Is metal dying?

ultmetal wrote:

I thought metal died in the 1990's?

No, it just sucked a serious egg for the most part of that decade.

Man what a good subject. Oddly yes I think it is dying fast. I also agree that once Maiden and Priest and Rush, and bands like Testament/Exodus...and so on, that was what I consider to be the last half of continual good music from the start in the 60's is going away. I am sure I wont make many fans here witht his comment but I hate the new sound in metal. It doesnt sound like metal to me and they all sound the same as well. There is no true singing. Bands like Trivium or ISIS or Avenge Sevenfold all sound the exact same to me over and over. The music styles and voices all are the same. Where when you have AC/DC in and then put in Whitesnake or Maiden your getting a complete different rock style and voice that all are still considered rock!

We are in the dusk of an era, and I think we and those last of the classic lines ups know it. Why else would we be getting a pick up of bands releasing stuff again - Dokken, Whitesnake, Whitelion, AC/DC (expected soon) Cooper, Motorhead, I could go on but you get the point, we are getting the tale end of many of these guy's career. I will embrace it while I can cause 10 years from now, I will be still only collecting leftover classics I dont have, which will not include anything by Disturbed or any other band of today.

In fact I was a guy who grew up in the later 80's with metal, and came in late to some of these bands, but since nothing new sounds good to me, I have been collecting classics since. Just recently got all of Dio's works except Rainbow which is my next goal. So there you go. One more person who feels new metal is killing the scene, and Old Metal is setting like the sun

Eyesore wrote:

Regardless of whether or not there are great new metal bands out there, they will never touch the classic bands, in terms of staying power and legendary status. Nor do I think any band ever will.

Agreed.

But I think metal will always be around on a tiny, indepedent level and thus will never truly "die" (but this depends on your definition of the term).

I dont think it will ever die as long as it lives inside us.Metal has always been in the underground anyways

Yea, I think metal has died in the mainstream. It's gone back to the underground. I'm sure, like everything else from bell bottoms to neon-colored legwarmers, it will come back into fashion and return to the spotlight. But it will never hit the lofty heights of popularity like it did in the 80's.

So metal is not dead, it just smells funny? I can live with that.

xyz wrote:

So metal is not dead, it just smells funny? I can live with that.

Good analogy. I'll take it one step further. Metal these days smells like your inner thigh crack after you've been sweating all day.

Metal is the cockroach of the music world, you can't stop it. You can get rid of some but many are there to take their place. Are the newer metal bands inferior to metal of yesteryear? In some cases they most definatly are but in others it's all a matter of opinion. In one form or another, metal will survive.

Regarding newer bands, Metal as a whole has been dead in the mainstream for years. There's certainly been good bands that play Old School Metal in a underground sense the last decade, you have the Twisted Tower Dire, Cage, Seven Witches etc. Why these bands won't make anywhere near status like the old, Classic bands there can be a number of reasons; downloading and people having a wider range of interests than music these days, lack of mass media interest and thus not reaching out to as many people, people being non positive in searching for newer bands and being content listening to their old Priest albums, the bands not being as great as the Classic's (which I agree with, but theyre still very good bands that deserves my attention). Etc

Here in Europe Metal IS popular - the Classic bands. People in a wide range of age go to see Maiden & Priest in thousands. Maiden sell out 30, 000 - 50, 000 seat outdoor arenas in Sweden in a couple hours. Why all these people don't pick up CD's by great bands that have been around for years like Vicious Rumors, Jag Panzer & Metal Church I don't know as I see no reason for the average Maiden/Priest fan not enjoying these bands.

The festivals are popular and serve a nice exposure for the smaller bands that participate. However, by themselves, these bands couldnt sell out a shithole.

Maybe the newer bands don't have as much identity, maybe their music, though being good, don't match the classic stuff in catchy memorable hooks, riffs & singable choruses. They certainly dont enjoy the exposure, and they aren't able to thrive in a world that's moving faster than ever with the "kids" in terms of entertainment available.

BTW, just to comment on the Classic Metal Show question of whether the acts that can fill arenas are dying - probably. And, personally, I don't care, I'm sick of huge arena shows. I much prefer the smaller places, the best ones being the one's that hold 1, 000 - 2, 000 people, just big enough to feel there's a healthy support for Metal but not mainstream in a huge way.

I'm also sick of fans in general blaming Grunge for killing off Metal - the fans themselves killed off Metal. When Grunge came along, nothing stopped the fans from still supporting their bands, but many did stop. Conclusion: they didnt have genuine love for the music anyway.

ultmetal wrote:

I thought metal died in the 1990's?

... and the late 70s ...

St Patrik wrote:

BTW, just to comment on the Classic Metal Show question of whether the acts that can fill arenas are dying - probably. And, personally, I don't care, I'm sick of huge arena shows. I much prefer the smaller places, the best ones being the one's that hold 1, 000 - 2, 000 people, just big enough to feel there's a healthy support for Metal but not mainstream in a huge way.

I'm also sick of fans in general blaming Grunge for killing off Metal - the fans themselves killed off Metal. When Grunge came along, nothing stopped the fans from still supporting their bands, but many did stop. Conclusion: they didnt have genuine love for the music anyway.

You make so much sence with both your posts. I too prefer smaller venues for bands seeing as they are much more intimate and no matter where your at in proximity to the stage, you can still see the bands. The majority of the shows I've seen have been in small places and have been much more enjoyable than those in large venues. While I am looking forward to hear Priest, Testament, Mortorhead, and Heaven & Hell later this summer, I know with my general admission ticket that I'm going to need binoculars to see any of the bands. In comparison, when I've seen Symphony X, Kamelot, and Blaze era Maiden, I've been able to be real close to the action. Metal is much more enjoyable in a more intimate atmosphere IMO.

I think when those big bands die (IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS, BLACK SABBATH, MOTORHEAD) then their will be finaly place for new big bands. Till then, all those glory heavy metal bands of today will not be popular like those old big bands. We will have to wait to see.

After listening to this Classic Metal Show blurb and thinking on this, These guys make a lot of sense.

Metal is not dying at all. Its just getting stronger as far as bands and fans go. It will never be mainstream friendly again and thats for sure.

With bands now days, there are a lot of bands that will continue to grow. The reason these bigger arena shows are so huge in the US, is because the older bands are still going that do those shows, with bands like Black Sabbath/Heaven and Hell, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and so on, is because these bands had a major stake in inventing and structuring it. I agree with what Krokus said above me that when the big bands die, then their will be finally a place for new bands.

People in general are very closed minded and stubborn. I know because I am one of them. My point is that people have a hard time giving bands a real chance. So it makes it harder to get noticed.

If you listened to the podcast, they are mentioning bands to take over the big band thing, but naming bands that aren't even metal. And I mean real honest f*****g METAL! Godsmack, System of a Down, Green Day and more are not metal. They are hard rock. Hard rock to me is NOT metal.

Technology has ruined a lot of stuff. Record companies do not build the bands they sign anymore and promoters don't want to pay bands so the bands can get themselves to grow by taking the steps needed to get where the big bands like Priest, Sabbath, Motorhead, Slayer, etc... are at.

If Metal is dying how would you explain the recent rise of a new wave of Thrash bands out there., just to name one genre. Working 450 Metal releases a year at Metal radio and reporting the charts and numbers weekly I don't think so. These records exclued any mainstream or commercial rock bands.-TJ

No way, Man!

SAXON1500 wrote:

If something lives within our passions, how can it ever be truly dead?

But, I think the commentary that began this thread is - "Will there ever be bands like JP, IM, Saxon, BS, etc., that make classic million selling albums that appeal to ALL metalheads"? Probably not. Too many sub-genres to unify metal.

I beleive after bands like JUDAS PRIEST, MAIDEN can't perform at all, there will be tribute bands and sound alike bands from these GREAT METAL BANDS.

Bands like AIRBORNE, IRON MAIDENS, ALMOST QUEEN, PRIMAL FEAR are examples of what is to come for old school metal to not dye on stage

Not at all! Ok, theese days are hard for Metal, but there's still some bands that are very good!

No way is it "dying". Not at all.

I'm with ToB -depends on how you define 'dying', really. Few, if any, bands will reach the commercial heights of the 80s again, especially in this increasingly digital age, but there are lots of other factors to consider. The renewed interest in vinyl, for example, or the huge variety of underground bands across the different subgenres of metal, or the use of sites like myspace to expose a wider range of people to your music (unlike the 80s, where you had to either take a chance and actually buy the album , find a friend who had it nd get them to tape you a copy or find a magazine which reviewed it!). SO whilst it might not have the same mainstream exposure, it's still -and I imagine will always be, especially as most people's interest in it begins with being a teenager and finding stuff your parents hate -popular, and very much alive.

....and if it can survive grunge, it can survive anything!

i would not say metal is dying but i do feel that a number of the bands that make the corner stones of the genre are entering their twilight years perphaps which i why i am eager to see them now rather than later

maiden=check
metallica=check
kiss=check
judas priest=check
black sabbath=check
GNR=check

only Aerosmith and AC/DC left to see now