The days when ‘80s metal ruled the radio waves and MTV are remembered nowadays with some skepticism, and rightfully so. Look at those outfits, those videos, that hair! Was this really the sound that defined a generation, or, at least, soundtracked it for a short time?
“It was a small window in people’s lives,” commented Van Toffler, the producer behind Paramount
PARA
Seismic is a good word for the heavy metal of the 1980s, either because of its impact, as Toffler suggests, or perhaps due to the fact that the amplifiers used were simply turned up that loud.
I Wanna Rock: The ‘80s Metal Dream finds a way to take some characters often thought of as larger than life and brings them down to Earth. Instead of only telling the stories of booze and drugs and destroying hotel rooms, the program instead focuses on not just the people who lived through it, but those who were wronged by the short nature of the metal craze and who survived to talk about it.
“We’re more interested in the characters and the people and those individuals who are part of the series, part of the era, if you will,” explained director Tyler Measom. I Wanna Rock: The ‘80s Metal Dream stays largely away from the most famous faces of the genre, instead telling the stories of those who were also involved or perhaps who were standing right alongside the titans of the genre, such as members of groups like Winger, Skid Row, Vixen, and even Mötley Crüe. It’s a unique approach to looking at the style of music, and one that is rooted in how many of the young men (and women) in the series were raised.
“We all thought we could be rockstars, we all wanted to be rockstars,” Measom shared. He describes the ‘80s as a time when the desire to be famous was even more prevalent than it is today, if that’s possible to imagine. He talks about a generation of people who didn’t get there, and who might not be happy about it, but they watched as some did make it to the top. But even those who tasted the sweet victory of selling out arenas and hitting the top of the charts might not have stayed there long.
After many of the series’ subjects talk about their journey to stardom, reality sets in. Tastes changed, and the public quickly had enough of the look, feel, and sound of metal. Once Nirvana arrived, grunge was in fashion, and the two couldn’t have been more different. Almost overnight, even some of the biggest names in the genre were done. “What happens when everything you worked for and everything you’ve done is taken from you? How does that affect you as an artist?” Measom asked, outlining what the new docuseries is largely about.
“Tyler was able to pull out the humane piece of it,” Toffler explained regarding the angle they took when making I Wanna Rock: The ‘80s Metal Dream. This is in stark contrast to the larger-than-life mythos surrounding so many of the major players in the genre, which has been covered extensively since the style’s crash.
The I Wanna Rock: The ‘80s Metal Dream audience gets to hear about musicians being fired from groups, losing record deals, and see what they’re up to now. Many are still making music, though they don’t sell like they used to. One jokes that the new song he’s just released might earn him a few cents. Another has moved on to being a mom and a dentist. It’s not glamorous, but perhaps that’s okay. “There’s a joy in watching these individuals who did or didn’t make it be happy and content with where they are and what they have,” Measom admitted.
The two came up with the idea for this docuseries immediately after Measom wrapped his last project, I Want My MTV. That release briefly mentioned this moment in time, but both the director and Toffler agreed there was a lot more to be said. Enough to warrant its own series, in fact.
When asked why he decided to work on I Wanna Rock: The ‘80s Metal Dream, Toffler commented, “Having lived through it, it’s amazing that no one got it right.” He was at MTV during the heyday of metal. He knew these musicians, these songs, these videos. And he also knew that somehow, no one had covered it correctly in a visual medium. Toffler even once tried to make a feature film about what life was like on the Sunset Strip when everyone was trying to be in a rock band, but while that never quite played out, this docuseries covers it perfectly.
‘80s metal may not be topping the charts or selling millions, but it still does have a dedicated fan base. Some of the bands mentioned in the series still tour, in some capacity, as those who were at the right age when they hit it big love them to this day.
Whether the music was any good is up to interpretation, and Measom has a realistic description of much of what emerged from that time period. “A lot of the songs from that era are anthems and they hold up even today, and there are some amazing songs that come out of that generation,” he insists, before adding, “There’s also some crap. There’s some silly, ridiculous, misogynistic, poorly written bombastic songs, and that’s ultimately one of the death blows to the genre was that it really got a little sillier than it should have.”
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