SPINAL TAP — This Is Spinal Tap (review)

SPINAL TAP — This Is Spinal Tap album cover Movie · 1984 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Stooge
A five star rating for a parody of hard rock and metal? Definitely!!

There’s a small minority of rock and metal fans that feel this movie is making fun of the music and thus don’t like the movie because of it. If they truly disliked the music, then why would they continue to perform the material and dress up in character almost 30 years after the movie’s release? Comedy is as big a passion for me as music is, and this is an excellent example of bringing the two together.

The main plot of the film centers on Spinal Tap, an aging British heavy rock band, as they struggle with their dwindling popularity in the midst of a US tour. The band deals with strange offstage moments, even some on-stage blunders, and this is where the movie gets much of its replay value. Discussions of their endless list of deceased drummers, complaining about the “tiny bread” with the catering, performing at an air force base, becoming an opening act to a puppet show, getting lost backstage, …. Endless classic moments!

Many rock and metal bands claim they thought this was a true documentary when it first was released. I can honestly see why some bands claim to have thought this film was a genuine documentary, even when you ignore the behind-the-scenes mayhem. When listening to the music, they have constructed songs that have the same energy and musicianship that you could find on many 70s/early 80s hard rock albums. And, yes, the lyrics to the songs are laced with either sexual innuendo (“Sex Farm”, “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You”, “Big Bottom”) or ridiculous fantasy themes (“Rock n Roll Creation”, “Stonehenge”), but they aren’t that far off what Ted Nugent or Kiss would sing about when fantasizing about school girls or some larger than life stage shows and lyrical concepts of prog rockers. A bit exaggerated, true, but sometimes a bit close to home. That’s what’s so great about the concert footage! Plus the visual quality of the film is highly reminiscent of concert documentaries of the time.

You don’t even have to be a big heavy metal fan to appreciate this movie. It was the first DVD I ever purchased, and it’s one of the first things I think of when I think of well-done musical parody and mockumentaries.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Everything Hurts And I'm Dying Atmospheric Sludge Metal
NEGATIVE BLISS
Buy this album from MMA partners
L'impôt du sang Melodic Black Metal
CONIFÈRE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Pleroma Progressive Metal
ORGONE
Buy this album from MMA partners
n​ê​bam​Ω​ejn Atmospheric Black Metal
TRHÄ
Buy this album from MMA partners
∫um'ad​∂​ejja cavvaj Atmospheric Black Metal
TRHÄ
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Origin Of Infinity - Chronosphere (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)
ORIGIN OF INFINITY
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Kingdom of Heaven - “Pleasures of Pain”
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Bosh66· 1 day ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed