Decline trilogy gets box set release

Penelope Spheeris’ iconic documentaries focusing on the US punk and metal scene are to be released as a box set in on June 30.

The original Decline Of Western Civilization was released in 1980 and highlighted the hardcore-punk scene in Los Angeles.

Second instalment The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years followed in 1988 featuring artists including Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Faster Pussycat, Poison and Kiss. It famously featured WASP guitarist Chris Holmes drinking in his mother’s pool and Ozzy Osbourne cooking bacon in a leopard-print dressing gown.

The final film followed 10 years later and concentrated on homeless gutter punks in LA.

Spheeris says: “I’m so grateful to the fans of these films and the bands that appeared in them for their loyalty and patience. This is my life’s work. I like to think that when I go to my grave, The Decline is what I’ll be remembered for.”

The anthology will be released on DVD and Blu-ray via Shout! Factory and comes with a bonus disc featuring a commentary by Foo Fighters mainman Dave Grohl, previously unreleased footage, performances, interviews and the original trailers. A 40-page book will also be bundled with the package.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers and magazines as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. After initially joining our news desk in the summer of 2014, he moved to the e-commerce team full-time in 2020. He maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott grew up listening to rock and prog, cutting his teeth on bands such as Marillion and Magnum before his focus shifted to alternative and post-punk in the late 80s. His favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Drab Majesty, but he also still has a deep love of Rush.