Heavy Metal Parking Lot

20th Anniversary Edition
with Judas Priest
Directed by John Heyn and Jeff Krulik
by Martin Popoff

Largo, Maryland, and John Heyn and Jeff Krulik capture the essence of metal through tailgate party interviews of the Priest faithful. The guys are shirtless and the gals will be pulling theirs up shortly up on the guys’ shoulders for the benefit of K.K. and Glenn when the lights go down. The cars are crappy, and kids hang out of most of the windows. Or they arrive like death squads in pick-ups. This was originally put together for local cable, but it’s become the stuff of legend, mullets afire, beers in hand, and heck, they even give Dokken a fair ride, although Maiden and Metallica get the bigger horns up. The main show is an awesome step back into time when everybody was skinny and the girls had mullets too, but the extras will bust a gut too. The sequels, Monster Truck Parking Lot, Neil Diamond Parking Lot, and Harry Potter Parking Lot, eh, whatever. But man, take a trawl through Jim Powell’s Heavy Metal Basement and you’ll have seen one of the most breathtaking metal collectibles collections in existence. Then there are the outtakes, the making of the ad for the DVD – quite good; it’s basically, Iron Maiden/Motörhead/Dio Parking Lot. There’s the press the film got, and a visit back to the Capital Centre to see it demolished. John then grabs a big chunk of asphalt and drops it in his trunk. The guys track down a few of the alumni and see how life has changed for them (no, none of these fine young lads ever rolled “a joint so big it fits across America”). Fortunately, the metal fire still burns for most, although the legendary Zebra Man (there’s a tribute song to him!) has cleaned up his act and gone country. You’ll come away with a buzz and a tear in the eye at lost youth and brain cells. Stuffed full of extras (two hours worth, in fact), this is the ultimate monster issue of a cult classic every metalhead should own.
(www.heavymetalparkinglot.com)