Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives

Message board

* FAQ    * Register   * Login 



Reply to topic
Author Message Previous topic | Next topic
Bertuccia
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2014 11:10 am
Posts: 65
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 1:31 pm 
 

What's the future of heavy metal?
Nothing is eternal...
50 years ago metal was born.... I'm feeling so old.

Top
 Profile  
In_Zane
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2021 1:33 pm
Posts: 475
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 1:32 pm 
 

Not even close to dying.

Blues is even older, and it's not dead.
_________________
Nu-metal is metal for people that don't like metal.

Top
 Profile  
I Am the Law
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2003 1:46 pm
Posts: 677
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:01 pm 
 

There were over 8800 full-length releases last year across all genres on the Metal Archives, an all-time high. I think it's safe to say metal is not even remotely close to dying.


Last edited by I Am the Law on Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Top
 Profile  
CrudeNoiseMonger
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2020 10:06 am
Posts: 88
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:04 pm 
 

Perhaps there is that perception due to the lack of a real mainstream, mass media presence. IMO it's still quite strong.

Top
 Profile  
CrippledLucifer
Metalhead

Joined: Tue May 27, 2008 5:08 am
Posts: 810
Location: Denmark
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:09 pm 
 

I don't think metal is even sick at the moment.
_________________
I_Crash_and_Burn wrote:
This is filth

Top
 Profile  
Firmament1
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2020 1:40 am
Posts: 103
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:24 pm 
 

Nah, it's doing totally fine. Sure, it's not mainstream, but the community is thriving, regardless.

Top
 Profile  
Zelkiiro
Pounding the world with a fish of steel

Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2009 5:30 pm
Posts: 7729
Location: Pennsylvania
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:30 pm 
 

It is if you don't like black or death metal, it often feels like.
_________________
I've written a fantasy novel. It's 145,000 157,586 184,899 words long!
It's also going to be the first part of a trilogy!
Currently seeking an agent willing to touch this massive doorstop.

Top
 Profile  
hells_unicorn
Veteran

Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:32 pm
Posts: 3056
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:47 pm 
 

No, all the king's labels and all the king's fads tried to put it in the grave almost 30 years ago, and it ultimately got stronger as a result. Stop trying to get validation from the mainstream and you'll find a metal scene that is alive and flourishing.
_________________
My music:
Ominous Glory Spotify
Ominous Glory YouTube
Ominous Glory Facebook

My reviews.

R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio (July 14, 1942 - May 16, 2010)

Top
 Profile  
Waltz_of_Ghouls
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2006 12:24 am
Posts: 858
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:45 pm 
 

Yes it is dying, for a 4th time.
_________________
"Through the darkness of future past
The magician longs to see
One chants out between two worlds
Fire walk with me"

Top
 Profile  
Zerberus
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:29 pm
Posts: 2325
Location: Denmark
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:50 pm 
 

Some bands (like Ghost, Sabaton, Behemoth and whatever else the kids are listening to these days) are still achieving a lot of success, mainstream too.
The last decade has produced some of the best, in my opinion, metal albums ever. Even if the glory days may be over for now, I don't think metal is even in any type of slump.
_________________
Listen to BONEJAMMER
crusty metalpunk for fans of skeleton warriors and machine guns

Top
 Profile  
pressingtoplead13
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:05 pm
Posts: 740
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:52 pm 
 

Metal will never die. With that said now that I'm older and most of my co workers arent into metal i feel alittle out of touch with who the popular mainstream entry type bands are right now. I remember in high school Trivium and Lamb of God were popular amongst those kids, who is the big band right now?

Top
 Profile  
Opus
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:06 am
Posts: 4266
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:55 pm 
 

Zelkiiro wrote:
It is if you don't like black or death metal, it often feels like.

https://www.youtube.com/c/NWOTHMFullAlbums
New wave of traditional heavy metal, occasionally power metal.

https://www.youtube.com/c/MetalMusicFro ... TheWorldYT
Mostly power metal and power/prog.

Get back to me once you have sat through these channels.
It's a world of metal out there!
_________________
Do the words Heavy Metal mean anything to you other than buttcore, technical progressive assgrind or the like?
true_death wrote:
You could be listening to Edge of Sanity right now, but you're not!


Last edited by Opus on Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Top
 Profile  
Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35178
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:56 pm 
 

Several of the best albums I've heard have been from the last few years so nah. And there's so much great talent out there just from the last few months too.
_________________
Cinema Freaks latest reviews: Black Roses
Fictional Works - if you hated my reviews over the years then pay me back by reviewing my own stuff
Official Website

Top
 Profile  
LycanthropeMoon
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:53 pm
Posts: 2296
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:21 pm 
 

Just because it's not getting much mainstream attention anymore doesn't mean it's dying.

Top
 Profile  
Slater922
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:24 pm
Posts: 2342
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:25 pm 
 

Firmament1 wrote:
Nah, it's doing totally fine. Sure, it's not mainstream, but the community is thriving, regardless.

Agreed. If there's a genre that's more dead, it would be AC/DC/Guns N' Roses-type hard rock or glam metal. Also, nu metal is starting to see a comeback, and metalcore is better off forgotten.
_________________
Under a serpent sun... we shall all live as one! - "Under a Serpent Sun" by At The Gates
Check out my reviews

Top
 Profile  
goetia_unreleased
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jul 02, 2003 5:35 pm
Posts: 216
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:26 pm 
 

As long as younger people continue to develop an interest in heavy/extreme music metal will never die.
_________________
elitist / n. 1. person with ostentatious likes and dislikes based on pretentious standards of excellence.

Top
 Profile  
Space_alligator
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:43 am
Posts: 714
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:49 pm 
 

No
_________________
Ultraboris wrote:
dunno who the fuckhead is who gave the Master of Puppets a zero but damn I'd kick him in the jawnuts any day.

Top
 Profile  
tahu157
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2014 10:22 pm
Posts: 1008
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:54 pm 
 

This song but unironically:


Top
 Profile  
Hexenmacht46290
Has a GED in Gamercide

Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2020 8:30 pm
Posts: 772
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 5:00 pm 
 

Step 1. Turn off the radio.

They only play five finger death punch, and other butt rock. There are some stations, that have metal focused shows, yes, these are an exception. I, personally, am shocked to hear people talking about having heard Iron Maiden or Motörhead on the radio, because radio around here wouldn’t think of it. The local NHL team/rock radio station plays wuss rock. They don’t even play Judas Priest, because it’s too homosexual and satanic for them! If they play metal, it’s just going to be one Metallica song(enter sandman), one Deep Purple song(smoke on the water), one Black Sabbath song...and maybe some mallcore. I went to my credit union last week, to cash the check, from taking my car to a scrapyard, and the tellers were playing the local “soft rock” station. I used to hear that, at a dishwashing job, back in 2012. It sucks, it’s for people who aren’t really into music, and want no variety, and nothing interesting. It filled me with disgust, that such repulsive trash exists, and idiots keep it making money. Don’t let mainstream/payola tell you that there’s nothing else out there.

Step 2. Seek it out yourself.

Go on Bandcamp and YouTube. Find stuff you like. When shows start again, you might get a chance to see some of these bands live. Even mediocre bands, that are far from the quality of the classics, can put on a fun, exciting show. And if you look around, there are some good, and great modern bands. Mainstream normies might have greater numbers, united, in their shitty taste in music, but they won’t have as much fun as you.
_________________
The only “-isms” you need, are individualism, and GISM.
I like Slayer solos
Spoiler: show
With my weed, I smoke every day
If I'm not high, the hate will escape
I smoke and smoke, stoned as a fuck
Weed is my life, weed is my love…
-John Gallagher

Top
 Profile  
Bloody Nine
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2012 4:51 pm
Posts: 119
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 5:05 pm 
 

I'll be the first to watch its funeral.

And I'll be the last to leave.

Top
 Profile  
Wrldeatr
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2012 11:13 pm
Posts: 377
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 5:34 pm 
 

I don't see any genre currently in existence dying. They have their ups and downs in terms of popularity but that's about it.

Top
 Profile  
Vadara
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2016 11:14 pm
Posts: 484
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:09 pm 
 

I honestly thought this thread was specifically about trad at first.

Slater922 wrote:
Firmament1 wrote:
Nah, it's doing totally fine. Sure, it's not mainstream, but the community is thriving, regardless.

Agreed. If there's a genre that's more dead, it would be AC/DC/Guns N' Roses-type hard rock or glam metal. Also, nu metal is starting to see a comeback, and metalcore is better off forgotten.


Nu metal's comeback is extremely tiny and frankly the "comeback" is mostly other genres scavenging its coffin for ideas. Also metalcore is not by any means "forgotten". It is comparable to the medium-sized genres of metal itself in terms of modern activity.

pressingtoplead13 wrote:
Metal will never die. With that said now that I'm older and most of my co workers arent into metal i feel alittle out of touch with who the popular mainstream entry type bands are right now. I remember in high school Trivium and Lamb of God were popular amongst those kids, who is the big band right now?


This is going to sound like a complete cop-out, but there really isn't any, frankly. Anybody who gets into heavy music just jumps straight into the deep end. There's no mainstream scene of metal- or punk-adjecent music like there was in the 2000's. EDM and rap pretty much killed guitar-driven pop music (modern mainstream "rock" is pretty much not rock at all)

Top
 Profile  
LithoJazzoSphere
Veteran

Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2020 8:11 pm
Posts: 3576
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 11:35 pm 
 

Like many other things, the modern era has decentralized exposure to metal. There aren't as many huge current bands that everybody knows like there used to be. There are dozens of little niches that have bands on varying tiers of popularity, so you have to do a lot more digging to acclimate yourself to the ecosystem than you used to.

Top
 Profile  
Yuli Ban
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2018 11:07 am
Posts: 264
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 12:50 am 
 

Slater922 wrote:
Firmament1 wrote:
Nah, it's doing totally fine. Sure, it's not mainstream, but the community is thriving, regardless.

Agreed. If there's a genre that's more dead, it would be AC/DC/Guns N' Roses-type hard rock or glam metal. Also, nu metal


This is precisely why these sorts of questions keep getting asked.

Hard rock/heavy rock and other genres like heavy alternative and nü metal act as what I like to call "gateway genres," mainstream outgrowths towards more extreme metal and punk music. Their sole purpose isn't JUST to feed fans to more extreme genres mind you; that's more an effect they have. Someone who listens to Guns 'n Roses is likely to at least give Megadeth a spin or two; someone bopping to Korn or Linkin Park is more likely to try out Napalm Death at some future point than someone who sticks to Eminem and Cypress Hill. Of course, trve kvlt metalheads probably will never look too highly upon fans of the gateway genres (see: mallcore and hair farmers), but it'd be a big lie to claim a lot of trve kvlt metalheads didn't get their start as a Mainstreamallica type whose knowledge of metal music could be summed up in a macro of all the bands VH1 Classic was trying to appeal to.

Because of the death of guitar-driven rock music (largely due to a 1-2-3-4 knockout punch of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the mediocrity + meteoric success of 2000s butt rock/whitebread rock, the Great Recession, and the wider sonic appeal of hip hop supplanting interest and the countercultural appeal of rock music all coming to a head right before the rise of streaming, which I believe would have kept guitar-driven rock music alive had streaming been mainstream five years sooner), there isn't much to direct people's attention to new developments in heavy music other than heavy music itself. Whatever does pop up tends to be derivative or overhyped only by rockists desperate for any proof that "rock is coming back" (see: Greta Van Fleet for classic rock, Socotra for grunge).

Plus you can persist in niches exclusively as well. Before, even the most extreme metal artists usually had some awareness of chart-topping rock groups. Someone in 1980 with no background in metal or punk probably got their start listening to Rod Stewart and America, whereas someone getting into metal nowadays can dive straight into a black metal playlist and thus their first taste of metal might be Satyricon and Emperor. Or they might accidentally uncover the Melvins and Sleep after following a path off from Pearl Jam and Nirvana.

The trickle down theory is just piss in economics, but I do think it exists for music, and the fact there's no really big mainstream presence for hard rock probably does negatively affect the growth of more distorted genres just because there are fewer ears aimed at them. Plus because you can't hear Led Zeppelin clone #46,853 on pop radio, that likely does feed perceptions that rock is even more dead than it already is. Because it is absolutely true that, even in the late 2000s, you could hear guitar-driven songs right next to crunk and R&B songs. I distinctly remember this, even though that music was predominantly emo, that you could hear "Welcome to the Black Parade" and "Through the Glass" by My Chemical Romance and Stone Sour respectively right next to Rhianna and Soulja Boy, that "Dance Dance" from Fallout Boy and "Like a Stone" by Audioslave were peers of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" and Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold." It was definitely only after the Great Recession that even this faded into memory, but it would be like hearing Ghost, Mastodon, and Greta van Fleet next to Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and the Weeknd, on pop radio. It did happen, I know it happened, I remember it happening, and there's technically nothing stopping it from happening again, but it's definitely not likely and the fact it's not likely is why we keep getting people asking "is rock/metal/punk dead?" and articles every few months saying "Yes, and here's why" and more articles saying "No, and here's why." It's also forgetting that just because I remember it happening doesn't mean that, if I go back further in time, I'll discover some halcyonic age when everyone and their gran was headbanging to Slayer and Accept and just a couple pop names here and there like Michael Jackson and Madonna. Even during the "glory days" of hard rock and metal, the bands we still love to this day were about as well known to the mainstream as any standard death metal, black metal, progressive metal, or stoner metal group is right now. Your average teen in the 80s probably wasn't going to know who Megadeth was, and the idea of "rock" circa 1984 was more likely to be Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams than Metallica or even Motley Crue if you asked someone. Similarly if we go back a decade. We always talk about proto-metal and early heavy metal, but the kind of music people were actually listening to in that point in time was more like Badfinger, Paul McCartney & Wings, Raspberries, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Hard rock was certainly more prominent at that time thanks to Led Zeppelin and their early clones, but "hard rock" from the early 70s sounds comparatively lightweight compared to anything more contemporary to begin with. Which reinforces my point that standards have changed and that we might be a bit too insular for our own good sometimes.

Personally I do love the idea of a heavy rock and roll revival where AC/DC/Soundgarden/first wave metal/etc. came back in style to everyone's surprise and had the side effect of supercharging heavy metal and extreme metal by extension. But this is just a silly dream and I'll never expect it to really happen. And people saying "It could happen because Nirvana happened," that whole zeitgeist was very different and Nirvana built off of momentum existing in heavy metal, punk rock, and alternative that was already very much in mainstream attention by that point. I'd much sooner expect a "Nirvana" of hip hop than rock.


Last edited by Yuli Ban on Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:56 am, edited 2 times in total.
Top
 Profile  
hallowed78
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2006 4:53 am
Posts: 615
Location: LV-426
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:03 am 
 

Maybe it's just a thread inspired by new Gojira?

Top
 Profile  
Pitiless Wanderer
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2017 7:34 pm
Posts: 1710
Location: Ankara
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:30 am 
 

It isn't dying, OP. It's growing.

Top
 Profile  
caspian
Old Man Yells at Car Park

Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2004 11:29 pm
Posts: 6414
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:56 am 
 

I think it's dying. it's still producing interesting music, but it's dying. New bands- that is, bands with young people- are getting rarer and rarer, and most of the time these days the audience and the bands have grey hair. Whether we want to admit it or not it's kinda fair to say that a big impetus for genres and new bands etc is the idea of getting laid, and unless if a slightly unwashed 40 year oldin a leather jacket is your idea of the perfect lay, then if you're an 18 year old you're likely to get into something else. You are far, far more likely to find a 40 something dude into metal than a 15 year old, which is fairly bad news

In_Zane wrote:
Not even close to dying.
Blues is even older, and it's not dead.


lol cmon man. Blues is dead. There is plenty of random throwback stuff, but traditional blues is about as relevant as doo-wop these days.

Anyway I have no problem with metal fading into commercial relevance like Jazz, but every ptype of music has a limited shelf life before it becomes a bit of a museum piece and metal is no exception.
_________________
https://kybaliondoom.bandcamp.com/album/poisoned-ash big ugly death doom by and for big ugly dudes

https://strangercountry.bandcamp.com/al ... the-chebar new album! Power shoegaze? Dream-doom???

Top
 Profile  
Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35178
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 10:30 am 
 

If you want to talk commercially, it's just been in its own niche for years now. It's not gonna be a big trend. But I'm a big believer in not having to anchor everything on the trends. I think the internet has really opened up how many different niches and fandoms of obscure things there can be. That's why I don't think it's "dying" necessarily - you can find fans anywhere and what the mainstream likes is just one part of the equation.
_________________
Cinema Freaks latest reviews: Black Roses
Fictional Works - if you hated my reviews over the years then pay me back by reviewing my own stuff
Official Website

Top
 Profile  
Metal_On_The_Ascendant
Veteran

Joined: Fri May 22, 2015 6:38 am
Posts: 2973
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 10:35 am 
 

pressingtoplead13 wrote:
Metal will never die. With that said now that I'm older and most of my co workers arent into metal i feel alittle out of touch with who the popular mainstream entry type bands are right now. I remember in high school Trivium and Lamb of God were popular amongst those kids, who is the big band right now?


GRETA VAN FLEET :-D
_________________
DemonFilth2001 wrote:
Bahana loves a good Jesus band! Yes, he does!

Top
 Profile  
Gravetemplar
Metal freak

Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:08 am
Posts: 4652
Location: Antarctica
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 10:47 am 
 

caspian wrote:
Whether we want to admit it or not it's kinda fair to say that a big impetus for genres and new bands etc is the idea of getting laid, and unless if a slightly unwashed 40 year oldin a leather jacket is your idea of the perfect lay, then if you're an 18 year old you're likely to get into something else. You are far, far more likely to find a 40 something dude into metal than a 15 year old, which is fairly bad news.

Please, someone tell me this is satire.

Top
 Profile  
Metal_On_The_Ascendant
Veteran

Joined: Fri May 22, 2015 6:38 am
Posts: 2973
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:32 am 
 

So fucking ridiculous I just skirted right by it...who knows with caspian?
_________________
DemonFilth2001 wrote:
Bahana loves a good Jesus band! Yes, he does!

Top
 Profile  
Kalaratri
Veteran

Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:22 pm
Posts: 2870
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 12:34 pm 
 

Yeah, metal is not anywhere near close to being dead. It's not mainstream, sure, but it hasn't been mainstream since the 90s (if you count nu-metal) and if we go by this site's strict definition of metal the last relevant mainstream metal band was Pantera. As Empyreal said, popular culture, in general, has fragmented so much that whether something is in vogue in the mainstream matters less and less these days.

The idea of a shared cultural experience no longer exists in the same way, and that touches on every form of art including music. Musical niches are able to self-sustain themselves and despite what other people in this thread have said, there are still enough young people getting into metal to keep it alive and kicking. Many bands have seen their audiences getting younger (Incantation and Cannibal Corpse are a couple of bands on the extreme metal side who have experienced this).

As an aside, to touch a little bit on something Yuli Ban raised, while I don't necessarily think rock will ever become the biggest thing in music again, there's been this weird resurgence of pop punk, of all genres, in the mainstream. Machine Gun Kelly put out a pop punk album that blew up and now all of a sudden a ton of other people are jumping on the bandwagon. I just read an article today about Willow Smith of all people releasing a pop punk song with Travis Barker. It's really strange that pop punk is suddenly big again in a way and I'm not sure how long this revival will actually last, but it's a pretty good example of how things can suddenly change and genres that are out of the spotlight can catch fire again.

Top
 Profile  
~Guest 1195014
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:18 pm
Posts: 227
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 1:42 pm 
 

The furthest from dying it's ever been, and I believe it has simply matured, same as rock pretty much. It no longer needs to scare grandmas and bite heads off bats for mainstream validation, metal is just doing its thing now with enough established, acclaimed bands that pull people in and a lot of interesting growth and experimentation going on in and across various genres.

pressingtoplead13 wrote:
Metal will never die. With that said now that I'm older and most of my co workers arent into metal i feel alittle out of touch with who the popular mainstream entry type bands are right now. I remember in high school Trivium and Lamb of God were popular amongst those kids, who is the big band right now?

I think the melodic metalcore and such are still doing strong. I have an 18-year old cousin who's into Bullet for my Valentine and such, and while it's not my thing he got into playing guitar as a result and I'm wondering sometimes if he's not already better than me. I think the whole Iron Maiden-inspired branch of metal which is heavy on melody and big choruses will always be the main gateway.

Top
 Profile  
cultofkraken
Veteran

Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2005 1:18 am
Posts: 3013
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 1:46 pm 
 

Look at those numbers for Cannibal Corpse’s new album and I can say it ain’t dying.
_________________
lord_ghengis wrote:
Tony the Peroy Slayer, bards shall sing your story.

Top
 Profile  
HeavenDuff
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:35 pm
Posts: 5158
Location: Montréal
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 1:54 pm 
 

caspian wrote:
I think it's dying. it's still producing interesting music, but it's dying. New bands- that is, bands with young people- are getting rarer and rarer, and most of the time these days the audience and the bands have grey hair. Whether we want to admit it or not it's kinda fair to say that a big impetus for genres and new bands etc is the idea of getting laid, and unless if a slightly unwashed 40 year oldin a leather jacket is your idea of the perfect lay, then if you're an 18 year old you're likely to get into something else. You are far, far more likely to find a 40 something dude into metal than a 15 year old, which is fairly bad news


Maybe you're under that (dumb) impression because, as a 34 years old, you're not really hanging out with teenagers anymore. Unless there is something we ought to know about you?

Top
 Profile  
Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35178
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 1:59 pm 
 

No doubt getting laid is a perk of being in a band, but if that was the sole impetus, then none of the nerdy epic metal bands or any extreme metal acts would've ever been formed.
_________________
Cinema Freaks latest reviews: Black Roses
Fictional Works - if you hated my reviews over the years then pay me back by reviewing my own stuff
Official Website

Top
 Profile  
LithoJazzoSphere
Veteran

Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2020 8:11 pm
Posts: 3576
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:03 pm 
 

I have to say that I'm more concerned than most. I'm not so sure metal remaining an elite clique that you have to search out to get into bodes well for the future. At least in the US there isn't much distorted electric guitar presence in the mainstream. Without some kind of on-ramp to metal I worry that fans will dry up at some point as metal becomes an increasingly niche interest. The two primary remaining paths are country-rock, which tends to be a different route altogether, and classic rock, which is often dismissed as "dad rock" by younger generations.

Top
 Profile  
Kalaratri
Veteran

Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:22 pm
Posts: 2870
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:19 pm 
 

LithoJazzoSphere wrote:
I have to say that I'm more concerned than most. I'm not so sure metal remaining an elite clique that you have to search out to get into bodes well for the future. At least in the US there isn't much distorted electric guitar presence in the mainstream. Without some kind of on-ramp to metal I worry that fans will dry up at some point as metal becomes an increasingly niche interest. The two primary remaining paths are country-rock, which tends to be a different route altogether, and classic rock, which is often dismissed as "dad rock" by younger generations.


The mainstream isn't really relevant anymore when it comes to music discovery IMO, so the presence or absence of guitar-driven music there is kind of irrelevant. In the age of streaming services relying on the traditional formats of radio and television for exposure is a bit of an old-fashioned mindset. Kids aren't tuning into MTV or turning on their local rock radio station to find new music. Anyone with a Spotify subscription has access to tons of metal, both mainstream and underground and it's pretty easy to discover new bands if that's something you're interested in doing.

It's also more likely the younger generations are just bypassing the traditional gateway bands/genres and jumping straight into metal (including the more extreme genres). I discovered metal before streaming was a thing, but in my case, I didn't go the traditional route. My exposure to metal was through listening to metal radio stations on Winamp and having classmates who were already into bands like In Flames. I also got into extreme metal almost straight away without really spending a ton of time listening to hard rock or traditional heavy metal first. I wouldn't be surprised if more people are taking that route these days.


Last edited by Kalaratri on Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Top
 Profile  
AddWittyUsername
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 8:40 pm
Posts: 225
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:22 pm 
 

LithoJazzoSphere wrote:
I have to say that I'm more concerned than most. I'm not so sure metal remaining an elite clique that you have to search out to get into bodes well for the future. At least in the US there isn't much distorted electric guitar presence in the mainstream. Without some kind of on-ramp to metal I worry that fans will dry up at some point as metal becomes an increasingly niche interest. The two primary remaining paths are country-rock, which tends to be a different route altogether, and classic rock, which is often dismissed as "dad rock" by younger generations.

There's other on-ramps/gateways to metal, though--music in various games, anime, use as background music by streamers and so on. The role of mainstream radio/tv in introducing people to new music, and especially as a gateway to non-mainstream genres, is pretty much over, yes--but I think that has less to do with the status of metal as alive or dead and much more with the status of radio and tv as dying.

Top
 Profile  
Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35178
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:25 pm 
 

LithoJazzoSphere wrote:
I have to say that I'm more concerned than most. I'm not so sure metal remaining an elite clique that you have to search out to get into bodes well for the future. At least in the US there isn't much distorted electric guitar presence in the mainstream. Without some kind of on-ramp to metal I worry that fans will dry up at some point as metal becomes an increasingly niche interest. The two primary remaining paths are country-rock, which tends to be a different route altogether, and classic rock, which is often dismissed as "dad rock" by younger generations.


Metal is like a lot of underground arts where people find it when they want to. The on ramp bands like Ghost or Amon Amarth or whoever don't have appeal to me. I found my own way just a few years in. Personally I think it's overrated how much of an effect those mainstream acts have. People who really like metal past a few Metallica or Maiden tracks from the 80s will discover the hidden underground gems if they want to and that's what a lot of the best metal is about, that cult fervor and discovering stuff that was way left of field for the mainstream. I think in a lot of cases those mainstream bands' fans are totally different from people who get into other subgenres - you have the trad metal stuff, cheesy euro-power, extreme metal, and I'm sure all of them will have shows where they can do their art. That's what's important.

Plus many people are very casual about music. I know people in real life who enjoy metal, they don't know every band I like but they play plenty of Slayer or death metal or whatever else that is fairly close to the top and that's fine. They discover shit at their own pace and just vibe out to it. I think we get too sucked into our own bubbles here thinking everybody is as obsessive as us.
_________________
Cinema Freaks latest reviews: Black Roses
Fictional Works - if you hated my reviews over the years then pay me back by reviewing my own stuff
Official Website

Top
 Profile  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Reply to topic Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 7  Next


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ace_Rimmer, Alexa [Bot], DoomMetalAlchemist, Google [Bot], I Am the Law, nakzox, rmstjsss and 66 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

  Print view
Jump to:  

Back to the Encyclopaedia Metallum


Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group