Metal Lords

Hunter and Kevin are teenagers who do not fit in at their high school, and they have a plan to change that: commit themselves to heavy metal, win the school's Battle of the Bands, and be treated like rock gods. The problem is that a band needs more than two people. Nobody they ask can play bass and nobody wants to join them, except Emily, a cellist whose classical background clashes with the death metal image Hunter has in mind. Kevin, the shy one of the pair, speaks up for her, and with no other option Hunter gives in. The three very different students then have to turn themselves into a real band before the competition arrives.

Metal Lords was released in 2022 and runs 97 minutes. Peter Sollett directed it, following Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Freeheld, from a screenplay by D.B. Weiss, with Greg Shapiro producing. Jaeden Martell plays Kevin, Adrian Greensmith plays Hunter, Isis Hainsworth plays Emily, and Brett Gelman appears as Dr. Sylvester, among a credited cast of 47.

The film is an American comedy-drama built around music. Its ratings sit in moderate territory rather than at either extreme, with a slight gap between audiences and critics: on IMDb it holds 6.7 out of 10 from around 37,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.8 out of 10 from roughly 800 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 5.9 out of 10 from 47 reviews.