If you read this web zine on the regular, then you should know by now that I’m a product of the early 80’s Southern California punk scene, & I will not lie, we were a wild bunch of little assholes. The hardcore kids back then were hated by most of society, & we hated those who hated us right back! One our biggest enemies of the day were hair metal posers – we thought they were the biggest wimps on the planet. We are talking about before Motley Crue put out their first album, but we saw their low budget posters everywhere. Then we would always pass those weirdos in front of the Troubador while we were on the bus headed to Cathay De Grand to go see a hardcore gig. I guess you could say around 1983 something started to happen: certain punks started going a little glam. Bands like the Jones & Decry drifted towards glam, while other punk bands went the other way and mixed their sound with thrash. The one person who was not scared to document the metal scene back then was Penelope Spheeris, the same filmmaker that brought the world the punk classic The Decline of Western Civilization. She was now ready to unleash The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years onto the world. When I was young, like I said, I had issues with the hair metal scene, but after watching this film I did begin look at them a little bit differently. I do find it interesting that these dudes loved wearing make up & doing themselves up to look like women, but at the same time they were some of the biggest sexists on the planet. In any case, this film is pretty eye opening & thought-provoking. So after the jump, check out The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years – trust me, you will be entertained!
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