Yeah, I know this might be kind of a negative topic, or at least in part, but I was revisiting Nevermore's album This Godless Endeavor, which was, and still is, an absolutely monstruous prog thrash/power metal album. I don't listen to it often, but whenever I do I'm reminded about just how mind-blown I was the first time I listened to the track "Born". From the closer to the last second of the album, it's relentless and absolutely massive.

Jeff Loomis, guitarist and prime song-writer involved in Nevermore until they disbanded in 2011 has now joined forces with one of the most mundane, pedestrian metal bands out there, Arch Enemy. And yes, the band used to be interesting, but their glory days are long gone. Still, it feels like such an immense waste of talent and skills to have a guitarist like Loomis, involved in one of the most stale and unimaginative metal bands there is.

What other musicians do you think are wasting their talent for whatever reason?

Any of the REALLY talented ones who no longer record ANYTHING. I understand wanting to retire as you get older, but it seems like a waste of amazing talent.

Yeah, Ron Jarzombek pops to mind. The man is tech/prog genius. He wrote some of the most compelling material of the genre with Blotted Science, and I loved his work with Spastic Ink and Watchtower. He's not exactly inactive, but he's not released much since The Machinations of Dementia, and he seems content with just releasing random singles here and there, and an EP with Watchtower which was quite decent, but that's was already 7 years ago...

first one to spring to mind when i saw the thread title is kai hahto in nightwish (and wintersun, lol) - fantastic drummer completely wasted in what used to be a good band a looong time before he joined

I was actually thinking of Jari, the guys a great guitarist and vocalist, but decided he'd rather put his energies into scamming Wintersun fans out of money instead of making new music

Talking about con artists who are actually talented musicians and who wasted their talent, Blake Judd of Nachtmystium is a noticeable one. I actually enjoyed the music he made, but the guy is a compulsive liar and a scammer, and he ruined his own career and band.

Duff nailed my go-to answer in the OP. Loomis joining Arch Enemy only to wind up as Amott's human harmonizer pedal is like signing Shohei Ohtani to your kid's little league team. But I'll add that Alissa White-Gluz is another massive waste of talent in the same band. I think The Agonist is kinda terrible but she showcases some insane range and variation in her vocals there. She filled in for fuckin Nightwish, she has some absolute pipes and unreal versatility in the deranged throat sounds she can produce. Her joining Arch Enemy and restricting herself to just doing a one-note Angela impression for 98% of the time (their last album had a few seconds of clean vocals during an intro if my memory is correct but that's pretty much it) is just as insulting as Loomis's presence. Hell Amott himself is a boring songwriter who used up his last interesting riffs decades ago but is still an incredible soloist that never shines anymore. Arch Enemy is without question the metal band with the most wasted talent involved and it's not even close. It's like if the Rose-Noah-Butler-Boozer Bulls squad never even made the playoffs. Totally preposterous.

It's not only Ron but also Doug and Rick, both great players in their instrument but other than Watchtower, they have been in a hip-hop/jazz project, and that's all.

They are lazy compared to Alan or Jason, who gets involved more consistently in bands other than Watchtower.

They even don't care about the Mathematics album anymore.

Remembered my other two obvious ones: Jorn Lande and Adrienne Cowan. Both of them are both absolutely stunning vocalists who seem to exclusively perform with otherwise mediocre and forgettable bands. Cowan fares a little better since Seven Spires has moments of greatness here and there but overall she seems to have picked up his torch in the category of "phenomenal singers who can't seem to join a good band if their lives depended on it". They both singlehandedly save every project they're involved in from the bargain bin but it's less "They make these albums good" and more "Please god join a band that doesn't bore my brain out of my skull already"

Oli Herbert. It was like if you took Paul Gilbert and put him into a mainstream mostly-play-it-safe metalcore band... and then whatever All That Remains had become in the past ten years. Granted, I love The Fall of Ideals, but that album was a total fuckin' fluke.

All true. I mentionned Loomis because I was listening to Nevermore earlier, but Alissa and Amott are both solid musicians indeed. Since we're not inside their heads, it's hard to tell if they are genuinely interrested in making music like this, or if they just understand that this is popular, commercially succesful, and that this is as close as you can get to being rich and famous while being in a metal band. So maybe in a way they might be doing a kind of compromise, where they get to play stuff that's kind of what they like to write and perform, but not as much as other stuff, but they know this is the simplest way they are going to make a living out of this. Anyway, it's all speculations at this point. But this kind of stuff makes you wonder...



Well, to be fair, he actually put his skills to good use in All that Remains on both This Darkened Heart and The Fall of Ideals. Both are quite solid records that stand above most of the melodic metalcore/melodeath scene of the time. So I wouldn't exactly say that his talent was wasted, but they sure too a massive drop in quality after The Fall of Ideals, and then his wife murdered him, so he never had the chance to do anything of similar quality as TFoI and TDH.

I know Jeff Hughell and Marco Pitruzzella are both doing stuff on the side, but them wasting their time with Six Feet Under is a travesty

Trujillo in Metallica, brilliant bassist he's done three albums in 20 years, and all of them he doesn't really get to show off his chops and just follows the riff. Compare that to the first 15 years of his career when he did about 15 albums and a lot where his bass featured much more prominently.

Still, he's made way more money than if he stuck around with ST or Ozzy so I guess he has zero complaints

Actually throw Kirk in too, his solo EP showed he has a lot more to offer than his tired Metallica leads, and probably James aswell who seems like he could do a great country outlaw style album, or some acoustic stuff, but it wouldn't go down too well with the 'tallicah familah

Who's writing the lyrics in Arch Enemy? It seems like you could give pen and paper to a dog and have more thoughtful lyrics produced. The Nevermore stuff I've heard has horrible rhythm guitars, though. If anything Dane was the star of that band.

Isn't it that playing with geriatric era Lars gives no bassist any room to do anything remotely interesting?

Was just about to mention SFU. Would be so much better without Barnes.

Mentioning Jim Darkin passing away so young and the immense, amazing, monstrous Darkness Descends, I was wondering often where the hell one of my absolute favourite vocalists has disappeared since that timeless masterpiece, namely Don Dotty? What a voice, what a talent, what a charisma, what a fucking monument his performance was, only to be replaced by the super dull, super uninteresting Ron Reinhurt, releasing the godawful Time Dose Not Heal, and with Dotty's departure, my interest in the band has ceased to exist. Don Dotty could have made so many great albums with Dark Angel or without them, but alas, he has slipped into obscurity, talking about a wasted talent...

I know I'll get roasted for this because the band has two or three fans but…

Eric A.K. in Flotsam & Jetsam. One of the greatest vocalists in metal, who could probably hold his own in a whole bunch of genres, in a middling thrash band the songs of which you couldn't even remember at gunpoint. I would've loved to hear him e.g. in a bluesy traditional hardrock / metal side project (like Rainbow, Sabbath or Whitesnake) or in something more modern and weird (like Faith No More), something that really showcases the whole range of his skills.

It would be interesting to hear his majestic vocals fronting a bluesy hard rock type thing, or even a power metal or prog band. He could probably pull it off. His voice is worth the price of admission.

As for Flots, their modern resurgence has been a thing of beauty. They definitely slept at the wheel for about 10-15 years but their recent stuff has, IMO, been far superior to the likes of Overkill, Kreator, Megadeth, and other peers' recent output.

He popped up a few years ago. When Dark Angel finally reformed, he announced he would be fronting the band. The band then confirmed he wouldn't be part of it. There were also accusations that Doty might be an addict. Finally, he released some kind of hilarious karaoke of him singing Darkness Descends. It was terrible to the point of being funny.

Jari from Wintersun is clearly a talented musician, but he has no idea how to self-edit because his massive fucking ego won't let him have that ability. He definitely needs bandmates that will help him filter things and cut the fat, but he probably wouldn't let anyone do that. He'd rather con his fanbase so he can have a sauna, I guess.

Urban breed is one of the best singers alive, but hasn't really released anything first rate in almost a decade now. Spent the longest he's been a part of a band with the lame Serious Black and then vanished the past few years. Weird.

Dirge Rep left Enslaved because they weren't extreme enough for his taste. He went on to play in the most generic black metal bands around which is a huge waste. His frenetic style is part of what made Below The Lights such an incredible album.

I'd love to see Eloy Casagrande somewhere else rather than with Sepultura, if I'm honest.

Eric Adams is a gifted vocalist, but sadly his talent has been wasted for a long time in a band that became unintentional self-parody. Many fine trad/USPM projects could be improved if they had a singer of his caliber.

Wow, fun that this should appear now -- I was actually thinking about this recently and how some musicians seem to be wasting themselves in certain projects.
The two that immediately come to mind in metal right now are:
Chris Broderick in In Flames. Allright, admittedly, I haven't heard the latest album nor anything else they've done in years, and I'm sure he adds something to it, but is this really the best he can do? I liked him in in Jag Panzer and was even calling him an underrated player at the time. Was pretty cool when he joined Megadeth even though I don't really have a great interest in them.

And, this one probably isn't controversial anymore, but perhaps at one time it might have been -- Eric Adams.
I always thought it was a shame he didnt' sing in anything besides manowar. Only a few of their albums are really great for me and certainly nothing afer 1992, but damn, taht guy has such a terrific voice, and even still sounds pretty good today (he's obviously taken care of himself). he's not just a heavy metal belter either, but has nuance, dynamics; can put genuine heartfelt emotion into his voice. yet he just sings for the Joey Musical Trainwreck. I don't get it.

We seem to have posted this thought at pretty much exactly the same time.

A very obscure one: Raymond Frigon, the drummer of Legend, a short lived proto-metal band from the late 70s. He could've built a name for himself as a top tier rock drummer (seriously, he's incredible), but after the release of the band's only album on an indie label, he became a born-again Christian and departed from the music scene, not coming back until decades later. Now being in his late sixties, he's recently put out a few solo percussion albums and his musicianship has only improved, but it's been too little too late, and sooner or later he might have to retire. It's even more unfortunate that he would have reformed Legend and played at Keep It True in 2020 if that hadn't been cancelled.

That's a really good one. Although I prefer the UK legend (you know, teh Death in the Nursery one), the Connecticut US legend was also really great, especially with songs like 'Destroyer" and "From the Fjords". He was a terrific drummer, but then, the basswork in the band also stood out to me. Too bad they were so short-lived. Didn't know he was releasing albums of his own. At least becoming a born again christian didn't seem to stop him from practising his instrument.

I feel oppositive; Don Doty is okay, but I prefer Ron over him. Vocally and in stage presence, Ron is better for me. I saw them in 2018, and they did a sick show.

Darkness Descends is good, but I prefer Times Does Not Heal or Leave Scars.

There's a few ways to look at this. The obvious is the joke and self parody that Manowar have been for about 30 years. On the other hand, Manowar sell out stadiums in Europe, and there are very few metal bands that are able to do that.

Jorn Lande is a good one. Can't think of a whole lot of his projects that are any good EXCEPT for that album he did with Trond Holter. That thing slays.

Eric Adams was who I was thought of, too. Total waste that he's banked everything on just 1 band and it happened to be the laughing stock that was Manowar. Could have easily done far more material in 40 years than what Joey wrote for him.

Daniel Svensson, formerly of In Flames, I believe fits this thread. The guy fronted the Swedish Sacrilege, who were awesome. Those two Sacrilege albums are some of the best to come out of the Gothenburg scene in its golden era. So for IF to get this guy as their drummer and totally underutilize him for years is a complete waste. His first album with them was Colony, which was ok, but then they kept getting worse and worse. There was proof that this guy could out-scream Anders Friden by light years and the band didn't even take note. Considering the direction they went, I shouldn't be surprised. He lasted all the way up to Siren Charms and had very little to really show for 15 years in the band.

To an extent, I'd say Marty Friedman. He started off strong with Dragon's Kiss and Cacophony paired with Jason Becker (in Becker's case, a talented individual robbed of greatness by disease). Then he hits big with Megadeth's Rust in Peace, but aside from maybe Youthanasia (which I like), it's been nothing else that stands out with him. He seems to be far more content being a personality than excelling in music. Then again, I haven't heard much of his solo albums but the way he comes off he likes being a big gaijin fish in a small pond (Japan).

It pains me to agree with this cause I love the guy, but Jorn Lande definitely could have done so much better. He had a solid late '90s / early '00s run and then just coasted for years.

Doing the King Diamond discography now, I wonder what happened to Herb Simonsen, Chris Estes and Darrin Anthony. Three albums in a huge band, and then they vanished.

S.L. Coe (Scanner, Angel Dust...).

He fronted a few bands but was always an inconsistent member. The last thing he did was a solo album in 2000, and then he disappeared.

Such a great voice wasted.

Not an album or project but Jorn Lande did well during that Dio tribute set that Heaven and Hell did (along with Glenn Hughes). There were rumours after that he'd work with Heaven and Hell, or at least Iommi and Butler.
That would have been a great pairing IMO.

Dark Angel as a whole feels like a band that was never able to fully develop their potential.
Annhiliator, Megadeth, Cro-Mags and Metal Church have been bands that always gave me the impression that they could be better. Some of their albums are timeless classics for me, but with more stable line-ups, im sure, they could achieve (even) more. Write better material.
Flemming Rönsdorf isnt active anymore, but was one of the best and most unique thrash Vocalists. Its a pitty.
I think a lot of musicians waste their talent in one million projects etc pp instead of focusing on ONE band and making the best out of it (a phenomena of the last 15 years specially). Not sure if it wouldnt be better if Marc Grewe would focus on one Band and one band only? One of the best voices in DM ever - but that accounts even more for
Roger Johansson: just imagine he would bundle his best ideas into one band, and a couple of albums?

Another one that I just remembered... Charles Rytkönen.
Probably (definitely) my favourite vocalist when it comes to cleans... the fact that this guy - and Morgana Lefay as a band - is not a household name is criminal.

Ark and Beyond Twilight are the opposite of boring and forgettable... I guess you do have to have a taste for prog though.

Fredrik Söderberg of Dawn / Cranium fame. The guy wrote some incredible albums in the 90s, but hasn't done anything since the end of that decade. What makes it harder to swallow is he insists that Dawn is "active", and they've been writing / recording an album off and on for like 20 years. Will it ever come out? Maybe, but it's been a very frustrating situation as a fan. Obviously the guy has other things that interest him besides music, so it's not a priority for him, but it's just a shame because he is so talented. The last time he released an album, he was around 26 years old. He's 49 now.

I’d say nearly all of Jorn’s projects have been good to great. He always seems to end up with great musicians and songwriters.

Check out “Burn the Sun” by Ark, “The Devil’s Hall of Fame” by Beyond Twilight, and “The Spectral Spheres Coronation” by Mundanus Imperium.