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Cinemetal

CINEMETAL: BLOOD SWEAT AND VINYL – DIY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

 Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 at 3:00pm by

One of the things that I love most about underground metal is that so many diehard fans fulfill so many roles within the metal community. A lot of the kids that you see at the grind show are also in bands. The dude rockin’ out at the front might own a distro. That girl might run the screenprinting service where all the locals get their band shirts made. Another guy might be taking photographs for his blog, or promoting the show, or running a small label on the side. Extreme music requires extreme commitment.

Filmmaker Kenneth Thomas is one of those extremely committed folks. He’s a filmmaker with 15 years of experience, mostly in documentary work but also in producing music videos and EPK footage for Isis, Neurosis, Queens of the Stone Age and tons more. Back when he was living in Los Angeles, I would see Thomas at most every show I went to. Sometimes he had a film camera with him; sometimes he was just rockin’ out with everyone else. After five years of work, he’s just about to release his latest project, Blood Sweat and Vinyl: DIY in the 21st Century.

The film focuses on the bands, label workers and assorted cast of characters surrounding three independent labels: Hydra Head, Neurot and Constellation. Each of these labels has its own distinctive aesthetic, and one of them (Constellation) doesn’t release anything close to metal. What all three share, however, is a fierce insistence on keeping an artist-centered, DIY spirit alive.

Blood Sweat and Vinyl: DIY in the 21st Century pulls some amazing quotes and stories from members of Neurosis, Isis, Cave In, Pelican, Jesu, Oxbow, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Do Make Say Think and many more. It’s a goldmine of exclusive footage for fans, but it’s also a compelling piece for curious onlookers. Through Thomas’s boatloads of interviews, concert footage and historic documentation, you get a deep understanding of why it is that these labels and bands care so much about the music that they release, why they’re willing to sacrifice financial reward for complete creative freedom.

If you’re in Seattle, you can catch a screening of the doc this Sunday, August 7th at the Northwest Film Forum. Everyone else may have to wait until later this year, when Blood Sweat and Vinyl will be released as a double-disc DVD release later this year.

Find out more about Blood Sweat and Vinyl here. It’ll make you proud to listen to this music.

-SR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Nez-Bezman/100001333584471 Nez Bezman

    This movie definitely looks interesting.

    I don’t agree, though, that Constellation doesn’t release anything close to metal. GSY!BE might not be metal, but they are heavy as fuck. Doesn’t that count as close?

  • Utmu

    This looks cool. I love metal docs…

  • Ian

    everyone else is gonna have to wait til later this year when it’s released later this year

  • Novel

    What song is playing throughout?

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/J-Steve-Bergquist/750320482 J Steve Bergquist

      Stones from the Sky by Neurosis. Neurosis runs Neurot Recordings, one of the labels featured in the documentary. Here’s the full song if you’re interested; it’s pretty breathtaking.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaxNnoKrK9o

      • Novel

        Thanks. I’ll definetly be checking it out.

  • no-ghost

    is that later this year or later than this year later than this year, later?

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Etan-Rosenbloom/601426 Etan Rosenbloom

      It’s on Friday, which comes before Saturday. Sunday comes after.

      Alright you curmudgeons! I get it! The extra “later this year” was redundant. Boo-hoo.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Humphrey/500213426 John Humphrey

        But bonus points for the kvlt Rebecca Black shout-out!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Kyle-Heider/602520830 Kyle Heider

    Wait, there’s a heavy metal film festival? How have I not heard of this before…

    Time to get to work.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Etan-Rosenbloom/601426 Etan Rosenbloom

      Yes indeed. Happened in L.A. at the end of March and early April: http://www.heavymetalff.com/

  • Dark Jezter

    Isis? Pelican? Cave In?

    What’s with all the hipster metal bands?

    • http://www.facebook.com/all3tta Kindread Giger

       You’re a goon. Get over yourself.

    • http://www.facebook.com/all3tta Kindread Giger

       You’re a goon. Get over yourself.

  • http://www.facebook.com/all3tta Kindread Giger

    This is pretty awesome. I would love to see this sometime, at a hipster theater of course.

    I need a video camera to film the shit out of shows here in Chicago. TIME TO GET TO WORK.

  • http://www.facebook.com/all3tta Kindread Giger

    This is pretty awesome. I would love to see this sometime, at a hipster theater of course.

    I need a video camera to film the shit out of shows here in Chicago. TIME TO GET TO WORK.

  • Lampmonkey

    I was excited to see a documentary on music labels and bands that I love and wish more people could experience. Blood, Sweat + Vinyl is a big disappointment though. It’s not a documentary, it’s an hour and a half  advertisement for the three labels involved, for which I sincerely hope the film maker has received commensurate remuneration from said labels.
    There’s minimal history and no difficult questions, just someone pointing a camera at the label owners and letting them talk about how great their label is, or pointing a camera at a musician and letting them talk about how great the people giving them money to record their music are. That’s not a documentary.
    And despite a goofy cameo and much praise from Aaron Turner, no interview with Justin Broadrick!
    Massive disappointment.