- Radio Times
- Review by:
- Mark Braxton
This enjoyable entry in the rock-doc canon teases out the gnarled roots and riffs that fed into a genre as ridiculed as it is revered. All the major players are represented in this wide-stanced, hair-tossing profile from 2010: Maiden, Sabbath, Purple, Priest… but it’s the early and minor influences that contribute the best stories, especially Arthur Brown hiding under a carpet in a bid to elude Hells Angels.
If the performance footage lacks the variety of other Britannias, there’s still touching use of Led Zeppelin’s Ten Years Gone in the summing up, in which axe men defend metal’s place in the rock pantheon. No place here for “one of England’s loudest bands”, Spinal Tap, but Nigel “Bad News” Planer adds some playful vocals.
About this programme
Documentary tracing the genre's emergence in the late 1960s, pioneered by bands including Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, who were based in the industrialised Midlands. This classic form of metal was challenged by punk in the late 1970s, before a new wave of groups such as Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Saxon reinvigorated the style. Featuring contributions by singers Ian Gillan, Glenn Tipton and Rob Halford, guitarist Tony Iommi and keyboard player Jon Lord. Narrated by Nigel Planer.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Narrator
- Nigel Planer
- Contributor
- Ian Gillan
- Contributor
- Glenn Tipton
- Contributor
- Rob Halford
- Contributor
- Tony Iommi
- Contributor
- Jon Lord
Crew
- Director
- Chris Rodley
- Executive Producer
- Mark Cooper
- Producer
- Chris Rodley
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