How Metal Lords on Netflix serves as a reintroduction of metal to the TikTok generation

Even at the peak of its success, metal as a genre has been the preserve of the outlier. Like punk rock, the very idea of writing for metal meant composing and growling in defiance of authority, of social typecasting, and of the awkwardness of not being cast in the same mould with a kind of confidence that is more projected than inherent.

This is why the  story of Metal Lords is very relevant to the TikTok generation of today that is so far removed from the idea of metal. Because the outsider exists in every era, and their social isolation is such a real, everyday phenomenon. It is an undisputed reality that many more youngsters know Justin Bieber than Black Sabbath, like Hunter and Kevin realise in the movie. So is the struggle to popularise metal at the school and junior college level a greater ordeal today than it was say 20 years ago.

The deterioration of MTV content in the 2000s signalled the sidelining of the growlers as hip-hop, R&B, squeaky clean pop, and rap remained at the forefront of pop cultural influences. The post millennial, Gen Z-meets-Gen Alpha youth of today could do with better exposure to what makes the angst of metal relevant to every generation. After all, the superficiality of auto-tune can never universally replace the aggression that drives the heavy distortion of metal.

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Metal Lords may not have the overall charm of a School of Rock kind of coming-of-age story, but it is poised to be the rock movie of this generation. At least that is what former Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine guitarist and Harvard graduate Tom Morello thinks. Morello has served as the executive music producer of the film, and coached the SkullF**Kers in the film.  

If the ’90s had Dazed and Confused (1993), then the noughts’ Almost Famous (2000) was only a few years ahead of the 2003-released School of Rock. The ‘60-’90s generation oscillated between pop and commercial straight-up rock music, with heavy metal bursting sporadically into the mainstream consciousness before retreating to its peripheral position. And metalheads preferred it that way. Scorning popular acceptance, the raison d’etre of metal and its various sub-genres has been to firmly not be the kind of music one’s mother would enjoy.  

In cocking a snook at mass appeal and approval, metal did not position itself with aloof self-importance; instead, it has been an extension of the identity of its major fanbase — the “weird” outsider. We have a misguided understanding that youngsters with a drug problem, lack of hygiene, and some questionable hairstyling are the primary consumers of metal.

In reality, it has frequently been the sonic and real-life identity of many a peripheral character with excellent grades — the highly intelligent geek who worships George Lucas, the obsessed gamer with social anxiety, the woefully shy individual with a mighty exaggerated chatty online persona. It is for the kid who is not picked for the school football team or the one who could not be bothered about being the teacher’s pet.  

Hunter from Metal Lords, who is a diehard metal fan, knows the genre at the back of his hand, and ropes in his best friend Kevin for drumming duties. But what is a metal band without a bassist? One day, Kevin overhears Emily playing her cello, and thus is formed a ragtag group that battles school, parents, and so much more than just bands, to win a metal competition.

Therefore, Metal Lords, in many ways, is the perfect candidate to provide this generation with a ready reckoner of classic metal music with a soundtrack that actually features the grandfathers of the genre: Judas Priest, Pantera, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and a few younger bands.  

The songs in the film are some of the most popular metal songs by these bands: Priest’s ‘Metal Gods,’ ‘Painkiller,’ and ‘Grinder,’ Metallica’s ‘One, For Whom the Bell Tolls,’ ‘Master of Puppets,’ and ‘Whiplash,’ Iron Maiden’s ‘The Trooper,’ Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs,’ Pantera’s ‘Cowboys from Hell’ and ‘I’m Broken,’ and Motorhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’  among others. It is a playing-to-the-metal-gallery kind of setlist which — while populist in the niche space— serves as a great introduction to audiences that are unfamiliar with the genre.

Then again, given that the metalheads in the movie are a bunch of kids, this setlist becomes a best-of collection, giving newer audiences a more well-rounded inroad to the genre before its various sub-genres send them in an aural tizzy.  

The classic metal acts of the ’60s-80s in the movie are joined by younger bands like Avenged Sevenfold (1999), Mastodon (2000), and Zeal & Ardor (2013) with songs like ‘Hail to the King,’ ‘Blood and Thunder,’ and ‘Trust No One’ respectively. Even hard rock legends Guns N’ Roses find mention with their cover of doo-wop act The Skyliners’ ‘Since I Don’t Have You from The Spaghetti Incident?’

Morello, whose career has seen him make heavy metal records with rap, alternative, and even EDM hues, was reportedly delighted to write a heavy dose of heavy metal theme song like ‘Machinery of Torment’ for Hunter and Kevin to perform at the Battle of the Bands. There was a time when metal was so much more about the current youth than the previous generation. Yet Morello’s number draws our attention to the fact that metal has today become the sonic identity (with a touch of nostalgia) of the parents of BTS and Ed Sheeran fans.

Hopefully, Metal Lords setlist will restore the rightful order in the metalverse.  

Metal Lords is streaming on Netflix.

Senior journalist Lakshmi Govindrajan Javeri has spent a good part of two decades chronicling the arts, culture and lifestyles.

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