formed in 1985 in Phoenix, Arizona, by guitarist Jorge DeSaint and bassist Todd Chase . The band was completed with the arrival of drummer Michael Lean and short-lived vocalist Terry Fox, who left the band shortly afterwards to pursue an ice skating career...
, Vixen
Vixen (band)
Vixen is an all-female American hard rock band which achieved some commercial success during the late 1980s and early 1990s as part of the Los Angeles, California glam metal scene.-Early years:...
, Faster Pussycat
Faster Pussycat
Faster Pussycat is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1986. The group was most successful during the late 1980s with their self-titled debut album, their 1989 gold album Wake Me When It's Over and the 80,000 selling Whipped! in 1992.-The roots of Faster Pussycat...
, W.A.S.P., 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 HolmesChris Holmes (musician)Chris Holmes is a musician who was born June 23, 1958 in Glendale, California and grew up in La Canada, California...
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. It was later claimed the bottle of vodka that Holmes poured onto himself was actually water. - The unsigned band Odin explains how they want to be more famous than The DoorsThe DoorsThe Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
and expects to become millionaires (Odin's guitarist, Jeff Duncan, while not topping the Doors' popularity and not becoming a millionaire, managed later to secure a guitar slot in the more well-known band Armored SaintArmored Saint-Early career:Armored Saint was formed in 1982 by brothers Phil Sandoval and Gonzo Sandoval , and guitarist David Prichard, while attending South Pasadena High School. Next to join were singer John Bush also a South Pasadena High School Alumni and bassist Joey Vera...
). - An interview with club owner Bill Gazzarri, who at the time organised a 'sexy rock and roll' dance contest, which was presented as being sleazy and sexist.
- Discussions with various musicians about the way women in general, and groupies in particular, are treated badly in the metal scene.
- Riki RachtmanRiki RachtmanRiki Rachtman is an American television and radio personality.-Rock scene:At the age of 16, Rachtman auditioned to sing in the band the Angry Samoans, and the next year he was in a band called the Fairlanes. In the late 1980s, Rachtman was lead vocalist of the L.A. Metal Act "Virgin"...
and Taime DowneTaime DowneTaime Downe is an American musician who first became notable as the lead singer of 1980s sleaze rock band Faster Pussycat.-Biography:Downe grew up in Seattle, Washington, the oldest of four children. He became interested in music at a very early age, and in high school he formed a band named The...
, then owners of the Cathouse club in L.A., discuss how girls get entry to the club faster if they dress 'sleazy'. - Paul StanleyPaul StanleyStanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
of Kiss is interviewed in a bed while surrounded from head to toe with girls. - Steven TylerSteven TylerSteven Tyler is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin'", due to his high screams...
of Aerosmith talks about spending millions of dollars on drugs. - As Ozzy OsbourneOzzy OsbourneJohn Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
cooks eggs in a kitchen he spills orange juice all over the table, apparently due to uncontrollable shakes. This was later claimed to have been faked. Spheeris also interviews him about sobriety, to which OzzyOzzy OsbourneJohn Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
replies, "It fucking sucks." - An interview with LemmyLemmy KilmisterIan Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister is an English heavy metal musician....
from Motörhead. In his autobiography, he claims that Spheeris interviewed him from a distance, possibly in an attempt to make him look stupid. - Lastly, Spheeris takes her cameras to Sunset StripSunset StripThe Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
to film the nightlife in 1980s Los Angeles.
Musical performances
- Lizzy BordenLizzy Borden (band)Lizzy Borden is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Lizzy Borden is also the name of the band's lead vocalist.-History:Lizzy Borden specializes in the shock rock style originated by artists such as Alice Cooper and Kiss...
- "Born to be WildBorn to Be Wild"Born to Be Wild" is a rock song written by Mars Bonfire and made famous by the Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf. It is often used in popular culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude...
" - Faster PussycatFaster PussycatFaster Pussycat is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1986. The group was most successful during the late 1980s with their self-titled debut album, their 1989 gold album Wake Me When It's Over and the 80,000 selling Whipped! in 1992.-The roots of Faster Pussycat...
- "Bathroom WallBathroom Wall"Bathroom Wall" is a song taken from Faster Pussycat's first album Faster Pussycat released in 1987. Like much of the band's material from the album, it has a comedy side and deals with graffiti left on a bathroom stall wall that Taime Downe saw backstage at a gig the band were playing prior to...
", "Cathouse" - Seduce - "Crash Landing", "Colleen"
- LondonLondon (heavy metal band)London is an American heavy metal band, based in Hollywood, California. The band is perhaps most notable for featuring members that would go on to play in more famous bands such as Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, W.A.S.P...
- "Breakout", "Russian Winter" - Odin - "Little Gypsy", "12 O'Clock High"
- MegadethMegadethMegadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
- "In My Darkest HourIn My Darkest Hour"In My Darkest Hour" is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was the second single from Megadeth's third album, So Far, So Good...So What! . According to the liner notes of the remastered album, band leader Dave Mustaine wrote "In My Darkest Hour" in one sitting after learning of the...
"
Influence
It has been claimed in recent years, most notably in the VH1 documentary series Heavy: The Story of MetalHeavy: The Story of Metal
Heavy: The Story of Metal is a four part documentary special that aired on VH1 in 2006. It focuses on the origins, subgenres, and the bands of heavy metal music, paying close attention to influential bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, who helped to define heavy...
that this film was partially responsible for the death of glam metal and the subsequent rise of Thrash Metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
and Grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
. The suggestion in the documentary is that fans, disgusted by the scenes of excess, decided to turn elsewhere. A similar claim was made by Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...
in his autobiography and in the book Hell Bent for Leather by British author Seb Hunter.
Some of Spheeris' featured musicians, and live footage of Sunset Strip clubs, ended up as part of the 1987 MTV Music Awards, broadcast around the world from Universal Studios in Los Angeles. In addition to a clip of the band Foxx performing onstage, the awards show that year had several presenters that were stars of The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.
Faked footage
In a 1999 interview for The A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
, Spheeris admitted that the scene with Ozzy Osbourne spilling orange juice was faked and the kitchen was not Ozzy's.
Tracklisting
- Under My WheelsUnder My Wheels"Under My Wheels" is a rock song by Alice Cooper. It was originally released on the group's Killer album in 1971, and was also that album's first single release.The song was written by Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Bob Ezrin...
- Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
featuring Axl RoseAxl RoseW. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years... - The Bathroom Wall - Faster PussycatFaster PussycatFaster Pussycat is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1986. The group was most successful during the late 1980s with their self-titled debut album, their 1989 gold album Wake Me When It's Over and the 80,000 selling Whipped! in 1992.-The roots of Faster Pussycat...
- Cradle To The Grave - Motörhead
- You Can Run But You Can't Hide - Armored SaintArmored Saint-Early career:Armored Saint was formed in 1982 by brothers Phil Sandoval and Gonzo Sandoval , and guitarist David Prichard, while attending South Pasadena High School. Next to join were singer John Bush also a South Pasadena High School Alumni and bassist Joey Vera...
- Born To Be WildBorn to Be Wild"Born to Be Wild" is a rock song written by Mars Bonfire and made famous by the Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf. It is often used in popular culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude...
- Lizzy BordenLizzy Borden (band)Lizzy Borden is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Lizzy Borden is also the name of the band's lead vocalist.-History:Lizzy Borden specializes in the shock rock style originated by artists such as Alice Cooper and Kiss... - In My Darkest HourIn My Darkest Hour"In My Darkest Hour" is a song by American thrash metal band Megadeth. It was the second single from Megadeth's third album, So Far, So Good...So What! . According to the liner notes of the remastered album, band leader Dave Mustaine wrote "In My Darkest Hour" in one sitting after learning of the...
- MegadethMegadethMegadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two... - ProphecyProphecyProphecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
- QueensrÿcheQueensrÿchethumb|250px|right|Queensrÿche's classic line-up performing at the [[Sauna Open Air Metal Festival]] 2011 in [[Tampere]], [[Finland]]. Left to right: bass Eddie Jackson, lead vocals Geoff Tate, drums Scott Rockenfield and guitars Michael Wilton.... - The Brave - Metal ChurchMetal ChurchMetal Church was an American heavy metal band. They originally formed in Seattle, Washington as Shrapnel in 1980. Their first album was released in 1984, and the band's most recent work, This Present Wasteland, was released in 2008....
- Foaming At The Mouth - Rigor MortisRigor Mortis (band)Rigor Mortis is a speed metal band that formed in 1983. Two schoolmates Harden Harrison and Casey Orr formed the band when they met Mike Scaccia . The three young men shared an interest in horror/gore films and very heavy music. With Bruce Corbitt on vocals they created some of the heaviest...
- Colleen - Seduce