The love-in between the movies and metal has been long, fruitful and often drenched in blood. This two-way relationship began long before Tony Iommi sliced off the tips of his fingers in an industrial accident – hell, Black Sabbath even took their name from a schlocky horror movie – but metal’s gonzo aesthetics are firmly embedded in the DNA of Hollywood and beyond. We could have filled this list of classic movie scenes that bear the scene’s imprint with 50 horror flicks alone, but no, there’s more to metal than gore, guts and death. Well, a little more, as the 50 most metal movie moments show.
1 THE DEATH SHIP ARRIVES
NOSFERATU (1922)
Having slurped his way through the unfortunate crew, the vessel carrying ancient vampire Count Orlok and his undead plague glides into port, its shadow blotting out the light. As a representation of pure doom, it’s hard to beat – no wonder Orlok has become a black metal mascot to rival Lucifer. PH
2 MORRICONE’S METAL EPIC
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966)
Since 1983, only one song has featured at every Metallica show. Written for spaghetti western The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, Ennio Morricone’s The Ecstasy Of Gold serves notice of the Four Horsemen’s impending arrival onstage, invariably accompanied by footage of the movie’s iconic graveyard scene. SC
3 THE BEAST APPEARS
THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (1968)
Hammer’s Dennis Wheatley adaptation kept occult metal in lyrics and sleeve art concepts for years (its title was pinched by Carcass, Saxon, Demon, Reverend Bizarre and others). However, it was Sir Christopher Lee’s ritualistic summoning of the Goat of Mendes that really stole our metal hearts (it certainly stole Iron Maiden’s – they borrowed it for The Number Of The Beast video). CC
4 A VULGAR DISPLAY OF POWER
THE EXORCIST (1973)
Revelling in blasphemous cruelty, potty-mouthed demon Pazuzu possesses a young child, rotates her head, stabs a crucifix into her crotch, and projects green vomit into a priest’s face like its mission is to generate material for metal lyrics. Pantera nicked the demon’s immortal line (“That’s much too vulgar a display of power”), while countless more owe a debt to this evil Mesopotamian bastard. CC
5 THE MOB RULES (IN SPACE)
HEAVY METAL (1981)
In a movie that’s basically a slideshow of cartoon images straight from fantasy, is its undeniable most metal moment.
