A worthy addition to any metal fans DVD library.
In 1986 Judas Priest were at the height of their fame in the USA. It would not be inaccurate to say that they continue to be far more popular on the other side of the Atlantic than they are in their native UK. As part of the ‘Fuel For Life Tour’ in support of their controversial pop-metal album ‘Turbo’ Judas Priest played a huge tour of the States, filling some of the country’s biggest arenas to maximum capacity. On May 31 the band hit the Capital Centre in Maryland and a couple of amateur filmmakers John Heyn and Jeff Krulick visited the arena’s parking lot with their video camera to interview some of the Priest fans in line for the gig. The documentary is only about fifteen minutes long but it’s hilarious, and instantly became an underground cult classic. It was originally shown on the US Public Access channel which gave the public a chance to film and broadcast their own stuff. It became a bootleg favourite and is now on DVD for the first time ever after having been transferred from the original tape. The documentary has become a favourite amongst not only music fans but also musicians, including Dave Grohl. ‘Heavy Metal Parking Lot’ is fantastic viewing; what some of the metal-heads have to say is very funny especially with their hatred of punk and the pop music of the day. There are references to other bands, including Dokken who supported Priest on the US leg.
There’s over two hours of bonus material, the best of which is undoubtedly ‘Heavy Metal Basement’. It’s a fifty minute long interview with Jim Powell of Metal Grind Records in his basement at home in Maryland. Jim is a huge Priest and metal fan and his basement contains his extensive collection of records and memorabilia. Jim goes through all his Priest merchandise as well as other bands’ records and merchandise. It’s an amazing collection and Jim actually provided a lot of the memorabilia photos for my Metallica and ‘British Steel’ books. Jim goes through every Priest record and gives his astute opinions on them all as well as offering anecdotes from some of the tours he attended.
All in all, ‘Heavy Metal Parking Lot’ is most definitely a worthy addition to any metal fans DVD library. It’s good to see it out on DVD after all this time. Now, I’d love to see ‘The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years’ released on DVD too.
Neil Daniels
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