Evan Husney has had one of the most intriguing career trajectories of our time, bringing audiences everything from cult-film oddities to powerful, iconic tales from the fringe. He first made waves in the cult-film world, rescuing and re-releasing forgotten gems like the martial-arts-meets-rock-’n’-roll fever dream “Miami Connection”, the long-lost Australian thriller “Wake in Fright”, and the jaw-dropping survival tale “Roar”. Those projects set the tone for Husney’s career: uncovering stories that were too strange, too wild, or too raw to stay buried. That instinct eventually led him to Vice, where he, alongside longtime creative partner Jason Eisener, co-created “Dark Side of the Ring”. Since its 2019 debut, the series has become VICE TV’s highest-rated show of all time, exposing the gripping and often heartbreaking human stories behind professional wrestling’s most mysterious and controversial moments.
Building on that success, Husney and Eisener expanded their storytelling universe with spin-offs like “Dark Side of the Cage” and “Dark Side of Comedy”, as well as the docuseries “Tales from the Territories” (2022) and “Who Killed WCW?” (2024), both created with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions.
Now the duo is bringing their signature human-first approach to a new frontier with “Into the Void: Life, Death and Heavy Metal”, an eight-part docuseries now streaming on Hulu. Beneath the thunderous riffs and high-octane performances, the series uncovers the deeper stories of trauma, loss, resilience, and transformation that shaped some of metal’s most iconic yet misunderstood figures. From guitar legends Randy Rhoads and Dimebag Darrell to trailblazers like Wendy O. Williams and Ann Boleyn of Hellion, and even the shocking trial that put Judas Priest in the cultural crosshairs, “Into the Void” reframes heavy metal as a world defined not just by sound and spectacle but by raw humanity.
With “Into the Void: Life, Death and Heavy Metal”, Husney and Eisener once again prove their ability to find the truth in the shadows—stories that reshape how we see the icons, controversies, and tragedies that defined a culture. Icon Vs. Icon recently caught up with Evan Husney to discuss his journey as a storyteller, his evolution as a creator, and the process of bringing “Into the Void: Life, Death and Heavy Metal” from script to screen.
You and Jason Eisner have created some really great work together over the years. Can you share a bit about your origin story and how your journey began?
Oh man, yeah, I’ve done a lot of different stuff. I started out in the cult film world, releasing interesting and rare films on home video, DVD, and Blu-ray. I was at Severin Films for a while, and then I co-founded Draft House Films back in 2011 with the Alamo Drafthouse, when they were starting to release films. It’s morphed into what Neon is now, which is really cool. We handled a wide range of really cool and interesting films, including both old and new ones. That was really fascinating. Then, I spent a considerable amount of time at VICE, producing documentaries for their YouTube channel, which eventually led to my work on “Dark Side of the Ring” for their TV channel. I’m sure there are other things I forgot along the way!
Let’s take it back even further. At the end of the day, you and Jason Eisner are storytellers. What drew you to the art?
My first love was music. When I was 10 or 11 years old, I started playing the guitar and found myself inspired by people like Randy Rhoads. I was listening to Black Sabbath, Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer, all that type of stuff. That was my first love. That could have been the path I took. I could have tried to go pro and be in a band, but I became obsessed with movies at a very young age, around 15 years old. It just took hold of me, and I wanted to be involved in making films or directing films, so I went to school for that.
I wound up working in video stores, and it became my passion. When I started working on documentaries, I transitioned from the distribution side of the industry. I had been working in film distribution for about eight years. Then that transitioned into working for Vice, where I was able to produce and direct my own documentaries. It was at that point that I finally had the chance to have that experience. For me, it just felt very natural. Jason comes from a more scripted world, having worked on feature films and short films. He’s had great success with that.
And for me, I’ve always been super fascinated with documentary storytelling. I don’t know if it’s like an ADD thing, an OCD thing, or what, but I’ve always only been able to focus on things that I feel very passionate about. With “Dark Side of the Ring,” I feel fortunate and honored that I’ve been able to work on a series that’s focused on so much of what I love. Then, of course, being able to meet the wrestling icons I grew up worshiping and all the musicians that I looked up to as a kid has been a very fascinating and surreal experience. And I’m just so humble that I’m able to do that. It’s like, “Oh my God! I can’t even believe it!” It’s been a dream come true. Storytelling has always been a significant part of my life, thanks to my love of film. To be able to apply that to these very real-world, tangible areas of interest has been awesome.
How do you feel Jason and you have evolved the most in that realm?
I think a lot we’ve learned so much, you know, going back to the early days of “Dark Side of the Ring” where we had no street cred. When we started, nobody knew who we were, both in the film industry and in the wrestling business. We had to prove ourselves. There are good things and bad things about being a fan of the thing that you’re trying to document, for lack of a better expression. Sometimes you don’t have that distance. You can’t be objective. Those are lessons we’ve learned along the way. We wanted to make the show we would like to see as fans, and that’s what we did with “Dark Side of the Ring.” When it comes to heavy metal, I feel there’s been a handful of really great docs — probably a dozen really great metal documentaries that feel like they’re competently made. They tell a great story, and stand the test of time, so and so forth. But outside of that, there are so many programs and TV shows or other forms of media where they’ve taken a very clichéd sort of sex, drugs, and rock and roll lens to look at the industry. Metal, like pro wrestling, is something that is often misunderstood from a cultural standpoint.
You know, there are many misconceptions about it. And with metal specifically, it has been something that’s been a lightning rod for controversy. It’s been something that’s been weaponized by a lot of groups, you know, to further their moral crusades and things like that over the years. So I feel like it’s never gotten its fair shake to be, you know, just sort of a world to examine on a very grounded human level. Because again, you typically get the story of the band’s trajectory, their career, bio, and those types of things, or you get the sort of sensational sex, drugs, and rock and roll look. So, we wanted to take all that away, strip it down, and tell these stories as relatable, human, and respectable as possible, doing it authentically. That was the goal.
How did you pick the stories you wanted to tackle with “Into the Void: Life, Death and Heavy Metal”?
While some of them have been conveyed in other ways, we thought we could take a more direct approach, adopting a first-person perspective to provide a raw, unfiltered take — a more human perspective. They are also just stories that hold personal significance for us. As I mentioned, I have always been a huge Randy Rhoads fan, so it was a dream to tell a story focused solely on Randy. That’s not necessarily the Ozzy story; what happened with Randy was kind of outside of that. Then there is Dimebag Darrell, who was a huge influence on me as I grew up, having been a huge fan of Pantera. I remember exactly where I was when I first heard about his murder, and to me, that was one of the first people I grieved. I say that because I was lucky enough that I didn’t have a family member pass away at that point. Still, he felt like the first person I had a deep connection with who passed away. It was so tragic, random, surreal, puzzling, and angering. That was a massive thing for me. At the same time, we wanted to try to pick stories that weren’t the obvious ones and go a couple of layers deeper.
A great example is DEATH. I was always a huge fan of the band and Chuck Schuldiner. I just always thought it would be a great story to tell. I was so happy that Hulu and the powers that be were receptive to us telling stories about people who aren’t household names like Chuck, because it’s a very relatable human story about something that so many people have dealt with or been touched by in terms of the grief involving a loved one who’s dying of such an unfair and horrible disease as cancer. When we were researching stories for the series, we came across N.M.E. I’d always heard sort of the sensational tabloid headline of “guitarist kills mother” and thought, “Oh, my God, it’s such a horrifying story.” But once you look deeper into it and you start talking to the band members and the family members, the story reveals itself to you as this very emotionally complex episode about dealing with schizophrenia. Obviously, he was never formally diagnosed with schizophrenia or Capgras syndrome. Still, the story was that not everyone turned their backs on him after that. Those people were still there supporting him and rooting for him to come out the other side. But of course, you know the ways that things are, how rehabilitation and mental health programs are set up in this country. He was put through the standard criminal justice system. There’s no real rehabilitation program in place for him, and then his story has this second tragic outcome. It became a nuanced and absolutely fascinating story, far beyond the shock headline! So that felt like an excellent fit for us.
I remember going through my record collection when we first got this show up and running. It was like, “The sky’s the limit! There are so many possible stories we could tell. I remember flipping through my records and coming across Hellion. Thought, “Oh yeah! This is great and so underrated. Nobody knows the album from this band that never made it.” Hellion was a female-fronted band, and she has a great voice and totally kicks ass. And then I thought, “Why didn’t this band ever make it? There has to be a story here.: It’s like if you follow your record collection, you’ll find a crazy, fascinating human story to tell. And we did! It began by exploring all the possibilities of the ones we had always wanted to share, along with the practicalities. “Can we get access to the stories? Will they want to tell the stories? Is the timing right for the bands and the management?” Then we can piece together and tell them authentically, with the real people who experienced these stories. When we had that squared away, we were off to the races.
One of the things I love about your past interviews is hearing tales of the unique people you met along the way. Who has left a big impression on you this time out?
Oh, man! It was surreal to interview Sharon Osbourne. It was so surreal because I grew up watching The Osbournes, and Black Sabbath was my number one band of all time. That remains true to this day, and it has never changed. To be able to have a conversation with her, not only about Ozzy and the start of his solo career, but also about the start of her career, when she began managing him. It was incredible to hear her experience of dealing with the nightmare of how Randy passed away. That’s a surreal experience to find yourself in as a fan, and it completely recontextualizes that story. It was something that you thought you knew everything about, having been exposed to it through various forms of media over the years. But to hear it and to connect with that person in the room sitting next to you, and you find yourself face to face with them, they recount one of the darkest, most upsetting things that’s ever happened to them, is a truly surreal experience. It was incredibly emotional and has left a lasting impression on me.
I felt similarly about all the people in Pantera, and I was a huge fan as a kid. There’s no shortage of pictures of me when I’m 13 years old wearing Pantera shirts. So, to be able to be invited into their homes and to be able to have those conversations with them and to connect with them, man, that’s a surreal experience! It’s hard to put into words, but those are the ones that really stand out.
What were the challenges of changing gears from “Dark Side of the Ring” to “Into The Void”?
Yeah, there are definitely similarities between the wrestling world and the metal world. In both, you can explore themes such as where to draw the line between reality and fiction, or who these artists truly are beyond their rock star personas. What we found with this show is that some of these musicians are, in many ways, even more iconic than some of the wrestling figures we’ve covered. That’s why we wanted to keep the reenactment aesthetic. It gave us a way to heighten the storytelling, make it cinematic, and visually capture moments you couldn’t show otherwise. At the same time, we were cautious with casting—showing just enough without overexposing someone, because these figures are so iconic. Metal is rooted in authenticity, and the last thing we wanted was something that came off lame, like a guy in a bad wig.
We had to adapt the way that we approach reenactments. We stripped it down and dialed it way back, finding other ways to bring out symbolism and visual metaphors that could heighten the experience visually, without taking you out of it. We didn’t want to leave the viewer thinking, “That doesn’t look like Randy Rhoads or Dimebag.” We really wanted to try and be as respectful as possible, and so I think we did take it down a notch from where on the wrestling show, it’s a little more balls to the wall.
As someone working in a creative field, what’s the best lesson we can take from your journey so far?
I’ve always felt that I could never work on a documentary unless it was rooted in something deeply important to me—something that feels like part of who I am. For better or worse, that’s created challenges in other areas of life, but it’s also been the driving force of my career. I’ve been able to rely on my passions to guide me, and I feel incredibly lucky for that.
The lesson I’ve learned is simple: follow the things you care most about, the subjects that inspire you, and feel essential to your being. I’ve never lost sight of that, and it’s kept me moving forward. At the same time, we’ve always tried to take our passions and present them in a way that’s relatable to others—even people who may not share that same enthusiasm.
It may sound cliché to say “follow your dreams,” but it’s the truth. If I hadn’t done that, I don’t know where I’d be or even who I’d be. Following my passions has shaped my entire life.
You’re living proof that hard work pays off. I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds that inspiring.
I appreciate that!
From where you’re standing now, what do you feel the future holds in terms of the projects you want to invest your time and energy into?
Oh man, we were so fortunate to be able to tell eight different stories for this series—that was incredible. But the truth is, the list of other artists, from different countries, backgrounds, genres, and subgenres, is endless. There’s just so much more to explore in this world. With “Dark Side of the Ring,” we’ve done 60 episodes and gone pretty deep into wrestling. Here, though, I feel like we’re only scratching the surface. For me, it would be a dream to keep going, because there’s so much more to tell and we’re really just getting started. Of course, we have other projects in the works that might take shape down the road, but right now I’m fully focused on this. It feels like there’s a lot more to do, and I’m excited to dive into it.
I love hearing that! Thank you so much for your time today, Evan. You guys have created something special, and I wish you continued success.
That’s so nice. Thank you so much. Appreciate it!
Don’t miss your opportunity to experience the untold stories of music’s darkest corners as “Into the Void: Life, Death and Heavy Metal” is now streaming on Hulu.
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