An animated film from 1981, based on the illustrated magazine HEAVY METAL. It was produced by Ivan Reitman and featured the voices of many Canadian pals such as John Candy ("I can't walk around with my dork hanging out!") and Harold Ramis. The soundtrack featured Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Devo, Donald Fagen, Don Felder, Grand Funk Railroad, Sammy Hagar, Journey, Nazareth, Stevie Nicks, Riggs and Trust.

All songs were written to fit the script. Many other songs were written for the movie but not used. For example, Blue Oyster Cult wrote 3 songs for the film, all of which appear on Fire of Unknown Origin. Veteran of the Psychic Wars appeared in the film, but the sequence it was written for was cut, so only an abbreviated version is heard. Vengeance (The Pact) written for the Taarna sequence was not used - a pity, since it's better than the music that is used IMHO.

Many other bands such as Judas Priest wrote tracks that were not picked up, but subsequently appeared on their own albums. (This is common - Priest's Reckless, for example, was written for Top Gun but not used.)

Anyway, back to the film ... Reitman and his Meatballs and Stripes screenwriters, Dan Goldberg and Len Blum, developed a story-line for the film: an omnibus linking eight individual episodes -- four from the magazine (Soft Landing, Den, Captain Sternn, So Beautiful & So Dangerous) and four original (Harry Canyon, Neverwhere Land, B-17, Taarna) with a common thread: Grimaldi. Grimaldi was a glowing green orb from outer space that spread destruction throughout the galaxy.

HEAVY METAL was produced in Montreal to enable it to be financed under Canadian tax shelter regulations.


Now in 2000 we have a second Heavy Metal feature to look forward to: Heavy Metal 2000 (aka Heavy Metal: FAKK2). The Heavy Metal site says (breathlessly):

Heavy Metal:FAKK2, a $15 million dollar R-Rated animated feature film is based on the graphic novel entitled "The Melting Pot" and characters created and designed by Kevin Eastman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Eric Talbot, and Simon Bisley (Lobo, Batman, Judge Dredd, Slaine). The main character of FAKK2, is based on real life superheroine Julie Strain, Queen of the B-Movies, Penthouse Pet of the Year, and the star of Playboys hit show, "Sex Court!"

The Heavy Metal 2000 Soundtrack (in stores now!) features songs by: Monster Magnet, MDFMK, Pantera, Zilch, Insane Clown Posse, Twiztid, System of a Down, Days of the New, Sinisstar, Queens of the Stone Age, Machinehead, Full Devil Jacket, Hate Dept., Puya, Apt. 26, Billy Idol, Coal Chamber, Econoline Crush, and Bauhaus.