This is documentary is a bit hard to watch. I don't want this review to come off as being mean, I'm just being real about it...which is something that these kids are definitely get enough of.
Let's start with a point that exposes the inherent flaw in the entire concept - metal is not something that can be manufactured and pre-packaged and still work or be respected. It is blindingly obvious from the beginning that this accidentally becomes a documentary about exploitation and a grab at quick fame, rather than a doc about a band. No matter what sub genre of metal you look at, you're not going to find a band that gets signed to a major label without having any songs, nor any touring time logged. I thought it was hilarious that the room number at the first hotel they stay in was 322 (if you don't get what I mean, google the significance of the number 322). No songs, no following outside of the internet, and nothing exceptional about the musicianship (even for their age), it is hard not to ask yourself the question that one of the kids actually admits to being aware of in the the doc - does the tremendously high level of professional support behind this band not make it obvious that it's for nothing more than a novelty act? Would this all have happened if it wasn't 3 Black kids playing metal? I wouldn't have asked myself if this were the case if Sony wasn't throwing a million dollars at a band with little to no original material, zero road experience, and no exceptionally jaw dropping musical ability? Personally, I highly doubt it.
The adults around these kids in the doc are clearly trying to cash in quickly, otherwise they would have been telling them to keep practicing, writing, and playing shows for at least another 5 years in order to find their sound and polish up their musicianship.
There are several cringe-worthy moments in this doc...so many that I'm cringing from just thinking about it enough to write a few words on it.
I was going to go further into detail, but decided that just the very little I've written about it here pretty much sufficiently sums it all up. Have a watch of it and see if you agree.
Let's start with a point that exposes the inherent flaw in the entire concept - metal is not something that can be manufactured and pre-packaged and still work or be respected. It is blindingly obvious from the beginning that this accidentally becomes a documentary about exploitation and a grab at quick fame, rather than a doc about a band. No matter what sub genre of metal you look at, you're not going to find a band that gets signed to a major label without having any songs, nor any touring time logged. I thought it was hilarious that the room number at the first hotel they stay in was 322 (if you don't get what I mean, google the significance of the number 322). No songs, no following outside of the internet, and nothing exceptional about the musicianship (even for their age), it is hard not to ask yourself the question that one of the kids actually admits to being aware of in the the doc - does the tremendously high level of professional support behind this band not make it obvious that it's for nothing more than a novelty act? Would this all have happened if it wasn't 3 Black kids playing metal? I wouldn't have asked myself if this were the case if Sony wasn't throwing a million dollars at a band with little to no original material, zero road experience, and no exceptionally jaw dropping musical ability? Personally, I highly doubt it.
The adults around these kids in the doc are clearly trying to cash in quickly, otherwise they would have been telling them to keep practicing, writing, and playing shows for at least another 5 years in order to find their sound and polish up their musicianship.
There are several cringe-worthy moments in this doc...so many that I'm cringing from just thinking about it enough to write a few words on it.
I was going to go further into detail, but decided that just the very little I've written about it here pretty much sufficiently sums it all up. Have a watch of it and see if you agree.