The following report is courtesy of Sarrah Le Marquand and Catriona Mathewson from News.com.au:

There is a moment in the film Metal: A Headbanger's Journey when you actually fear for the safety of filmmaker and metal fan Sam Dunn.

Dunn is sitting in what appears to be a candlelit dungeon somewhere in Norway interviewing the singer Gahl from "black metal" band GORGOROTH. Bear in mind, this takes place shortly after Dunn's narration has informed viewers that some black metal artists in Norway were responsible for a spate of church burnings in the early '90s and take their music and their Satanism quite seriously.

Dunn asks Gahl: "What is the primary ideology or ideas that fuel Gorgoroth's music?"

After a five second pause Gahl answers simply "Satan" before taking a swig from a glass of either red wine or goat's blood (your guess).

Hmm, short sweet interview. But in reality Dunn says Gahl was quite a nice guy – on camera it's all about the theatrics.

Sifting the image from reality is what Dunn's film Metal is all about, trying to break down some of the prejudices that make heavy metal one of the most misunderstood and often vilified genres of music.

With a masters degree in social anthropology and as a regular contributor to various academic journals, Dunn is used to the assumption his taste in music leans more towards BEETHOVEN than BLACK SABBATH.

But he has been a metal fan since the age of 12 and at 31 has co-written, co-produced and co-directed a documentary he hopes will help others understand his obsession.

"Metal has never really been the province of the intelligentsia or the tastemakers," Dunn says, explaining why metal traditionally has been overlooked as a credible art form.

"It was always punk rock that appealed to the more urbane, cosmopolitan population.

"Journalists grow up listening to pop not metal," he adds with a laugh, "and I honestly think that's a big factor in why it took so long to do an in-depth documentary on it. Metal comes from places that people want to forget about – the suburbs, the industrial armpits of society."

To read the entire interview head to this location.