Tricon Picks Up Rights to Heavy Metal Doc Series

TORONTO: Banger Films’ heavy metal history series Metal Evolution, set to air on VH1 Classic this November, has been picked up by Tricon Films & Television for representation worldwide.

The 11-episode documentary series charts the history of metal from origin to present day, and explores its more than 40-year-old history based on a 26-subgenre genealogical chart. It includes interviews with music journalists, academics, producers and metal pioneers such as Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Lemmy of Motörhead, Metallica, Slayer and more.

Metal Evolution will premiere in the U.S. on November 11, 2011, deemed “National Metal Day” by VH1 Classic.

The Canadian production company Banger Films, founded by Scot McFayden and Sam Dunn, garnered widespread critical acclaim for their award-winning 2005 film, Metal: A Headbangers Journey. Their most recent feature documentary, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, earned a Grammy nomination and won the Tribeca Film Festival 2010 Audience Choice award.

“Never before has heavy metal’s phenomenal history or its multi-generational appeal been charted and examined as in Metal Evolution,” said Jon Rutherford, the VP of international sales and acquisitions at Tricon. “McFadyen and Dunn have produced another seminal work on metal music and we’re excited to be leading its global launch.”

Dunn and McFayden commented: “This series speaks to our passion for heavy metal, from its very roots to the enduring phenomenon it is today. In our first film we created the ‘Metal History Family Tree’ and the constant flood of fans around the world inspired us to make this series.”