Heavy Metal
Badass.
Ep. 211 is live!
Welcome to week two of Music Mayhem Month, and easily one of my favorite cult classic pieces of animation...HEAVY METAL! My word, do I ever love this movie! Sure, it has its detractors and critiques, but the film stands as a premiere example of what Adult Animation could be as a storytelling device. For this week's write up, I want to take you back to when I discovered this property, and what it was like to experience not only the film, but the soundtrack, for the first time with fresh eyes and ears that had been sheltered for some time. My introduction to Heavy Metal began with its soundtrack. From its iconic cover, to its track listings...it hit, and it hit hard. We don't talk these days as much as we used to, but a kid by the name of Brandon Howard played this vinyl for me in the summer of '95; our last summer of junior high. At the time, I did anything I could to get out of the house. Typically, this meant my time was spent in one of three places; in the basements of Brandon Howard, Josh Cease, or Tim Quisenberry. Any of these quaint, finished-out basements of homes that represented different decades of construction in Marquette Heights would do. Howard's house, however, was prime for excellent hang-out sessions as his dad had easily the best record collection in town. Original pressings of some of the most iconic records pertaining to classic rock, they were all there. This was the basement I discovered Montrose in for crying out loud. And sure enough, Mr. Howard had the Heavy Metal soundtrack on vinyl. Seeing the cover did unlock some deep memories, as I recalled scenes from the film from promos for an airing on HBO here and there. That iconic scene of this warrior maiden, sword toward the sky, as she took flight on the back of her pterodactyl-like companion. And that opening title track by Sammy Hagar? Hell...yes...
Now it would still take a couple years until I'd get to see this movie. I certainly couldn't rent it once it was FINALLY on home media in the 90's, and it would seem that if it WAS on premium cable it was almost always exclusively on HBO; a channel we only seemed to have access to during free preview weekends. This changed during my sophomore year, however. A number of things changed, for better or worse, in 1997, when every relative that had been living in Florida at the time relocated to Illinois. Before the summer was out, every Sibling of the Redfield Family (Susan's Family) would be living in Marquette Heights once again, along with all of their children, with the exception of my oldest cousin as she was out of college and on her own. On the downside, the beginning of the end for whatever tenuous peace existed between Susan and I took its initial shape. On the upside, my Aunt Andi moved back, and with that came my cousin John. To be fair, all of Susan's siblings treated me with kindness and equality. In fact, most of the time they were constantly on her to lighten up when it came to me. Andi, however, was in a league of her own, and the relationship we had was different, special. To begin with, she actually let me be a kid. From the time I met her, at age six, she just let me ACTUALLY be me. There was a freedom and a lightness that came into focus when I got to spend time with her and her oldest son, my cousin John. I looked up to John so much when I was a kid, and still do to this day in many ways. To put a finer point on it, before Andi moved away at the close of the 80's, she rented a house in Creve Coeur, IL. Any excuse I had, any scheme John and I could come up with, we'd hatch it in an effort to see me staying the night so we could hang, build Legos, play Nintendo, and watch Labyrinth, Secret of Nihm, or Back to the Future for the ZILLIONTH time. That same house went up for sale last May. We bought it, and I now write these entries from my little nostalgic slice of heaven that was once a haven known as Aunt Andi's. Needless to say, once John moved back here, we were ready for business as usual! This meant sleep overs and movies, pizza at midnight, absurd amounts of Pepsi. We'd watch all sorts of movies, as his collection had grown over the years. It was in the fall of 1997, Thanksgiving break if I remember correctly, that I discovered Heavy Metal. We popped it in, and I was blown away. By this time in my teens, I had been reading Wizard Magazine regularly, so I was more aware of Heavy Metal by this point in time, and adult animation as a genre. I don't know if it was the taboo of this movie, knowing full well Susan would blow a gasket if she knew I was watching it, or if the music just took me, maybe it was the voice cast, or perhaps it was the different styles of animation and storytelling throughout...but Heavy Metal took hold of me, and I wasn't looking back.
Heavy Metal, in my opinion, was an iconic piece of pop culture that stands the test of time. It doesn't matter if you are purely a lover of animation, anthologies, or music...this flick hits and appeals to all of those fandoms. The magazine it was inspired by, as well as the film, went on to inspire artists and writers for years after its release. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles owes a debt of gratitude to this property, as it inspired a young Kevin Eastman. Writers and Artists draw inspiration from it, even to this day, and I wager that the same will be said even forty years from now. If you've never seen it in its entirety, then I have no idea what you're doing with your life. Please, rectify this as soon as you can, but whatever you do...don't bother with the sequel, I implore you. That is going to wrap things up this week for Yesterdaze. A big thank you to Marty Wombacher for sitting in on this episode as well. Please, take the time to see what Marty is up to over at his blog, Meanwhile Back in Peoria. Please, join us next week as we take another turn with adult animation when we discuss a DEEP CUT cult classic of the Canadian variety, Nelvana's Rock & Rule. Please join us then for more Music Mayhem, we'll see you next Monday!
- Derek
