Pro-Guitarist Gives Honest Review of METAL LORDS (Full Walkthrough/Review) **Spoilers** 

Dude the list of songs he writes down are 1. War Pigs by Black Sabbath 2. Ace of Spades by Motörhead 3. The Trooper by Iron Maiden 4. Aces by Iron Maiden 5. Exciter by Judas Priest 6. Unchained by Van Halen 7. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica 8. Holy Diver by Dio 9. Mr. Brownstone by Guns N Roses 10. Holy Wars by Megadeth 11. War Ensemble by Slayer 12. Caught in a Most by Anthrax 13. I’m Broken by Pantera 14. Ratamahatta by Sepultura 15. Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine 16. I Am Black Wizards by Emperor 17. Psychosocial by Slipknot 18. Schism by Tool 19. New Millennium Cyanide Chris by Meshugga 20. The Leper Affinity by Opeth 21. Blood and Thunder by Mastadon 22. Laid to Rest by Lamb of God 23. Hail to the King by Avenge Sevenfold 24. L’enfant Sauvage by Gojira 25. Mjod by Klevertak

I was the drummer stand-in for this movie! I was only in a few scenes like the montage where some double bass was shown. The actor was pretty solid on drums so I wasn't needed much but it was still a sick experience that hopefully made it feel more authentic!

It's not a movie about a band, it's a movie about kids trying to start a band and all the awkward moments and dynamics that go along with that. I loved Emily's cringy-ness. I actually believed she was a real person.

The scene of Hunter signing up for the battle of the bands is hilarious. He’s all righteous and indignant, ready to stick it to the man, and she’s just like, “Great! Glad to have you, just sign here.” Like, he’s pissed that no one told him, when in actuality there were probably posters all over the place in the school, he just never noticed.

The kid not hitting any of the actual riff in the bass audition was 100% intentional, that cracked me up

The "...and justice for all" tab book scene referrs to a meme: Emily is taking the part of the bass player in the band, and there is no bass at all in "...and justice for all". Edit: There is some kind of bass on the album. But the whole bass recording was edited out by Lars Ulrich in the final mix. There is an interview with Jason Newsted on RU-vid where he tells the story.

I really enjoyed the movie. Certainly nothing groundbreaking or surprising, but just a simple story told well. Characters all had arcs and learned and grew (something missing from a lot of modern popular movies). Reminded me of an 80's teen movie.

i read up on the movie, apparantly the actors actually learnt all those parts, Isis Hainsworth doesnt actually play cello, she learnt the parts for the movie, and the actor who plays Hunter was a Jazz guitar player before he did the movie, according to him learning those parts was the 1st time he'd ever played metal. All in all it was a good movie, i quite enjoyed it, i can relate to alot of it lol

I dunno about the scenes with Emily being cringey, it seemed an accurate representation of how awkward my high school time was. But then I was also the kid with a Walkman in my denim jacket, blasting tapes from The Accused and Sabbat and King Diamond...

I liked it. It definitely isn't School Of Rock level, but it's damn close. It's just nice to see a movie based around metal and not just random songs thrown in a movie. Maybe they could make a sequel, but idk.

Dude, I'm not a big signature series guitar fan but that EVH in black with white stripes is really, really cool. You, sir, have great taste. lol.

3:09 although I was the bass player, I certainly wrote out scores/lead sheets. What should actually be noted is that sheet is basically unreadable and the drum part was given a treble clef and key signature. I would argue that this makes it *more* realistic because it shows that the guitar player actually *cant* write out a drum part. Coming back to this a year later, it appears it's actually an entire score of the whole band, but I'd say it's still realistic because it's still basically unreadable.

I honestly really really liked the movie, it's not perfect but its the first time in many years I've seen genuine metal and rock references in a movie with stuff like the EVH Frankie, the Steve Vai Pia, the pedalboard with actual recognizable pedals, the 5150 and JCM800 amps and very honest posters on the wall. Also Something that stood out to me and was probably one of the funniest things in the entire movie, even if it wasn't a joke, was when Emily was with Kevin in Guitar Center or something and she reached for the And Justice For All tab book, the one and only

Also whats with the hate towards Emily lol, the movie clearly showed her with mental health issues needing meds, she was essentially (what Hunter figures out later) a freak like them, just in a different way

Nostalgia. I was the orchestra / choir girl who recited Fade to Black in high school poetry class. Still pissed that the music store employee told my parents I was too short for the cello and recommended the violin. Teacher said height wasn't a problem, but parents said it was too late to switch!

The best part of the movie was the writing and dialog of the characters, their chemistry was really good. The way they talked were extremely realistic. Reminds me of when I just got into metal. And as you said, I feel like this should've been a series, to develop everything a little more and show the passage of time a little more

I really enjoyed it. It makes me want to hear the cello more in metal music.

We had a metal band in hs, and got silver as well in a battle of the bands lmao! 1st band, was a gospel choir, you just can´t beat jesus haha I was an exchange student for 1 year in USA, I never heard of the concept of the battle of the band, but I loved it xD!

The heavy song they were playing when Hunter was putting on the make up and stuff was Zeal and Ardor. They kick ass, I thought it was awesome that they included a song by them in the movie.

I feel like there should be more coming of age guitar hero movies like this. Maybe it would bring about a resurgence of that guitar fever that we hope will come back.

The "freaks n geeks" vs. jocks angle has always been overplayed for cliche movie drama. The football player throwing random shoulder into poor geek would've put the jock on the bench or off the team by the grown up geeks in charge (staff). But it's a great vehicle for an underdog storyline in a movie. Maybe it's a big city California thing...

I think the filmmakers made a great decision to hire Tom Morello as Music Supervisor, meaning he points the film toward the right music choices. He also wrote "Machinery of Torment" with the scriptwriter and the film's background score composer.

I think for most metalheads highschool years = instant cringe. The thing that I don´t get is this: in my country, the most "violent or aggressive" students were split between metalheads and rappers, sure some metalheads are "nerds", but I wouldn´t have messed with the metalheads in my school, that´s for sure

Huh, interesting. I really had some serious disdain for Hunter for the first 2 thirds of the movie, almost to the point where I wanted to stop watching. Emily on the other hand was very relatable in my opinion. While some of her behaviour was definitely subpar, much of it is rooted in the combination of her mental illness and her being mistreated for being "different", not to mention the heap of emotional pressure and pain that Hunter was putting on her. Feels like you are judging her unfairly, especially compared to Hunters insufferable escalations. I do agree with the love story and first amorous experience scenes were a bit forced in there but can also be explained by both of them just feeling alone and wanting somewhere they belong. The movie is a coming-of-age-story after all.

As a self-taught guitarist, I wrote out the drum parts for my songs as a teen.

It wasn't great, but it WAS entertaining. Better than most of the CRAP Hollywood puts out these days. I DO recommend it...

It took us forever to find a bass player for the first band I was in high school too. It was the very early 90s just before grunge changed everything. Bassist were hard to find because everyone wanted to be a shredder. Myself included. Hell I still do!

Zeal & Ardor - "Trust no one" is in that movie and it is glorious! Just raw chugging and snarls 🤘

I just watched this a couple nights ago and thought it was a fun, charming 90 minutes or so tribute to metal. It’s funny you mention the Karate Kid in your review. My summation of the movie would be it’s like part School of Rock, part American Pie with a pinch of Cobra Kai vibe (without the Karate of course). PS - did you catch the Pia at the end?

"Heavy metal rules!" Was that a Heavy Metal Parking Lot / Zebraman reference at the end? This movie references a lot (in a subtle way) 🤣

It was entertaining. A little more fun for me as it was filmed in the St John’s neighborhood of Portland…about 10 min from my house.

Loved this review! You definitely gotta do more of these. I just knew this movie would result in a video. haha. So many moments reminded me of previous videos you've done. Definitely agree with a lot of the things you pointed out. I must say Hunter was my favorite character as well, I found I identified with little elements of each of the main characters. Totally agree that Kevin looked a bit like Rivers Cuomo, as the movie started playing that was my instant thought. I agree, the use of the song 'War Pigs' for the whole practice montage segment was great, I really enjoyed seeing those 2 characters start to gel together and form a little musical bond. Also how certain scenes reminded you of scenes in School of Rock and Whiplash, the latter is a brilliant movie, if anyone hasn't seen it, definitely make the time. I did really enjoy the soundtrack, one of the things that stuck in my head for days after watching was the songs they used, had Metal Gods looping my brain for a good amount of time. I know the guy who did the music, Ramin Djawadi is a metal fan, he can play guitar himself. Check out this video he took part in put out by Fender, almost 3 years ago now wow! Search for The Game Of Thrones Theme Song | Fender Custom Shop | Fender and you should find it. When I saw the cameos part in the hot tub I instantly thought of this video, Tom Morello and Scott Ian are taking part in it. I gotta say by the end of the movie I was pretty envious of all the awesome gear they had haha, but I'm glad I do have a sweet red Randy Rhoads V just like Hunters black one. Would definitely love to see more music related movie reviews, really enjoyed this one, super fun to watch!

“So if you haven’t seen the movie ye-“ *me who watched it 10000000000 times already*

The EVH stripes you put on your guitar looks great

Dude, that EVH guitar you're holding is the most beautiful thing I've seen in a while! What model is it? Is it custom? Beautiful guitar in all cases! Great video as well but that axe definitely caught my eye.

It was good enough imo without nitpicking a ton. Loved all the references it made and is fairly accurate i would say in terms of like metal lingo. I'm not that big into the guitar community even though I've been playing for 2 years.

That guitar is gorgeous. Great job on the pinstriping. Van Halen forever 🤘

I've been calling it "Wholesome Lords of Chaos" since I watched it last week, but I totally get the School of Rock comparisons. Also, wasn't Tom Morrello the guy who put the soundtrack together? And it WAS made by one of the Game of Thrones producers, so you know there had to be a somewhat tragic ending🤪

Thank you for the breakdown. I will look for it now. Coming from a card carrying member of the metal/thrash freak squad in high school. One thing I can see this film is guilty of is the “Frumpy” girl who comes out dressed up a little sexier and the guys jaws drop. There were plenty of girls in high school that dressed nice and were attractive but were just shy. The kid still likes her the way she is though, which rings true I believe. Also, the petty jealousy of band members not wanting a fellow band member to have a girlfriend. That is 100% true lol. Cool man. Peace.

I think they could've easily gotten rid of the awkward scenes with Emily and made more about how she and Kevin loved practicing cello and drums with one another, which is why Hunter would become so jealous (which would make sense because music is like his life). Other than that, this was a fun movie

The virginity scene and it's quirkiness is what made the movie so great for my lady and all the girls I know who watched it. They ate that cute shit up. That scene was dope as fuck, because it showed how drummer boy and cello girl are nerds, and they're fumbly teenagers. Drummer Boy ripping on the pop set at the wedding is also a nice nod to a lot of math rock going on today.

It’s awesome that Tom morello was one of the writers to machinery of torment. 🤘I was also surprised with Kirk Hammett, but noticed the Easter egg at beginning of movie with his signature wah pedal,and had a tiny hope he was going to show up 🤘🤘

I love your honesty and fearlessness of whether it's the popular thing to say or not. Love your channel.

When I started aging in bands in High School, when we'd transport our gear back a s forth from practice spot to wherever, we'd always pile them in my 1986 toyota camry hatchback. So we'd have a full Drum set,Half Stacks, my bass amp,both Guitarists guitars,pedal boards you name it all in the car mics, p.a. all that. And we'd squeeze all 5 of us in my car too. My buddy referred to this as playing Ghetto Tetris

The parking lot love scene was uber important to the trajectory of the relationship so that he would be loyal to her later - and set up that AMAZING scene where all the rock stars around the hot tub had a debate over whether Kevin should have groupie sex..... he doesn't!! The really true to detail was moving all of that gear around! Geeez I'm glad those days are over, thanks Fly Rig!!

I loved the movie honestly as a metal fan and musician it was so much closer than most movies that have this type of theme l. Plus tom morally write the machines song and produced, so has perspective. Also the very metal cello reminds me of apocalyptica. Mentioning the cheesy love scenes I think they asked to theism honestly, they were awkward like all of us were in high-school

I happened to watch the movie this past weekend and really enjoyed it. I was one of the "freaks" in school and university. A drummer. I thought your review was solid. You could have mentioned that Emily was clearly bi-polar (remember the meds) which could have excused all of her weirdness.

Watched this last night after you posted this video. What a fun movie. I really enjoyed and recommend it to any fan of metal. The cameos of Rob, Kirk, Tom, and Scott was one of the best scenes.

Rich kids with cool parents make the best teenaged drummers lol . Most expensive instrument loudest and the most likely to let you make all the noise you want in their garage or shop . Machinery of Torment ! It was an entertaining movie. I totally got the part about the drummer the first girlfriend our drummer got he pretty much quit showing up for practice at all.

The pick Troy hands him is a Dunlop Big Stubby. Love those picks and have been using them for years

Great video man. Thanks for doing this.

I'll tell you, the chellist covering the bass section of a metal band grabbing the And Justice for All tab book has got to be one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. That shit had me good

I am glad it was just a simple movie. I get tired of dedicating to a season of any show. There's also the temptation to make a second or third season when one would suffice. You crack me up with your cringing in all the scenes with the cellist.

Def gonna check this out. I'll come back to the vid after I watch the movie. Cheers buddy! 🤘

Yo that guitar you're sitting down with looks sick.

Great review. Has anyone ever suggested that you go into acting? You seem like a natural. Seriously, not just because of the “musicians want to be actors “ quote. In any case, keep reviewing music movies, really enjoyed that.

love the video!

Found this movie on point, ton of great references to some of my favorite metal bands , the kirk, Scott, Tom, and Rob show up ! Was awesome

I learned Dee note for note when i was 13 and i was the only one that could play it and it was a big deal. Intricate stuff was always kind of easy for me. I always had like an understanding for the hard songs. But learning Dee took awhile and i had to learn it one bar at a time so it was play, pause and try it and play, pause and try it. A long time spent late nights after I’d get home. That song to me was one of the most beautiful music pieces ever writen but Randy was like a god to me lol.

You mentioned “School of Rock”. Just a week ago I saw the kid guitarist (now adult) in my local grocery store! I’m just here in Mid-Michigan, but I knew who he was… and he knew that I knew who he was. We both gave a nod. It was cool!

School of rock = for guitarist 1-8th grade Metal Lords = High schoolers Whiplash = college students Just realized this music movie hiearchy lol

I started watching it tonight… hope to finish it later this week. 🎸🎶

This movie was a time machine for me. I was back in high school. Loved it!

Hey Mike !!!! You're a great teacher !!! Someone ever told you that when you speak you sound like Mike Shinoda ?

7:07 I love the 1rst gen integra, my dad had one when I was a kid, it now sits in my yard decaying haha

I never even heard of this. Thanks, Mike! I will check it out.

Wow, thanks for the review man. Great commentary

Great video. Btw, where did you purchase this guitar and what model is this? And if you just bought the black stealth model then how did you stripe this guitar with the silver reflective striping? Thank you

I understand most Emily scenes were cringy, unnecessary and I would like to share a thought. When I thought about the characters in the movie, Hunter is the one with the vision, a bit narcissistic and a bit selfish (In the beginning). Emily shows the emotional side of us. She is the one who's got fire inside her which she is not able to control. There are quite a few characters like Emily in my personal life (one of them are on meds too) and they are really strange when it comes to relationships and expressing any thoughts or emotions. Most people can't even tolerate spending 5 mins with them. So all the weird stuff shown as the part of her character makes sense to an extent (At least that's how I perceived it). That's when Kevin's character comes into play. A middle ground, a metaphorical bridge or simply a kind normal human. He is the one who always has to suffer, do the hard work but is still invisible to most people around him. He doesn't have a massive ego, lacks self-esteem and not mentally strong like the other two (In the beginning). To me, metal is life and this movie in a broader sense is all about reconciling various aspects of our past/life to come out as better human beings. In the end when Kevin became full metal every other character completed their arc. So Emily being cringy is something I could relate to personally since I have to deal with such shit on a daily basis. And II believe we all have a Hunter, Emily and Kevin fighting within all of us or maybe I'm just too high. Back to practice

School of rock was great, this movie was almost as good. Excellent effort. Great music too.

I listened to a podcast that had Tom Morello, D.B. Weiss (creator of the TV version of Game of Thrones, who also had a hand in making this movie), and Eddie Trunk, which eventually led to me watching the movie. I had a similar reaction of wishing Troy Nix could have been much more of a Metal Myagi. The movie definitely had its share of flaws, but was a fun watch, nonetheless. I'm hoping there's an Art-of-Guitar series where Mike simply reviews several other music-related movies. I'm curious to hear his thoughts on my favorite, Almost Famous, but would also love to hear what he has to say about movies like Crossroads (the Ralph Macchio one, not the Britney Spears one) and Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny.

One thing that I noticed was an old black and yellow 98.5 KOME sticker. When I was in high school this was one of 2 local rock stations in the Bay Area. The 80s was a great time to be a guitar player!!!

Great video man! You look like Miles Teller in "Whiplash" :D Rock on!

i cant believe i watched this.... great find! watching metal lords now.

I'd really like to see what they'd do if they reimagined it as a series. Maybe redoing events in the movie, stuff after, building characters with the band and with the coming of age themes.i barely watch series and movies nowadays but it was on my radar since I first saw this video come out (put off watching it til I watched the movie, actually thought it was a series at first) and last week watched it twice, once at my sister's place and again at home with my other sister. While your view of it from a band and music perspective isn't bad, it's important to note that it was also a coming of age film, and the second time I watched it my sister (on medication for depression) told me about Emily's scene with the happy pills and how she liked it. I, for one, really enjoyed the film and I also enjoyed your video, even if there were things you missed or events you got slightly wrong.

What's the model of that sweet Ibanez he's playing at the end. Kinda like your JEM but with two handholds?! I kinda need it.

You commented on Emily {Isis Hainsworth} choosing a guitar tab book of and justice for all, Interesting that when she plays war pigs with kevin she plays the guitar part AND the vocal melody line. I dig Isis and this movie! I wish they were a real band so we could hear more!

That's a pretty sick guitar mate! I love it!

I usually don't comment on guitars. But that one is gorgeous! I want one!

I actually paused your vid and went and watched the movie. I'd never heard of it before, but it was really good! It's like a look back at your own teenage years, even if you weren't in a band. I can dig what you're saying about that awkward hook-up scene. It did slow the plot down and veer off a bit. But those awkward relationships were part of growing up, too, so I sort of related to that. But even more so the hot tub scene at the wedding. It was a big character moment for Kevin, and the cameos were fucking rad!

Refreshing to see a movie breaking the "white/black/Asian" , one of each casting.

Honestly I really liked the movie "Metal Lords". It kinda reminds me of myself growing up being a metalhead and starting out on guitar, writing songs, and worshipping the Metal God's. I really liked the movie and so glad to see this review from you. 👍🏻

First metallica tune played in my hs band was FWTBT. I played Cliffs part on guitar because bass player couldn't get it down.

Your guitar is amazing by the way. The more i look at it the more i see that i like. I know it play good!

This looks like a show I will have to watch for sure!! 🤘🤘 One of the best local metal bands my band plays with a lot is called "Shadow the Earth". I think you'd like them since they're a metal band with a cello player instead of a second guitar and have a KILLER female vocalist that can sing and growl. They're one of my favorite unsigned bands that really should be signed. 🤘🤘

Watched it after watching your video. I liked it. Thanks for the vid.

16:01 I was expecting to see Dave Mustaine or Phil Anselmo instead of Tom Morello. No hate to Tom but that position rightfully belongs to either Dave or Phil.

In high school I was a combo of both main characters 😂. This movie pretty captures the feel of being in a garage band in highschool. The chase scene was amazing. Great soundtrack. But the best part was my wife (who hates metal 🙄) actually watched it with me and we enjoyed it quite a bit. The guest appearances when Kevin is in the hot tub with that girl was great too. The cello player was great. Loved her electric cello. Overall pretty good

11:10 Hunter playing the lick at the start of For Whom The Bell Tolls is almost certainly intentional because he's covering for the fact the bass player just isn't doing it. A little later in the intro with the descending bass riff, the bass player just doesn't play that either. They were trying to ham up the fact he's just completely incompetent as a bass player

Holy Diver is such a fun song to play. And the solo is killer!! Learn it if ya haven’t yet!

I was one of the freaks back in high school and still am to this day.

I love this movie. Take it as you want, but Hunter is my inner child lol I'm a bass player and hadn't been playing for a few years now, LIFE happened, but after watching this I picked up my bass again and found a renewed vigor. Like, my inner child needed to see this movie.

Glad to see metal back in the light🤘

I just want to say, I love that guitar. Stealth striped 5150! I have one of the earlier tobacco bursts.

The band Skullflower is an actual band, they wrote the song Machinery of Torment.

When the scene where the white haired bass player showed up, i actually had my bass in hand and played the beginning of For Whom the Bell Tolls with the people in it

I enjoyed the movie, but it felt like a lot of other movies I'd seen before (although I couldn't put my finger on which ones). The thing that bothered me is that if you can play cello/stand-up bass, it's not that difficult to transition to the bass guitar. I thought the female character should have just gotten a bass and learned to rock it. I had the same reaction when the kid's dad put him in rehab. I was like, "But he doesn't drink or do drugs." He not only didn't drink at the party, even when his friend WAS drinking, but he acted like he actually disapproved of his drinking. So that didn't make sense to me. Otherwise, a good but not great rock movie.

Man that's one fresh van Halen guitar! I love it dude!

I adore this movie. So relatable, as a kid I was into a hair metal band (as a keyboardist who basically was solely into synthesizer instrumental). I moved from then left extreme of nerds, the computer/electronics freaks. To the extreme right of that scale, which were the metal heads.

The intro from For Whom The Bell Tolls made me laugh when it was played on guitar lol