The story follows two high school best friends and metal music lovers, Hunter and Kevin, who set out to start a metal band, against societal norms.[3][4]
The film was released on Netflix on April 8, 2022.[5]
Plot
Metalhead Hunter Sylvester jams with his best friend, introverted Kevin Schlieb, who as yet only plays a single drum in the school's marching band. During marching band practice (featuring Chuck Klosterman as the sensitive band leader), Kevin witnesses sensitive Scottish student Emily having a full meltdown and quitting band because of her lack of skill with the clarinet.
Later that day, Kevin drags Hunter to a party at Clay Moss' house and tries to act 'normal' while Hunter feels misplaced. Kevin gets drunk and flirts with the girl Kendall, while Hunter gets into an altercation with jock Rocky "Skip" Hoffman.
Afterwards, Hunter discovers the school is holding a "Battle of the Bands", prompting him to sign up his and Kevin's band Skullfucker. Hunter steals his father's AMEX card and buys US$13,500 in gear, including a full drum kit.
Kevin adopts a grueling, daily practice schedule after school, learning Hunter's playlists by ear; he notices that Emily is a skilled cello player with equal dedication. They become mutually interested, which prompts Kevin to give her a copy of the metal songs playlist Hunter assigned him as "homework". Meanwhile, Hunter auditions bassists to complete the trio, but is unsuccessful, and has a series of run-ins with Skip.
Kevin unsuccessfully tries to pitch Emily as their new bassist to Hunter. Afterwards, he calls her to apologize for Hunter's behavior and they end up having sex in her van. Kevin and Emily become a couple, which enrages Hunter, who believes she will be their "Yoko Ono".
While Kevin struggles to meet Hunter's professional-grade demands, Clay hears Kevin practicing and immediately recognizes his highly advanced abilities and 'intense' drumming style; since Mollycoddle's drummer is in rehab, he recruits Kevin for a gig at his sister's wedding. During speech class, Hunter mocks Emily until she attacks him, breaking his guitar in the process. These facts lead to an argument between Hunter and Kevin, who leaves Skullfucker.
As Kevin is performing at the wedding, Hunter tries to crash it to get him back into Skullfucker, so is arrested for trespassing. Afterwards, Clay praises Kevin for his exceptional contributions, in particularly mastering the material on short notice and elevating the original pop music with flair from his advanced techniques. Clay invites him to hang out and permanently join Mollycoddle for the Battle of the Bands, which he reluctantly accepts.
Kendall invites a drunk Kevin into the pool and flirts with him. While they make out, his conscience materializes as heavy metal musicians Scott Ian, Tom Morello, Kirk Hammett and Rob Halford. Halford makes Kevin realize he loves Emily and goes back to her. Also missing Hunter, he discovers he was sent to rehab by his father as punishment.
Hunter discovers the clinic is run by Dr. Troy Nix, famed lead guitarist of metal band Killoton and former Battle of the Bands champion. Nix explains that Killoton broke up partially due to his alcohol abuse, which prompted him to straighten out his life, become a doctor and help other addicts. Although Hunter is fit for discharge, due to clinic policy it cannot be until Monday.
Kevin breaks Hunter and Mollycoddle's drummer out from the clinic. Dr. Nix finds them during their escape, but lets them go after giving Hunter a better guitar pick. Hunter and Kevin go to Emily's, Hunter apologizes and invites her to be their cellist, but she turns them down as she does not feel ready.
At the Battle of the Bands, Kevin apologizes to Clay and presents Mollycoddle's now sober drummer to replace him. As Kevin and Hunter are getting ready to perform as a duo, Emily joins them with an electric cello and dressed in gothic metal gear. Just before they take the stage, Principal Swanson warns them the name "Skullfucker" is inappropriate for the event, forcing Emily to quickly change it to Skullflower.
Despite initial skepticism, their performance wins over the crowd. That is, until a drunk Skip stumbles out of a mosh pit, pushing Hunter into his amp stack in the middle of his solo. His amplifiers crash down, breaking his leg.
Later, the band reads in the paper that their performance went viral, despite losing the Battle of the Bands and coming in second behind Mollycoddle. They conclude they are the moral winners of the contest as they were headliners, the entire crowd loved them and sang the chorus of their original song, and they landed on the front page of the newspaper. They begin to practice with renewed vigor and camaraderie.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 63% of 48 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's consensus reads: "If it doesn't quite rawk, Metal Lords remains a good-natured and overall enjoyable look at adolescence and the life-altering power of music."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100 based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[8]
