It’s October – our favourite month here at Biff Bam Pop, which we celebrate with our annual 31 Days Of Horror event. Over the course of the next 31 days, you’ll find us giving all sorts of goodness, from reviews and previews, to articles, top five lists and interviews, featuring some of the biggest names in horror today.
This year we kick things off with a review of the concert film from one of the scariest bands in rock and roll, and their new concert film. Check out the trailer for the epic Metallica: Through The Never and then read our on!
While Metallica may not dress up the way that Alice Coooper or KISS does, their music has always had that seriously scary edge to it. None of them deny it; in fact, guitarist Kirk Hammett is an avowed horror fan who last year published an absolutely superb book of his own personal memorabilia collection, Too Much Horror Business, that fans of the band and the genre absolutely need to check out (we talked about it in a previous Biff Bam Popcast). Meanwhile, one of the band’s earliest, prog/horror inspired songs is titles The Call of Ktulu. Clearly, horror is in the band’s blood.
In their new IMAX 3D concert film, Metallica: Through The Never, the horror is also on screen, both is the visuals that accompany songs like Ride The Lightening and One, through the innovative narrative that is interspersed during the concert performances, where a roadie is on a journey to find a bag the band requires. Along the way, the roadie (Trip, played by Dane DeHane), encounters surreal moments of shock and horror, the band providing the perfect soundtrack. To be honest, as much as I loved seeing the sweat and intensity pour off Lars Ulrich, Robert Trujillo, Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield, I was equally engaged in seeing what was going to happen to trip. The band recently said the goal was to make a film that combined aspects of both The Wall and The Monkees weird movie, Head. They certainly succeeded, and then some.
While Through The Never may not be a conventional horror flick (don’t worry, we’ll get to those this month), you can certainly feel the creeping death that permeates its 90 minute run time. Tailor-made for IMAX 3D by director Nimrod Antel, this is one of the best concert films I’ve ever see, and the perfect way to kick off our 31 Days Of Horror. Throw the horns, and sing along with the band, and let our month of fright begin:
“Die! Die! Die!”
