The chapters collected in this volume shed light on the areas of interaction between film studies and heavy metal research, exploring how the audio-visual medium of film relates to, builds on, and shapes metal culture. At one end of the spectrum, metal music serves as a form of ambient background in horror films that create an intense and somewhat threatening atmosphere; at the other end, the high level of performativity attached to the metal spectacle is emphasized. Alongside these tendencies, the recent and ongoing wave of metal documentaries has taken off, relying on either satire or hagiography.

Part I: The video star and other bodies 1. Inviting vampires into the home: MTV aesthetics and the portrayal of youth and heavy metal culture in The Lost Boys and Queen of the Damned - Sara Gulgas & Nedim Hassan 2. A different kind of rock doc: performance, persona and stardom in Anvil! The Story of Anvil and Last Days Here - Jesse Schlotterbeck 3. "Bück Dich": Rammstein in Amerika and the subversion of masculinized sexuality - Heather Savigny & Sam Sleight Part II: Fact or fiction 4. This is Spinal Tap mocks metal and more, a lot more - Deena Weinstein 5. "Dio can you hear me?": kitsch, camp, nostalgia and Tenacious D - Brad Klypchak 6. Heavy metal carnival: Trick or Treat and the cultural figure of the foolkiller - Florent Christol 7. Revelation of a documentary triptych: Some Kind of Monster, Anvil! The Story of Anvil and Beyond the Lighted Stage - Niall Scott Part III: Metal around the globe 8. From Parking Lot to Baghdad: documentary film and global metal discourse - Catherine Hoad 9. From class disgust to indie art-house accolades and fan celebrity: the strange cultural journey of Heavy Metal Parking Lot - Andy R. Brown 10. A band of Northmen - Tai Neilson & Genevieve Neilson 11. All things heavy in Finnish metal movies - Onoriu Colacel