15 Inspirational Movies for Metalheads

Metalheads are not anger-driven people with no cultural knowledge whatsoever. Art appeals to us, especially movies which inspire our music, lyrical themes and outlook on things.

The following is a list of 15 Inspirational Movies for Metalheads, whose criteria range from bravery, fiction, darkness, anger, horror, social influence, subculture influence, and outer space.

15- The Wrestler

Mickey Rourke won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for this movie at USA’s Academy Awards, as he muscles and pounds his way through age and family issues, hoping to find some kind of retribution. The sheer toughness and bravery of Rourke makes this movie one of those movies Metalheads need to watch and pick up on the energy level and amount of heart of The Wrestler.

14- Pathfinder

Amon Amarth fans should watch this one. It talks about Norsemen (Vikings) who brutally attack the Native Americans in their own homeland. The hero of the movie is a young Norse named Ghost who was left behind after a shipwreck and adopted by the Natives as their own. 15 years later, the Norsemen return to raise hell and slay the Natives again, as Ghost becomes the tribe’s savior against the barbaric Norsemen. Lots of gritty action here, the customes are great and the mood is overall dark.

13- Beavis and Butt-Head Do America

One of the most known characters in Rock culture, Beavis and Butt-head are legendary. Not only do they promote Rock music (by at least wearing those band shirts!) for the young and old generations, they helped Rock become more mainstream and less alienated.

12- Saw

One of those horror movies that doesn’t count on startling people off their seats, Saw is the thinking man’s horror, dark with a philosophical approach. If you’re into some Avant Garde Metal, the Saw movie series will delight and inspire you.

11- Braveheart

Braveheart is about courage, strength, patrionisim, leadership and sacrifice, all of which are essential parts in the Metal subculture. Mel Gibson’s performance in Braveheart is legendary, and watching this movie will give you such an energy boost that you will quickly jump on your drum set and pound a Blast beat, a Metal alternative to a standing ovation!

10- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Metallica’s “The Ecstacy of Gold” is a homage to this movie and its influences on the American culture. Clint Eastwood set the standard for Bad Ass in the 60’s, and the Metal subculture definitely encourages Bad Ass.

9- Pirates of the Caribbean

It can be argued that Pirates are the Metalheads of the sea. This movie helped revive the Pirate spirit in us all, something which Metal bands like Alestorm and are doing!

8- Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny

Tenacious D wanted to rule the world of Rock, and after this movie came out, their career skyrocketed. The Pick of Destiny is arguably the best Metal feature film of all time, one that brought Metal to new audiences worldwide!

7- Iron Maiden: Flight 666

Winner of the Best DVD at the 2009 Metal Storm awards, Flight 666 is an all-access look at the life of Iron Maiden on tour. It reached #1 in over 15 countries’ music charts, inspiring millions of musicians and bands worldwide to follow their dreams of ruling the world!

6- Heavy Metal in Baghdad

Middle Eastern Metalheads should relate to this movie the most: a Metal band struggling through a country’s political, social and economical difficulties to be able to do play Metal music and aspire to one day play on international stages. A real life documentary following the journey of Iraqi Metal band Acrassicauda in the Iraqi war, both fascinating and inspiring to Metal bands everywhere!

5- School of Rock

School of Rock came out in 2003, in the midst of the Nu Metal era, where Metalheads were losing touch with the foundations of Rock and Metal. Jack Black and his great comedy performance focused on “the roots”, i.e Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, AC / DC. Doing so in a movie directed to all generations made it inspirational and helped Rock music in general gain that extra bit of coolness, especially for the young generation.

4- Global Metal

Check out our review of Global Metal (http://www.lebmetal.com/2010/04/sam-dunn-headbangers-journey-global-metal-and-flight-666/). Here’s a little summary from Wikipedia: “Global Metal aims to show the impact of globalization on the heavy metal underground as well as how different people from different cultures are transforming heavy metal music.”

3- Star Wars

We once wrote an article about Smart Metalheads (http://www.lebmetal.com/2009/07/smart-metalheads/), and since there are so many nerdy Metal fans around, Star Wars was always a major influence for Rock / Metal music in general. The Sci Fi genre is a catalyst for Space Rock / Metal, Psychedelic and any Metal music which references Space themes (Obscura’s Cosmogenisis anyone?).

2- Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey

Arguably the best documentary on Metal music today, Sam Dunn travels around the world to experience the international culture of Metal and to discuss the origins and history of some of metal’s many subgenres. This movie is not only a 101 Introduction to Metal, but also shows how music has no boundaries, and that the international Metal community is ever growing!

1- Lord of the Rings

We also wrote about Lord of the Rings and its influence on the Metal culture (http://www.lebmetal.com/2010/02/lord-of-the-rings/). Metal’s fascination of fantasy, monsters, kingdoms, magic, evil powers, heroes and quests can all be found in Lord of The Rings’ imaginative world. Power Metal, Symphonic Metal, Folk Metal and many other subgenres are heavily influenced by Lord of the Rings!