By Andrew Bansal
The best part of being a music lover in the 21st century is the opportunity to discover the wealth of great music that shaped subsequent generations of musicians, and at some point, had a direct or indirect impact on music that’s current today. With easy access to the internet and tools like YouTube and Spotify, people are constantly expanding their musical knowledge base. In addition, once in a while there comes an officially sanctioned, professionally compiled documentary film focusing on one certain hard rock/heavy metal band, and more such films have been released in recent times. Oftentimes, this genre centers around glorification and romanticization of the highs and lows of the rock n’ roll life, but in the case of Japanese power/speed/glam/symphonic/progressive metal veterans X Japan, the unmistakably intense and powerful ‘We Are X’ captures a very real, genuine story of this unique band and its eccentric protagonist. First screened at the Sundance Festival in January 2016 and premiered in the US on October 21st, ‘We Are X’ was shown as part of the International Documentary Association series on November 14th at the Landmark in Los Angeles along with a post-screening Q&A with director Stephen Kijak, and Metal Assault does not regret accepting the invite. Continue reading “‘We Are X’: A Gripping, Emotional Story Of An Incredible Band”
