Heavy metal must be truly dead;
VH1 holds the memorial service

The “Behind the Music” about Motley Crue was one thing. But when VH1 dedicates an entire month to your genre, you know it’s time to give it up.

That’s the sad news for heavy metal, which gets a month worth of the spotlight on the cable music network, with the centerpiece being “Heavy: The Story of Metal,” which will begin at 10 p.m. Monday, May 22.

All told, it will be a four-hour, in-depth look at the genre that absolutely blasted through the 80s and even more quickly disintegrated.

VH1 says the presentation “traces the evolution of heavy metal music and culture, from its dark, grim beginnings in Birmingham, England to the worldwide force that it remains to this day. In a series of four chronological hours, “Heavy: The Story of Metal,” explores four decades of music, each hour examining this powerful and often misunderstood genre, from metal’s pioneers to its love of glam and excess; from the fight for metal’s rebellious soul to its storied flirtation with the devil.”