A documentary that wears its heart on its sleeves is often a documentary that keeps its eyes on the prize. And just days after viewing the disappointingly cursory "American Hardcore", "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" throws down a challenge in its first scenes when a frazzled youth with a microphone makes sure to add that "punkdoes not belong in this world". Canadian metalhead cum anthropologist, Sam Dunn heads off on a personal odyssey to the United States, Germany, the UK and Norway to interview metal's luminaries and academics with two purposes in mind  to find out why metal has been so maligned and to gauge the obsession it inspires throughout its legion. Dunn angles a new perspective on its self-aware, perceptible fanbase and bands by personalising his journey in a formalised, but never didactic way, of approaching his subjects and interviewees as kindred spirits. He features erudite interviews with the subculture's leading and most influential personalities and accomplishes his first goal by juxtaposing their reasoned, informed views on metal with the irrational fear that advocacy groups have waged battles over. But in one of the film's most harrowing interview sequences, he also concedes that there are some bands that take the transgressive state of their cults of personality too far. Dunn's academic background allows him certain legitimacy and the documentary does try to counter the stigma of a pedagogic structure by employing some innovative and accessible use of the documentary within a documentary footage, accentuating Dunn's individual venture into his lifelong fascination.