Metal Music Is Dead

Amongst the relentless and often hyperbolic calls to pinpoint the genesis of the stale feeling of the half-century-old ‘extreme’ genre, I propose something different here and something I’m sure I’m going to be outnumbered by the number of people who will disagree with me.

Metal defies the genre that defined it. It is much more than simply a couple of blokes standing around playing live music featuring themes of Satan worship, womanising or drug use. It is an expression of the dirtiest of subcultures, those who are truly lost amongst the groupings that befall a modern society. It is no secret that ‘the metal community’ has attracted people together purely based on a vague agreement in music they like, but at the expensive of all other interests, values or opinions.

Today, we see a community that will oust the fringe whose ideas began it for being too extreme, controversial or offensive. For now, I feel it has betrayed what it initially was with this regressive open-armed approach to inclusivity.

With the perpetually shifting of the Overton window, some topics that were once controversial can now be discussed on mid-morning television programs where others are now outright banned from even the thought of contemplation, let alone discussion.

If you define the genre of metal as merely that combination of instruments earlier proposed then you needn’t worry – as this will continue eternally. The stagnant flesh that hangs off those tired bones will continue for as long as modern-day ‘rebellion’ can be depicted as doing what your parents didn’t. The rise of newer bands on the outskirts of metal – such as Greta Van Fleet -will attract grandparents and their grandchildren, missing out on the parents who chose genres other than those that contained Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath.

Instead, the beckoning call that I have always felt for was for those earlier years, and those are the records I always default return to, where audiences were genuinely scared at the sights and sounds they were experiencing, the freshest output being in the early 90s with Norwegian Black Metal.

Before Ozzy Osbourne became a meme thanks to $auron Osbourne & MTV, fans of his and of his boys from Birmingham were legitimately terrified of John where the potential for something truly threatening was always present.

Later, symbols of anarchy such as Johnny Rotten left the youth of Britain terrified that he may actually be hiding under the bed. Fights and violence were never far from a good ‘music’ show. The mystique and intrigue that surrounded even earlier bands such as Zeppelin would be destroyed through the modern way to enjoy music and it’s creators.

An entire mythos was created around Jimmy Page, the Occult and his fascination with Crowley. Today, music journalists would be requesting his latest opinion on Brexit, Trump, or any other mindless distraction that keeps ancient and decrepit publications in circulation.


Metal now focuses on inclusivity – that everyone should feel safe in a home that has been created for the homeless. When you’ve nowhere to go, metal fans will happily take you in. It ignores that you might not actually like anything that’s of any stern use. Blink 182 & Green Day? In this paper-thin world, those bands have has much use for tender as fans of Burzum or Witchfinder General.

The value has been betrayed. You are more likely to find the values within other genres that have yet to face this parasitic infestation. True country and electronic music are making big gains where metal has long abandoned the interest of its brothers. This must be stopped.

The message of true strength, true suffering and the strength to be found within the suffering have been replaced by plastic and disposable emotions for a plastic and disposable world. Where safety is the culture’s only capability, any danger must be stamped out as quick as a spark is produced.

The myth of the binary black or white and good or bad mindset leaves little room for any real acts of rebellion where attempts to do so will face threats of the law, doxing and hurt to one’s family as the outcome. Coming back from a show with a mouth full of blood or the missing of a few teeth is as ancient as listening to the music in a mono output. Instead, the floor is flooded with ‘men’ weighing six stone ringing wet and Disney neck tattoos.

I’ve always believed music to be a solo enjoyment and although I enjoy a live show (performer and pedestrian), nothing can get me closer to the experience of the message that being on my own in a dark room with headphones on. It is there where I now retreat to be truly terrified. To clear myself of the distraction, of the bright lights and weak drunken fools who only know a state of being an extreme extrovert to keep the distance as far as possible from their true thoughts, dreams and fears.

Join me. Grab a Robert Johnson discography CD, smoke a cigarette with Sinatra, put a spell on Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, dance to the radio with Ian Watkins, take a soulside journey with Darkthrone. Take what you find into the real world.

There is still time to be you.

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92 thoughts on “Metal Music Is Dead”

  1. Yea, the metal scene looks weak now. I saw a recent pic of a concert. Looked like they all got rides from their moms to the event. Sad.

    1. Heyy ….I live less than a mile (1-2 kilometers) from the picture above, taken of the metalhead guru in that small street!
      Here you have it (Google Street view unfortunately doesn`t catch it precicely):
      Kjellersmauet på Nordnes
      This small street (it`s just for walking, or emergency cars) is called: Kjellersmauet (in Bergen)

    2. Heyy ….I live less than a mile (1-2 kilometers) from the picture above, taken of the metalhead guru in that small street!
      Here you have it (Google Street view unfortunately doesn`t catch it precicely):
      Kjellersmauet på Nordnes
      This small street (it`s just for walking, or emergency cars) is called: Kjellersmauet (in Bergen)

  2. On a side note, is anyone having trouble with openmailbox? I’ve been getting a 502 for a few days now.

  3. Mass immigration from non-western countries killed the music and movie scene in general in America. The new migrants couldn’t relate to the culture.

    1. The following band thinks you’re an idiot, a fucking faggot, and you don’t know shit about who actually listens to metal:

      1. They’re White. Like Sepultura from Brazil. Mexico is a tribal society. People know who the indios, mestizos, and castizos are — are you trying to troll us? Look at Mexico’s President and Cabinet, or any of their TV stations. Ain’t too many indios or mestizos in visible positions. [Spain cucked an entire continent LOL
        Metal is explicitly White.
        Yeah I know, there was always that one black or Asian dud with the Iron Maiden shirt on. But seriously if you’ve been to any concerts, from the 80s to now, it’s majority White, speaking English is not necessary. The angry violence energy seems to appeal most to young White men from every tribe.
        It’s music for fighters, not fuckers. Low IQ people like simple beats and simple music like Top 40 and rap.
        I smell a bagel somewhere here, not a taco.

  4. Speaking as a life-long metalhead I can tell you now that you are way off base. First off, metal, like all genres of music, requires numbers of fans. Artists that struggle (and all metal artists struggle except for Metallica) cannot afford to pick and choose their fans. It’s the same for all music genres. Lauryn Hill said her music was for black people. White people stopped listening and she was forgotten.
    Metal fans are not at all like the musicians either. Metal requires expert skills to play consistently. The musicians are dedicated and skilled. The fans, however, are giant nerds. Many are fat neck-beards too afraid to touch a woman.
    Metal now is as alive as ever if people get out there and attend shows. I’ve been to four this year and will go to more.

    1. Maybe you haven’t heard of 5 Fingers Death Punch or Rammstein
      They deffinitelly DON’T strugle

    2. You’re on point with the metal musicians/metal fans observation. Metal does have the worst fans unfortunately, that’s the just the nature of the music and the kind of people it attracts. Whenever I go to shows I feel like I can’t relate to anyone there because I look like a normal person and care about my goals/future/appearance, but I love the music, so I try to support the bands I enjoy.
      I agree that metal is not dead, it’s actually more “mainstream” than ever, which is good because bands can continue to grow and make music, but for some it might lose some of its appeal as it’s more accepted and not as “edgy” (that’s what black metal is for).
      I will say that metal has definitely become liberal/SJW infected over the last few years. Metal used to be a place where you could be subversive and offensive. Whether it’s because the fans and musicians are just as brainwashed as everyone else or if the musicians tout leftist talking points to maintain a fanbase, I don’t know. But several instances made this abundantly clear to me:
      The Decapitated false rape accusation case: give it a google. Metal band accused of rape on the tour bus, cleared of all wrong doing. The (arguably) biggest metal news site in the biz (who I will not name) took the most liberal-slanted biased route and took them to the cleaners as the case was unfolding and never recanted or apologized after the band was cleared. They were imprisoned in a foreign country for I think 3 months, mind you. Really messed up. A lot of fans commenting noticed the bias and called out the site for it, but the damage was done and it was pretty sickening it to see. I don’t know if the band will ever recover from it. Look it up.
      More recently: a band was removed from a big festival because of “misogynistic” comments the frontman made 2 YEARS earlier.
      http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/i-killed-the-prom-queens-michael-crafter-addresses-derogatory-comments-after-unify-gathering-backlash/
      I keep saying there needs to be a really sweet band on the scene with quality music and right-wingish lyrics calling out all the bullshit and hypocrisy. Now THAT would be edgy and punk rock.

  5. Actually, pretty much all popular music forms are dead in the water at present.* It’s a lot like the late 70s, just before the New Wave breakout, courtesy of, amongst others, KROQ in Pasadena before they became Corporate. Suddenly you had something that was fresh and new, fun, and it totally bowled everybody over.**
    And the Corporate part is the real problem. The music industry – like cinema – is playing it safe for the time being. And that’s something they do from time to time. it’s cyclical. So just be patient. Whilst Metal may be going the way of 60s Acid or 70s Glam Rock, there’s something out there swirling about just under the surface, ready to reveal itself.***
    It will be interesting finally to find out what it is.
    Just a thought.
    VicB3
    *I like Jazz and Classical, but they’re are caught in amber. I mean, Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue sounds great, but it’s, what, almost 60 years old? And as for CW, no comment inasmuch as I don’t listen to it, but I imagine that it’s on the formulaic side of things as well.
    **Now you have OTA dominated by a small handful of mega corporations. And their playlists are safe and plain vanilla for whatever genre you can think of. Ditto the public stations overall – even KCRW and its Morning Becomes Eclectic – beholden as they are to whatever SJW cause that happens to be fashionable.
    ***The breakout will probably be on streaming audio someplace, somebody – a rulebreaker in his basement or garage home studio – with some inexpensive equipment and an offbeat musical taste.

  6. We should keep it pure as they did back in the day. With the 80’s hair metal bs is why we ended up having thrash, which inspired the many other sub genres that we have now. This includes black and death metal. It has gone far away from it original roots.

    1. I agree that 80’s glam bands were mostly crap but the heavy metal back then was kick ass music. Today all genres of music suck.

  7. Cigarrettes are for total losers and men putting makeup on… what can i say.
    It’s stupid. Metal sux.
    Rocknroll is real music

  8. I don’t even know why Green Day and Blink-182 are mentioned in an article about metal. They’re pop-punk, and even Green Day was good before American Idiot became a corporate-backed “anti-Bush” tool.
    But you are kinda right. My best friend bought me Paranoid for my 11th birthday… changed everything for my musical tastes. Turned me onto the real metal of old.
    Now the most popular “metal” bands among young fans are Rammstein, Five Finger Death Punch and other Warped Tour bullshit.

  9. Metal music is full of leftist sjw cucks. Couldn’t even release an album today that didn’t toe the globalhomo line.

    1. That’s bullshit actually. The underground does have some rather dark albums, don’t look to the mainstream. You’d be surprised at what you would find, especially from the brutal death, goregrind and pornogrind scene. All the politically incorrect shit is there.

  10. This is a garbage article. The whole western population is becoming victims of liberal modernism. You see them in any music scene. Metal is still full of life. Especially prog metal, where the heights of traditional musicianship, originality, and extreme technicality reside. Bands such as between the buried, animals as leaders, polyphia, august burns red, volumes, messhuggah, tesseract, and many more. Truly the thinking mans metal as it is often called. Further more, Greta van vleet and Led Zeppelin are not metal in any way shape or form. This authors an idiot. Johnny rotten is punk.

  11. I’ve grown up with just about every genre being presented to me. I’ve listened to, and enjoyed, everything from Classic Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, Black Metal, Groove Metal, Death Metal, Progressive Metal, etc. The fact that metal is appealing to a broader audience than ever, the fact that many metal fans are promoting acceptance of people who struggle and suffer in different ways, the fact that metal doesn’t all sound like your “favorites” doesn’t mean “Metal is dead.” Your post comes off as the very elitism that metal stood against from the start, the kind of pretentious snobbery that the long hair, the spikes, the dark themes, the unsettling imagery, were all created to disdain. This sounds a lot like Gene Simmons, upset that the genre isn’t being done *your* way. “Its popular in metal culture today to promote acceptance, to be open to others that struggle, therefore metal is dead.” Honestly, this entire article boils down to, “this is how I prefer it. It’s not all this way, so metal is dead, or dying.”
    Come on.
    You’re allowed to enjoy the stuff that scares most people. You’re allowed to sit in your room, headphones on, jamming to whatever you’d like.
    What you’re not allowed to do is tell me, or anyone else, how they’re “supposed to” enjoy the music, or whether their favorite genre is “dead.”
    No one is going to apologize to you for not liking Bathory, or Cannibal Corpse, or Darkthrone, or Mayhem, or Celtic Frost. No one is going to apologize to you for liking Pantera, Slayer, Arch Enemy, Kalmah, Slipknot, Metallica, Deicide, or whatever the hell else suits their fancy. If it drew them to the genre, or they connected with it in some personal way, or it spoke to the struggles they’ve had, the suffering they’ve experienced, have we just decided that that’s only okay when its *our* preferred brand?
    No.
    Metal isn’t dead. The decaying flesh isn’t hanging from the bones of the genre, but rather the bones of an antiquated, narrow illusion of what that genre should be.
    In all seriousness, enjoy your own music. Be a metalhead. Don’t be an elitist. And if it honestly bothers you that these people listen to this music, and you don’t agree with them, or their preference of music, wear a helmet.

    1. Cane here just to say thanks for that comment. I’m a writer, I work with these bands. I’ve helped some of them get exposure because other press would refuse it. This elitist bullshit isn’t metal.

    1. It’s art, showmanship and theater, it’s a vehicle for energy/ideas in the abstract…maybe you’re not the creative type. But even those glam-metal guys have a way of showing how masculinity can burst directly through makeup, gay-ass outfits and hairspray, and those dudes are usually high-T 10/10 hetero and banging hot girls on the regular. It’s bold. I don’t listen to much metal but I appreciate the considerable steez and balls it actually takes to stand out in that genre, aside from raw talent.

  12. I’m not trying to pull the age card here but this reminds me an awful lot of how I felt as a musician and music fan in Seattle before and after Nirvana. Mosh pits went from a bunch of friendly dudes slamming into each other but always willing to pick someone up to musclebound football players and frat boys throwing elbows and thinking the pit was some sort of literal gladiator arena.
    And I’m sure someone older than me could say the same about every genre and their own prime time.
    I guess that is the eternal problem with any kind of counter culture. We want to have our scene to ourselves, but unless we literally hold shows in secret clubhouses outsiders are going to notice, going to be curious enough to check it out, and some find that they like it enough to stay. Sometimes something gets so big it seems like everyone likes it which completely takes the counter out of counterculture. Not to mention that as we get older new people show up, things change, the people we’re used to seeing move on… and so “our scene” is perpetually dying or being ruined by people who aren’t doing things the way we’re used to.
    Is metal dead? Completely subjective opinion I think. I might be one of the boring old farts showing up at metal concerts and killing it for all I know. Did I belong when I started going to shows or was I too late myself? Has my lifestyle changed too much to still qualify as a metalhead?
    For myself I don’t much care, but I very much did in Seattle in 1991. I thought it died then but in retrospect think I was mistaken and too focused on my own experience.

  13. Hi my a big metalhead and said it once and I’ll say it again metal is not DEAD!!!!! I repeat nettle is not dead it’s still alive and bigger than ever metal will never die this I promise you

  14. It’s always entertaining to read these kinds of “articles” written by those whom are clearly out of touch with the actual genre these days, if they ever were to begin with. Typical Eddie Trunk dad-rocker.

  15. Popular music hit the wall in 1990. All that’s left is corporate hip hop and corporate warblers like Bruno Mars and Taylor Swift. Well, there is country of sorts.

    1. modern country is fucking gay. it’s just pop with more twang and hot girl/ex/beer references.

  16. I tried listening to some Iron Maiden songs recently that I was really into in my teens but the lyrics were so nonsensical and naive to my adult mind that I did not know what to do with it. A lot of metal music concerns itself with demons, fairies and strange gothic babble that does not make sense. Luckily there are also songs that have some connection to reality and I can still enjoy listening to them.
    Punk rock, also mentioned in the article, is a bit different because it does not pretend to be glamorous or have you scratching your head as to what they were trying to convey; it’s all about normal or even stupid guys enjoying life and struggling their way through hardships with a bit of blue collar politics thrown in.
    As for the music that came before that well before I was born? I dabbled in that too in my teens but not anymore. I cannot relate to those times and listening to music from the 60’s or even the 70’s feels like someone opened a rancid old bottle containing a bottled nasty fart from someone long dead or in a nursing home. I also cannot enjoy watching movies unless they are from the early 70’s at the latest.

  17. Do you see the parallel between Rock and Rap? They became effeminate. Rock with Hair Metal, Rap with Clown Rap.
    It’s the progression of the entertainment industry.
    Look at rap now, lots of young kids dropping dead same as when grunge was big.
    Just wait metal is coming back.

  18. Lost count of how many times I rolled my eyes while reading this pretentious load of twattery.

  19. I think people are whining too fucking much.i’m constantly see some jackassed article,blog whatever declaring that metal is dead,rock is dead,blah blah,etc. People that actually listen to and play this type of music don’t really give a shit.it’s survived several periods where it was supposedly “dead”(newsflash:being out of fashion as a popular music choice doesn’t make it cease to exist).personally,i and alot of others are pretty okay with it being exclusive and back to it being unpopular.as for “electronic music”,that shit is garbage.it’s not a sustainable genre that has the ability to go anywhere,which is why it has always sounded the same.same with rap,hip hop,wtf ever.those things may sell but they never grow or change.music taste is cyclic. this stuff always happens the exact same way every few years.

    1. It’s not that it’s out of fashion. Most people are complaining because it has become more popular than it ever was. There are more fans of metal than there ever was. Metal has not sounded the same it has changed through the years because of new generations experimenting with diffrent sounds. That’s why most people are complaining, it doesn’t sound the same, the scene has changed, it’s gotten too maimstream…all that jazz. That’s what they mean when they say metal has died. The guy is pretty much complaining that metal isn’t the same anymore. I think people have diffrent meanings when they say metal is dead. To me metal isn’t dead it’s just changed, some peole like it some peole won’t.

  20. This is a dumb fucking article.
    If you want to hear some angry, technical, red blooded shit, go spin some Meshuggah or some Mastodon. Two bands that are still killing it in 2018. Will want to make you run through a fucking concrete wall. This idiot doesn’t know metal.

    1. messugah and other new metal shit are for blue-pulled faggots.
      Unbelievable cacophony to listen during the breaks beetween masturbating to anime porn.

  21. Did he really just say modern country deserves a listen and any recent metal doesn’t? Absolute foolishness

  22. This had to be written as clickbait, which worked because I clicked on it and read it. Metal is still alive and this author is so out of touch with it, its not even worth explaining why he is so wrong…

    1. Metal will always be around, metal is the go to music for anything bad ass, be it UFC highlights, action movies, horror movies, etc…

  23. You could not be any more wrong. On bandcamp, you’ll find so many metal and metalcore bands still coming out with amazing works of art. Bands like Orga, Swamp Temple, Void Terror, Order of Leviathan, Hollow Prophet, Shadow of Intent, Infant Annihilator, Tenebra Arcana, Pestlegion, Ahzidal, and Svartsyn are bringing people new and exciting music to listen to.

  24. I think the writer might be thinking about punk. There is a bit of cross over at the beginning, but they both grew up into different things, and you can’t go back. It’s the punk part you’re describing as what you miss. And yes, it’s suffering these days.
    Metal, though, metal is fine. It’s popularity will was and wane as leaders in the genre come and go, but it’ll never die. That’s what makes it different than punk, it doesn’t require the rebellious attitude that punk does. Metal just needs to be good. Technical and topical help, as does a certain dark poetic vibe, but the undefined “good metal” will always be in demand.

  25. I’m a teenager who goes to many metal shows in my area and I can say with 100% certainty that metal is alive and well, especially in the underground scene. Just go watch a video from a Power Trip show and tell me metal is dead. Sure, maybe from the perspective of someone with no knowledge of what’s happening in the underground scene and only seeing bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Five Finger Death Punch in the mainstream I can understand why they would make that assumption but just do a little searching and you will find bands like Havok, Skeletal Remains and other young bands keeping the true metal faith and the rebelious nature of the music alive. Not to mention that myself and many other young metalheads still go out to see the classic bands play.

  26. Really? Metal is dead? Goddamn this is one of the dumbest articles I’ve ever read in my life. Ok, to the moron who wrote this, Metal is NOT dead, there are still Metal bands out there making music, do your fucking homework instead of being a whiny 50 something year old elitist who still lives with his mom.

  27. The worst metal music is the very popular metal. The best is the ones that are hard to find, you rarely or never hear it, it will NEVER come on the radio unless the band was popular in just your little city or state and such. Not all popular bands suck, but when you compare them to loads I’ve found over the years, then you’d rarely give a crap to ever hear them.
    Popular bands usually sing about the same things, like love, hate, murder, alcohol, partying, being alone and such.
    But the best bands, in my opinion, are always focusing on a certain thing where all songs sound completely different but great, and the lyrics all relate to something basic but still have different stories, such as this one band always related their lyrics to space and the universe, another band always sings about history of real wars, another always sings about demons, vampires and werewolves, and so on. Popular band just sing about a bunch of common random stuff.
    I personally think the best bands are just getting started at least since 2005, they are getting better and better but aren’t popular, and the band that were popular in the past are getting so much worse. So most people think metal is getting worse, but it’s really just the popular stuff letting sounds of country and pop into their music making it weak and boring and heartless. When metal is used for being famous, to make money, have fun, and the band members don’t have a passion for enjoying to play and write their hearts out into the lyrics, then all of it is dull crap.
    There’s metal that you immediately know it’s crap, there’s some that takes some getting used to, there’s some that sounds good and decent, there are some the sound great at first but become nothing to you later, and there’s rarely those truly outstanding songs that blow your mind and take over your soul that never get old. That’s the music I look for, and it’s taken years, but I’ve found a lot. It’s never on the radio, TV and barely anyone anywhere I see listens to it or had heard of them.
    So did deep and find them, people!

  28. #1: Metal has nothing to do with immigration, as a commentor ignorantly suggested.
    #2: In almost any genre you have to look to the true underground to find art of substance. Unless you are lucky enough to know a musichead who knows their shit, the surface-level stuff is all most people can find because it’s all they’re exposed to and that’s not their fault. Disturbed sounds bad ass compared to contemporary pop if your source is fed by pop culture.
    #3: Metal isn’t very popular now, but it also isn’t dead. The genre has evolved to the point where some more avant garde experimentation is required to avoid retread, but I dig the various doom branch-offs, post-metal, crust, ambient/drone type stuff from the past 10 years or so. “Straightforward metal” has done pretty much zero for me in the past 20 years, because the music labels took nu-metal and made it into commercialized pop-metal to plug-n-chug into movies, TV, radio, etc. I’ve always had to search out worthwhile music through online reviews and word-of-mouth; Not easy but it’s worth it.
    To me it’s as different as getting a cookie from Wal-Mart or the fancy local bakery — You can go easy or try a for better…

  29. Rock and metal have been declared dead multiple times over the past few decades. You won’t be the last to make that claim.

  30. Huge metal fan here. Metal isn’t dead at all. In fact, the scene is stronger now than it ever has been. There are loads of extreme bands that continue to push their genres way ahead of common expectations. Bands like Sulphur Aeon, Dodecahedron, Alkaloid etc.

  31. Fuck this article.
    1. Fix your typos.
    2. All the talk of the negatives of “inclusivity” just sounds like another way of saying that the author would really like white, racist metal to be acceptable again. It’s not. The punks had the right idea with Nazi Punks Fuck Off and it’s finally bitten into metal. That might not be the intent of the writer – but it’s sure as shit the intent of a lot of commenters.
    3. Get out to a fucking show. Not an arena concert. A dirty fucking basement or dive bar, where the floors are slippery with spilled beer and the bands are loud and close. Doom, thrash, noise, black, and grind are all alive and well, and making some of the best material yet produced. You want a good, rough show? See some grind or powerviolence. There are more acts now than ever. The artists don’t give a fuck about your opinion either.

  32. There are some angry and anti social kids in a garage or basement somewhere relentlessly grinding out power chords and drum solos in an effort to throw off the shackles of pop.

  33. Metal has not evolved much in the last 10 or so years. The people on here claiming otherwise are obviously new jacks that never lived through its peak periods.
    If metal is more popular than ever, why are guitar sales through the floor? Yes there are more festivals, but that’s only because so many bands can’t pull decent crowds on their own anymore.
    As for the genre, it is stuck in a rut. The bands mentioned above like Meshuggah and Mastodon are middle age. There are no comparable bands like them among the 20 something musos, and that’s where the problem lies. And even if they are doing something new, selling them to today’s braindead retro obsessed metal fans would be incredibly difficult.
    I’d love to believe that metal is doing better than ever, but it just isn’t true unless you are seriously lowering your critical standards.

  34. Some 16-18 year old kids from New Zealand sing songs in their native tongue and maori is one hell of metal language , Metal isn’t dead you’ve still got bands like Amon Amarth

  35. i only listen to the metal instrumentals. they can keep their annyoing shouting to themselves. let the e-guitar speak for ya! keep your annoying opionions inside.

  36. I saw this unknown band at a small bar in 1983 called Metallica. They were fairly new to the east coast had just got a new guitar player, Kirk Hammett. At the time that was the fastest heaviest band I had ever seen. I remember the place being 1/2 empty and them promoting their first album just coming out. They played pretty much the whole thing start to finish. Really didn’t get into the music that much as it was a bit heavy for my taste back then, but I recall them being a super tight band. Cliff Burton reminded me of Angus Young the way he was shaking his head. I saw the album in a record store a few weeks later & bought it. Still a bit heavy I thought, but there was something about them that I had a feeling they were going to be really popular. Ride the Lightning I liked a little bit better, & when I saw them around that time, they packed a much bigger venue. Master of Puppets to this day is one of my favorite albums of all time. It sold over a million copies, with no radio or MTV airplay, which had never been done by any band.
    Saw them on that tour opening for Ozzy and they blew him away. I never experienced an audience go so completely off the hook over an opening band. Although Ozzy’s band kicked ass, he was still getting fucked up at the time (1986). Cliff unfortunately would be killed later that year & to me after that, they were never the same. I never got into And Justice For All, I thought it had horrible production, then the commercially successful more polished (thanks to Bob Rock) black album came out & I pretty much lost interest in them after that. I saw them a handful of times, but never went out of my way to do so. I wanted to hear all their songs off the first 3 albums only.
    Fast forward 25 years later (& a move to the west coast) my friend got to be really friendly with Kirk & art directed his collection, which led to him doing things for the band. All those displays in the traveling museum on this last tour, my friend coordinated all of that and even made a lot of the props. I’ve seen them at least a dozen times over the last few years, including 7 consecutive shows in Europe back in Feb/March, and I have to say, they always deliver. The latest album Hardwired I think is the best one they did since Master of Puppets. They are at a point where they can do what they want musically, and not have to appeal to anyone but themselves, and more importantly their die-hard fans. In person, they are really down to earth guys, although Lars tends to have a bit of the rock star edge, that’s just how he is, but the other 3 are really cool to talk to. They have a loyal fan base, they sell out every place they play, in every country all over the world. Whether it was Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Australia, those audiences made it feel like 1986 all over again. They were going absolutely insane, from teenagers to guys in their 50s like myself. Anyone who thinks metal is dead should go check out a Metallica show, preferably in Europe, & perhaps they might feel differently…

  37. I have been listening to hard rock and heavy metal since I was a teenager. Metal is not dead as long as someone keeps composing and playing it. Most of my favorite bands from the 70s and 80s are still around. True, the musicians got older, but the spirit of metal is still in them. Some of the bands had to reinvent themselves, so what? They are still 100% better than the weak pop stars on the radio. I listen to a lot of German and Finnish metal and it’s as good if not better than before. If you look at pictures from concerts in South America or Japan, these bands are able to sell out a stadium. If you don’t think that’s success, I don’t know what is. Something funny…I saw a Youtube video of Def Leppard playing live with Taylor Swift. Her voice was so high pitched, it hurt my ears. The drummer was trying not to laugh. She, a mega star, couldn’t match these old guys who came from a factory in Sheffield. Give me hard rock and heavy metal any day.

  38. A lot of it is headache inducing anyhow. I tried listening to Meshuggah. It would violate international law to play that around prisoners of war.

  39. Americans fought Commies and Nazis, but now have become Commies and Nazis.
    Americans live in a police state, but insist that the USA is the most free country in the world.
    Anyone who warns of the dangers of tyranny are called racists and nutjobs and are banned, censored, given IRS audits, arrested, or killed.
    The US deserves everything coming to it.

  40. What we call the Music Industry — including and especially Heavy Metal — has been pure social engineering at least since the times of Elvis, and likely well before that. No band makes it BIG without a “stamp of approval” from those with the hidden hands. Heavy Metal, for the most part, has been about the induction of young minds into Satanism — which is sooooo bloody obvious if you examine all the symbology and lyrics. Of course, destructive drug use is a common meme as is “androgyny” (homage to Baphomet) with all the long hair, make-up and faggy clothing. But these are all common memes in virtually all commercially successful bands, regardless of genre — Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bowie, Ozzy, Morrison, Prince, Iggy Pop, Duran Duran, Aerosmith….

  41. Music in every genre sucks right now. Metal, Rap, Country, Alternative, Electronic whatever it is all really bad.
    At one time you had popular musicians and those of other levels too that had music in school, played in the band, sung in Church etc. What I’m saying is that those people had some sort of training and background education in it.
    Also at one time you had people reading books and making images and stories up in their minds. Now it’s all done for them. Movies, video, tv, internet, phones and all.
    People don’t know how to use their minds to dig down deep and create anymore. It’s far to easy to copy it by cut and paste and clone.

  42. That Robert Johnson CD you listen to through headphones has been left to rot by the very people it was written for (the blacks) because it’s no longer dangerous, current or relevant. “Stones in my passway” is no longer anything other than nostalgia, It’s now “F**k that N**ger up B**ch” and all that. In truth, the only person who’s gonna be listening to RJ is a white man.
    Basically every new genre will go though the same ordeal of relevance and obsolescence .
    I remember buying Nirvana’s Bleach CD at some indie craphole record shop when it came out, the music was loud obnoxious, everything hair metal like Bon Jovi wasn’t. Looking back, it wasn’t even original, it was punk vs bombast all over again. It didn’t matter, it was new to my generation. It hit the mainstream, all of a sudden it was everyone’s music, I lost interest, so sadly did Kurt Cobain.
    Metal was only truly new to those who are old enough to remember the NWOBHM (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motorhead) and the subsequent Bay Area Thrash (Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth), Later Scandanavian (Celtic Frost, Candlemas) Metal that followed. Now it’s just another boring genre of music like EVERYTHING ELSE. I can’t think of a single genre of music today that is truly “dangerous”, “relevant”. I think the nearest bad-ass music for these times should be Classical.. Wagner, Beethoven, Bach. Milk Plus?

  43. This article is trash and the author admits he’s too pussy to go to shows. If you honestly believe listening to a studio recording is always better than going to a live show you’re a fucking moron. It’s about experiencing the band in front of your face and feeling the energy of the crowd. You also can meet some cool people you would otherwise never encounter. Maybe the author is dead inside and he’s simply butthurt and projecting onto others?

  44. Metal died when Metallica sued Napster and 330,000 of their own fans for downloading their songs without paying shekels to Metallica and their corporate masters. If the interview of Lars with a cocktail in his hand and his mansion in the background tell you what Heavy Metal was really about, then you are blind to propaganda. The image of Metal being rebellious and edgy and out of mainstream glam rock died at that moment.

  45. Metal music is far from dead, although bands that are purposefully politically incorrect and unapologetic, are not as rampant as they once were. The underground scene still holds imo the best music in the genre, providing proper extreme music along with the attitude to match. These bands proudly carry the torch for what I and many others consider to be real metal music. Unfortunately the term “Metal” can also be used to describe whatever bro-core band sporting gauged ears, gym shorts, and excessive B.O., angsty High School kids are into now days.
    Although plenty of hipsters have invaded the genre, the underground bands continue to carry the torch for what I, as well as many others consider to be real metal music. Do yourself a favor and look into bands like Deströyer 666, real metal and unapologetically masculine.

  46. Metal music really spoke to me in high school around1999-2003. It was like it tapped into MY mood and vented out through the speakers. I was full of T & anger. Smokin pot, playin twisted metal 4 on ps2 listnin to megadeth/pantera. That stuff sound like violent noise if i hear it nowadays.

  47. Indeed, somehow the scene allowed corporate interests to creep in and replace the true essence with by-the-numbers dreck for a quick buck. Ya see, 28 years ago virtually NOBODY would get near a Black Metal demo tape or 7″ EP (the formats of yore) but now EVERYBODY thinks they’re in LOTR or something. Yet Metal ain’t dead!

  48. Bloodbath and Goatwhore are two of my
    Favorites, although I’ve alwways been more into punk, which also has been SJWd in the par few years with all the obvious anti Trump rhetoric. Henry Rollins for example. Always like the guy. Still do, but he went full SKW in terms of his political beliefs. It’s funny. He’s an anti masculinity guy despite always being a pretty big and tough dude who lifts all the time. I think his abusive father fucked him up.

  49. Bloodbath & Goatwhore are two of my favorites, although I’ve always been more into Punk which also has been SJW’d in the past few years with all the obvious anti-Trump rhetoric.
    Henry Rollins for example. Always like the guy, still do, but he went full SJW in terms of his political beliefs. It’s funny, he’s an anti-masculinity guy despite being a pretty big, tough/intimidating dude who lifts regularly. I think his abusive father fucked him up

  50. HA! By coinkeedink,
    today i just realized
    Judas Priest has a
    new studio album
    called “Firepower”
    My favorite song
    is “No Surrender”
    -They managed
    to complete it
    despite Glenn
    Tipton having
    Parkinson’s 😮

  51. “True country and electronic music are making big gains” ??
    They are?
    There isn’t much TRUE country left, same with electronic music. All watered down corporate garbage.

  52. the problem isn’t that metal is dead it’s that it’s undead. it refuses to evolve or mature or fuck off. it’s stagnant.

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