METAL LORDS -- A Clever Comedy or a Parody of Metal Fans?

Review by Tatiana Miranda

​Netflix’s new original film Metal Lords follows the trials that metalheads Hunter and Kevin face as they navigate high school. In the vein of many popular music-based teen movies, the conflict centers around the upcoming Battle of the Bands competition that the two protagonists long to conquer. There’s just one problem: their band doesn’t have a bass player. In comes Kevin’s love interest and resident cello player with anger issues, Emily. The three interact throughout the film in an attempt to truly understand what it means to be metal.
 
Similar to Netflix’s 2021 original Moxie, which explores the punk sub-genre riot grrrl, Metal Lords strips any nuance of metal music and its fanbase and instead turns it into a stereotyped look at the genre. The primary metal fan in the group, Hunter, dons Slayer graphic tees and is apparent in his belief that his music taste makes him better than everyone else. He looks down on the popular kids as they play Ed Sheeran at a party, and he especially looks down on Emily with her conservative attire and ability to play the cello. Hunter’s whole personality is that he is edgy and misunderstood, and it’s not clear if the audience is meant to sympathize with him as he is bullied by his peers or poke fun at the incel-like behavior he portrays.
 
Throughout the movie, several great jokes point out the gatekeeping of metal and rock cultures. For instance, there’s a moment where Hunter refers to Emily joining the band as “completely gay,” which is promptly followed by Emily and Kevin’s glances at Hunter’s wall covered with near-naked men and suggestive band names. It is the perfect way to showcase Hunter’s backward thinking in relation to his love of metal music. This visual depiction of his mindset is also paired nicely at the end of the film, where he showcases some female metal icons in an attempt to show his growth.

While there is a definite change in Hunter’s behavior by the end of the movie, it doesn’t come across as warranted. For nearly the entirety of Metal Lords, he has been strong in his misguided convictions and unwilling to relent to any suggestions his close friend Kevin has. He treats everyone around him poorly, yet the audience is expected to root for him as he endures against all odds. Nothing is endearing about him as he portrays the worst of metalheads, yet he is one of the main protagonists in a movie solely about metalheads.
 
There are some notable moments in Metal Lords, such as the visual and auditory blend of classical music from Emily’s cello and Kevin’s metal drumming. Yet, it’s overpowered by the movie’s indecisiveness on which storyline it wants to follow. The relationship between Emily and Kevin is sweet. It creates a nice blend of rock and classical music that represents their personalities well, with Kevin being quiet yet a fan of metal music, and Emily’s classical music skills contrast with her more metal tendencies in her erratic behavior. The friendship between Kevin and Hunter can also be compelling at times, as the movie explores the rift between them as Kevin gets into a relationship with Emily. Still, Metal Lords has too much happening with not enough development to make the movie interesting as a whole.
 
Metal Lords begins streaming on Netflix on April 8th.
 
Rating: 2/5