Us metalheads, goths, punks, and emos: we BEEN known this. Just look back at all the arguments we’ve gotten into with our parents as teens—the music we listened to helped (and still does) help us, even if some of it sounds like literal death. We’ve now got a new documentary to point to that supports our longstanding knowledge, called Heavy Healing.
Heavy Healing features fans, artists, and other industry big and small wigs going off on how much heavy music has helped and healed them in various ways. You’ll see quite a few familiar faces: Lou Koller (Sick of it All), Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage), Jaret Reddick (Bowling for Soup),Mike IX Williams (Eyehategod), Vinnie Stigma (Agnostic Front), Eddie “Sutton” Pomponio (Leeway),Jesse Malin (Heart Attack, D-Generation), Jimi Hazel (24-7 Spyz), Michael Alago (former A&R executive, Metallica, White Zombie), Michael “Kaves” McLeer (Lordz of Brooklyn), Jimmy G. Drescher (Murphy’s Law), Brian “Mitts” Daniels (ex-Madball), and Adam Blake (H2O) among others. You also hear from one of the documentary’s makers and a considerable veteran of the music business Seth Abrams.
Abrams commented:
“I’ve survived several severe, life-altering medical ordeals. When you strip away the doctors and family and friends’ support, it’s the music that gets you through it all. In my case, I specifically leaned on Suicidal Tendencies’ ‘You can’t Bring Me Down’. ‘Heavy Healing’ gives a voice to those who have relied on heavy, aggressive music to recover from any number of things — medical, emotional or both.”
The documentary’s director Howie Abrams added:
“As someone who has worked with underground bands for over four decades, I’ve encountered far too many musicians who are forced to cope with one disorder or another. That said, it’s incredible to see how they’ve been able to rely on the extreme music we grew up with to help them remain motivated and to recover. Our hope with the film is that others can draw just as much inspiration from the music as our interviewees have.”
Heavy Healing has been accepted into the ReelAbilities Film Festival in New York City, which is the world’s largest film festival dedicated to having a disability. The doc will screen at the festival two different times:
Saturday, April 25 at 7:00 p.m. Maysles Documentary Center Harlem, NY
Monday April 27 at 7:00 p.m. Nitehawk Cinema Prospect Park Brooklyn, NY
Heavy Healing will also be showing at the New Jersey Punk Rock Flea Market in Edison, New Jersey on April 11 (with a portion of the proceeds from said showing will be donated to Lou Koller’s Sweet Relief fund as he continues battling esophageal cancer), as well as at the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 18.