Metallica, Slayer among metal acts featured in new documentary

Murder in the Front Row is available on April 24th

Some of metal’s most famous stalwarts are featured in the Murder In The Front Row: The San Francisco Bay Area Thrash Metal Story documentary, set for worldwide release on Friday, April 24th in 4K and Digital HD. Directed by Adam Dubin (Beastie Boys Fight For Your Right To Party & No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn), the film contains over fifty interviews with various metal bands, including Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Exodus, Testament, and Death Angel. It tells larger-than-life stories through a mix of first-person interviews, animation, and narration by comedian Brian Posehn.

The documentary will also be available on a special Deluxe Edition DVD that features over 90 minutes of never-before-seen bonus footage — including an interview with Metallica that Consequence of Sound has premiered — as well as behind-the-scenes footage taken at the infamous Berkeley venue Ruthie’s Inn that premiered through The Bay Bridged.

The DVD will also include a tri-fold cover, two mini-posters, a sticker, director’s commentary, 5.1 + stereo audio, closed captions, and translation subtitles. English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Greek subtitles will be available by region on the digital editions.

“I’m very happy that Murder In The Front Row is coming out on digital and DVD on April 24th,” shares Director Adam Dubin. “While it was an amazing experience for me to attend screenings around the world and interact with music fans, I’ve always been aware that most people will see the movie online. One of the most interesting things that I observed at screenings was metalhead parents bringing their kids to educate them on what the thrash scene was like back in the day. It was like a shared history lesson. So I’m glad that the movie will continue to educate people around the world. It is an especially poignant time for Murder In The Front Row to be available because live music has been sidelined by safety concerns. Thrash metal as practiced by Metallica, Megadeth, Testament, Exodus and others is a very live experience. The photographs in Murder In The Front Row attest to the energy of the live shows and the bands all built their followings through playing live. So until we can all get back to enjoying music together, it will be fun to relive the history with Murder In The Front Row.

The documentary premiered in spring 2019 during SF Doc Fest before embarking on a run of screening dates at Alamo Drafthouses, arthouse cinemas, music venues, and film festivals across the U.S. and abroad. The film garnered praise from publications such as The Wire, Artform, The Playlist, and San Francisco Chronicle, among others.

Narratively, MITFR follows the story of a group of young kids in Northern California with a shared passion for heavy rock bands like UFO, Iron Maiden, and Motorhead. “These are just good stories, and they are very human stories,” Dubin shares. “All these bands were mainly from England, and they never really toured the West Coast, so these young people started creating their own music, starting their own fanzines, booking clubs and trading tapes. These were people who were adamant about music and the bands, but also each other.”

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com