That (Sorta) Metal Show

My name is Jen and I am a heavy metal fan.

So, as an admitted, out in public metal fan, I was really excited last year to hear that VH1 Classic was going to air a half hour show about hard rock and heavy metal. I'd been a devotee to MTV's Headbanger's Ball back in the day, and was hoping for an engaging interview and discussion type show.

Instead, what I got was a show that has more misses than hits. Debuting on November 15, 2008, the show is hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson. That's the first problem I've got with the show. Eddie Trunk is a local New York DJ who also has a satellite radio show dedicated to heavy metal. The man is a walking encyclopedia of music knowledge, which is good. The bad part is that he's dull as dishwater. He injects a lot of personal stuff into his stories, which can be interesting. But he talks a lot. Sometimes he talks more than the guests. And who are the other two guys? Comedians who are metal fans? They don't bring a lot to the table. I seriously don't understand VH1's compulsion to add comedians to all their shows, because instead of their comments being funny, they're just annoying.

Each show has an interview segment with an artist, with the exception of the episode where former NY Mets catcher Mike Piazza was the guest. I know he's a metal fan, but come on, there was NO ONE else available in all of New York City to be the guest that day? In any case, in my opinion this part of the show should be the main focus, but inevitably it's cut too short just as the interviews with the artists start to get interesting. The show obviously needs time for it's other two segments, Stump the Trunk and Throwdown.

Stump the Trunk is a trivia contest where an audience member gets to ask a question of walking encyclopedia Eddie Trunk, and if he fails to answer it, they win a prize. Throwdown asks the host to pick one of two artists over the other and answer why in a timed response. There are also other bits, such as Where Are They Now and Pick of the Week.

All in all, it's too much to stuff into a half hour. If I know Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater is going to be on the show, I want the whole show about him, not 7 minutes out of 30. I could care less about the other filler.

The second season of the show ended this summer. If the show comes back for another season, I hope it's retooled. 'Cause in my opinion, That Metal Show is so not metal.