Movies like The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
The best movies like The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988) are Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90) (2015), Another State of Mind (1984) and The Godfathers of Hardcore (2018). If The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years hooked you with its documentary and music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAnvil! The Story of Anvil (2008)7.6/10 from 285 votes
- NewestIron Maiden: Burning Ambition (2026)Released 2026
- Same seriesThe Decline of Western Civilization (1981)The Decline of Western Civilization
Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90) (2015)
"Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90)" examines the early DIY punk scene in the Nation's Capital. It was a decade when seminal bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Government Issue, Scream, Void, Faith, Rites of Spring, Marginal Man, Fugazi, and others released their own records and booked their own shows-without major record label constraints or mainstream media scrutiny. Contextually, it was a cultural watershed that predated the alternative music explosion of the 1990s (and the industry's subsequent implosion). Thirty years later, DC's original DIY punk spirit serves as a reminder of the hopefulness of youth, the power of community and the strength of conviction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Another State of Mind (1984)
Another State of Mind is a documentary film made in the summer of 1982 chronicling the adventure (and misadventure) of two punk bands – Social Distortion and Youth Brigade – as they embark on their first international tour. Along the way they meet up with another progressive punk band, Minor Threat, whom they hang out with at the Dischord house for about a week near the end of their ill-fated tour.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
The Godfathers of Hardcore (2018)
Documentary following Roger Miret and Vinnie Stigma of the band, Agnostic Front who played a key role in defining, shaping and establishing the sound and cultural code of conduct for the still-thriving movement. Unlike the dozens of bands that have come and gone, Agnostic Front is still going strong.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Filmage: The Story of Descendents/All (2013)
Long before Green Day and Blink 182 inflicted punk-rock's puncture wound on the map of mainstream music, the Descendents were at home concocting the perfect mix of pop, angst, love, and coffee. FILMAGE: The Story of DESCENDENTS/ALL follows drummer/square-peg Bill Stevenson and his 'caffeinated retardedness' as he pushes his rotating door of bandmates to 'achieve ALL,' his philosophy of going for greatness at all costs. Stevenson is a force to be reckoned with--not even grapefruit-sized brain tumors can keep him down.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition (2026)
With unprecedented access to the official archives and intimate recollections from the band, both current and past, Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition invites fans to experience one of the most iconic journeys in music history. Spanning five decades, this electrifying documentary charts the band’s rise from the pubs of East London to the world’s biggest stadiums. Featuring exclusive interviews with band members and contributors such as Javier Bardem, Lars Ulrich and Chuck D, as well as all-new animated sequences of the band's legendary mascot, Eddie, the film offers a rare and intimate look at Iron Maiden’s uncompromising vision and unwavering connection with their truly global army of fans.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Punk Rock Movie (1978)
Documentary on the London punk-rock scene, circa '78
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
A Fat Wreck (2016)
Fat Wreck Chords... The influential music label proud to say they've spent the past 25 years "ruining punk rock". A Fat Wreck tells the story of founders Fat Mike (of the legendary punk band NOFX) and his ex-wife Erin Kelly-Burkett, spanning the birth, growth, struggles, and survival of the Fat Wreck Chords label.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Death by Metal (2016)
Here comes DEATH's probing and pulsing rock doc, DEATH BY METAL, pulling back the palm fronds of DEATH's origins in Altamonte Springs, Florida, and latching a narrative hook into the headstrong Chuck Schuldiner juggernaut for fifteen gratifying if sometimes frustrating years. As the baby steps become giant leaps, the stable of supporting players grows and continually shines in its own devious light.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
New York Doll (2005)
A recovering alcoholic and recently converted Mormon, Arthur "Killer" Kane, of the rock band The New York Dolls, is given a chance at reuniting with his band after 30 years.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Punk the Capital: Building a Sound Movement (2019)
An in-depth exploration of a seminal moment in DC music history (circa 1976 to 1984) and the rise of harDCore. The film is made up of a mix of rare archive material, conversational interviews, and a collage editing style. Features early DC punk and hardcore bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Slickee Boys, The Faith and more.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Don't Break Down: A Film About Jawbreaker (2017)
In 2007, 11 years after one of the most influential American punk bands, Jawbreaker, called it quits, the three members, Blake Schwarzenbach, Chris Bauermeister, and Adam Pfahler reconnect in a San Francisco recording studio to listen back to their albums, reminisce and even perform together one last time. Follow the band as they retell their "rags to riches to rags" story writhe with inner band turmoil, health issues, and the aftermath of signing to a major label. Featuring interviews with Billy Joe Armstrong, Steve Albini, Jessica Hopper, Graham Elliot, Chris Shifflet, Josh Caterer and more.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004)
After bassist Jason Newsted quits the band in 2001, heavy metal superstars Metallica realize that they need an intervention. In this revealing documentary, filmmakers follow the three rock stars as they hire a group therapist and grapple with 20 years of repressed anger and aggression. Between searching for a replacement bass player, creating a new album and confronting their personal demons, the band learns to open up in ways they never thought possible.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Nine Nine Four (2009)
Explore the birth, growth and eventual tipping point of punk rock during the 90s. Narrated by skateboarder Tony Hawk, the film features interviews and footage of various bands and figures in the punk scene.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.
Why it matches: Same series: The Decline of Western Civilization · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMetal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005)
The film discusses the traits and originators of some of metal's many subgenres, including the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, power metal, Nu metal, glam metal, thrash metal, black metal, and death metal. Dunn uses a family-tree-type flowchart to document some of the most popular metal subgenres. The film also explores various aspects of heavy metal culture.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDio: Dreamers Never Die (2022)
This career spanning documentary on heavy metal legend Ronnie James Dio delves deep into his incredible rise from 50's doo-wop crooner, to his early classic rock days in Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, to replacing the iconic lead singer Ozzy Osborne in Black Sabbath, to finally cement his legend with DIO. Ronnie's biography is completely unique to the tired sex, drugs and rock and roll cliches. The film is about perseverance, dreams and the power to believe in yourself.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
The Filth and the Fury (2000)
Julien Temple's second documentary profiling punk rock pioneers the Sex Pistols is an enlightening, entertaining trip back to a time when the punk movement was just discovering itself. Featuring archival footage, never-before-seen performances, rehearsals, and recording sessions as well as interviews with group members who lived to tell the tale--including the one and only John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten).
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFix: The Ministry Movie (2011)
Provides an insider's view of the groundbreaking, outrageous, creative juggernaut that was the band Ministry - during their world tour - as front man Al Jourgensen slips into drug addiction. Ministry made industrial rock mainstream, and along the way their music and take no prisoners lifestyle influenced the leaders of today's most important bands, many of whom are in the film.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Metallica: This Monster Lives (2014)
Ten years after the release of their controversial documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky catch up with the members of the band at the 2013 Toronto film festival world premiere of their 3D feature film, Metallica Through the Never, using the premiere of the new film as a springboard to reflect upon the legacy of Some Kind of Monster, its influence on the band and their experiences during the decade since its release.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Classic Albums: Motörhead - Ace of Spades (2005)
Motorhead fans, rejoice! This comprehensive look at the heavy metal band's 1980 album "Ace of Spades" features band mates Lemmy, "Fast" Eddie Clarke and Philip "Philthy Animal" Taylor discussing the making of their acclaimed album and performing exclusive tunes. Other goodies include interviews about the band with rockers Slash and Lars Ulrich, Motorhead's candid talk about their adventures with sex, drugs and rock and roll, and much more.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Black Sabbath: The End of The End (2017)
Chronicles the final tour from Black Sabbath. On February 4th, 2017, Black Sabbath takes the stage in Birmingham, the city where it all began, to play the 81st and final gig of the tour and bring down the curtain on a career that spanned almost half a century.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
American Hardcore (2006)
Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fearless Freaks (2005)
Equal parts punk and psychedelia, the Flaming Lips emerged from Oklahoma City as one of the most bracing bands of the late 1980s. The Fearless Freaks documents their rise from Butthole Surfers-imitating noisemakers to grand poobahs of orchestral pop masterpieces. Filmmaker Bradley Beesely had the good fortune of living in the same neighborhood as lead Lip Wayne Coyne, who quickly enlisted his buddy to document his band's many concerts and assorted exploits. The early footage is a riot, with tragic hair styles on proud display as the boys attempt to cover up their lack of natural talent with sheer volume. During one show, they even have a friend bring a motorcycle on stage, which is then miked for sound and revved throughout the performance, clearing the club with toxic levels of carbon monoxide. Great punk rock stuff. Interspersed among the live bits are interviews with the band's family and friends, revealing the often tragic circumstances of their childhoods and early career.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Global Metal (2008)
In GLOBAL METAL, directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn set out to discover how the West's most maligned musical genre - heavy metal - has impacted the world's cultures beyond Europe and North America. The film follows metal fan and anthropologist Sam Dunn on a whirlwind journey through Asia, South America and the Middle East as he explores the underbelly of the world's emerging extreme music scenes; from Indonesian death metal to Chinese black metal to Iranian thrash metal. GLOBAL METAL reveals a worldwide community of metalheads who aren't just absorbing metal from the West - they're transforming it - creating a new form of cultural expression in societies dominated by conflict, corruption and mass-consumerism.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGimme Danger (2016)
No other band in rock'n'roll history has rivaled The Stooges' combination of heavy primal throb, spiked psychedelia, blues-a-billy grind, complete with succinct angst-ridden lyrics, and a snarling, preening leopard of a frontman who somehow embodies Nijinsky, Bruce Lee, Harpo Marx, and Arthur Rimbaud all rolled into one. There is no precedent for The Stooges, while those inspired by them are now legion. The film will present the context of their emergence musically, culturally, politically, historically, and relate their adventures and misadventures while charting their inspirations and the reasons behind their initial commercial challenges, as well as their long-lasting legacy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbia (1984)
When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The runaways hold on to each other like a family until a tragedy tears them apart.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder in the Front Row: The San Francisco Bay Area Thrash Metal Story (2019)
Murder In The Front Row: The San Francisco Bay Area Thrash Metal Story. In the early 1980’s, a small group of dedicated Bay Area headbangers shunned the hard rock of MTV and Hollywood hairspray bands in favor of a more dangerous brand of metal that became known as thrash! From the tape trading network to the clubs to the record stores and fanzines, director Adam Dubin reveals how the scene nurtured the music and the music spawned a movement. Murder In The Front Row is told through powerful first person testimony and stunning animation and photography. The film is a social study of a group of young people defying the odds and building something essential for themselves. Featuring interviews with Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Exodus, Testament, Death Angel, Possessed and many more! Narrated by Brian Posehn.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008)
At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal" influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now in their fifties, set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Punk Singer (2013)
A look at the life of activist, musician, and cultural icon Kathleen Hanna, who formed the punk band Bikini Kill and pioneered the "riot grrrl" movement of the 1990s.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Other F Word (2011)
What happens when a generation's ultimate anti-authoritarians — punk rockers — become society's ultimate authorities — dads? With a large chorus of punk rock's leading men — Blink-182's Mark Hoppus, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea, Rise Against's Tim McIlrath — The Other F Word follows Jim Lindberg, 20-year veteran of skate punk band, Pennywise, on his hysterical and moving journey from belting his band's anthem, "Fuck Authority", to embracing his ultimately pivotal authoritarian role in mid-life, fatherhood.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years?
The closest matches to The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years are Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90) (2015), Another State of Mind (1984) and The Godfathers of Hardcore (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years?
People who watched The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years most often go on to Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90) (2015), Another State of Mind (1984) and The Godfathers of Hardcore (2018).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years?
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008), rated 7.6/10 by 285 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years?
Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Is The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to The Decline of Western Civilization, which includes The Decline of Western Civilization (1981).
Are there English movies like The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years?
Yes: Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90) (2015), Another State of Mind (1984) and The Godfathers of Hardcore (2018).
How are movies similar to The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.