Celebrating the mettle of metal

Precious Metal's look at the history of extreme music comes at an opportune moment. According to Mudrian, metal music's earlier sounds are now having somewhat of a renaissance.

"What we're having is this movement where people are getting back to basics," he says. "You've got these bands that are making music that sounds like it was recorded 18 years ago. As things are getting more extreme and bands are getting more technical and over the top, a lot of people in those scenes are reacting and getting back to an old-school, meat-and-potatoes vibe."

The irony of a back-to-basics trend within a genre built on shock value and extremes is not lost on Mudrian. He urges strangers to the extreme-music scene to see through metal's gore and aggression to find the humor.

"Metal was, for an incredibly long time, not self-aware and not able to poke fun at itself," he says. "And let's be honest: Some of this is really, really funny stuff."

Contact staff writer Nayeli Rodriguez at 215-854-4207 or nrodriguez@phillynews.com.