All kinds of Metal had already delivered their masterpieces : Alternative : Rage Against The Machine (1992) Black : Emperor, Mayhem, Dissection. All between 94-95 Death : Morbid Angel (Altars, Covenant), Death (Symbolic), Bolt Thrower (Crusade, 92) Doom : Candlemass (Epicus, Nightfall, Tales), My Dying Bride (Angel, 1995) Goth : Type O (Bloody Kisses), Paradise Lost (Draconian, 95), Gathering (Mandylion, 95) Groove : Sepultura (Chaos A.D. in 93), Pantera (90-96), Machine Head (Burn) Indus : Ministry (88-96), Fear Factory (Demanufacture, 95) NWOBHM : Judas Priest (see below), Saxon (80-83), Iron Maiden (80-88) Power : Helloween (85-88), Blind Guardian (90-95, maybe Nightfall in 98) Prog : Queensrÿche (Op. in 88), Voivod (87-93), Dream Theater (Images, Awake, 92-94) Sludge : Neurosis (92-96), Godflesh (89-96), Acid Bath (93-96) South : Down with NOLA in 95, Corrosion Of Conformity (91-96) Stoner : Kyuss (92-95), Electric Wizard (Come My Fanatics, 97) Symphonic : X Japan (Art Of Life, 93) Thrash : Metallica (83-88), Megadeth (85-94), Slayer (83-94) Traditional : Black Sabbath (first 6) and Judas Priest (SWOD, Screaming, Painkiller) Viking : Hammerheart from Bathory in 1990, Scald with Will Of Gods (1996) Before the Loudness War... Of course, Avatarium is fantastic but just a Candlemass clone with female voice. Holy Martyr from Italy is a Trad/Power Metal Revival Band. I love german Powerwolf, but it is more of a joke apart from maybe their first (best) album. Same thing/joke with Babymetal which I appreciate anyway, etc... What is your opinion ?
Some of its forms may have slipped underground, but after listening to Opeth's 2O19 Prog-Metal masterpiece 'In Cauda Venenum', I have to say no. Like all Rock forms, Metal - perhaps even more so than other sub-genres - undergoes constant evolution. I would venture a guess that Hair-Metal is gone for good though.
Considers posting albums I like & are acclaimed, figures ppl will just say they've never heard of them, don't count for some reason. People are dying. I'm going to bed.
I agree that all kinds of Metal has passed its glory days, masterpieces enshrined for the ages ; NWOBHM, Metal Opera, e.g.- Operation Mindcrime, Queensrÿche. Though the concept of the Metal Opera could continue for as long as fans take to the epic narrative, which, one would think, is more relevant now than ever in light of gaming culture.
Thanks to the internet we can access countless bands, more than we could ever have wished for in the old days, and they're constantly redefining and expanding the subgenres. E.g. some metal is now hard to distinguish from shoegaze and post rock (both of which aren't metal) and it's great to hear how it has moved on. Just as technology has given underground bands distribution, it has also diluted the historic media focus, which means it's harder to pick the best from the crowd. I don't have much time to explore, but when I do (Moon Coven, Belzebong, Lowrider, Geezer, Egypt, Orange Goblin, Immortal...) I'm impressed with this decade's output.
It went out of the public eye as bands like Iron Maiden moved from arenas to theaters and smaller, but it stayed very much alive and got heavier, more extreme and way more 'hyphenated.' I am guilty of losing my way in the 90s as I got more into Alternative and then Jazz and beyond. It wasn't until Opeth's Blackwater Park and Testament's The Gathering that I was pulled back into the fold. I can barely keep up with it these days.
Nevermore's debut album came out in 1994, they released albums up through 2010. Sanctuary came out with a new album in 2014. Death Angel reunited in the early 2000s and have probably put out better albums than when they were first together. Regardless of what one may think of Zakk Wylde, the first few Black Label Society albums were really good. Bands like Epica, Kamelot, Conception, Amon Amarth, Lacuna Coil, Primal Fear, etc all came out after the 80's "heyday" and bands from that time have put out excellent albums in the past 20 years.
Nevermore was an amazing straight ahead Metal band with bits and pieces of thrash, doom, death and prog...but popularity wise they were playing clubs. Hell, they played CBGBs in the early 200s. I would go so far as to say that the 90s were the decade of Black and Death Metal more than anything else.
Definitely not. It's more difficult for me to find metal I like now than it was back then, but that doesn't mean there aren't good bands out there making good albums. The trouble is over-saturation and weeding through all the bad and mediocre stuff, which is a chore. I got burnt out quickly this year on newer metal releases which I usually check out via streaming before buying. Taking a break from that this year though.
In terms of commercial popularity (not necessarily quality), nu-metal had a pretty good run during the late 90s thru mid 00s... Godsmack, Distrubed, Deftones, Slipknot, Korn, Limp Bizkit, etc.
Since the 2000s was arguably metal's best decade.... no. Honestly, the idea that '80s Queensryche might represent prog-metal's apex is rather depressing, and probably not shared by many who listen to that style.
I absolutely love The Gathering and would argue that Nighttime Birds is better than Mandylion. The opening to "On Most Surfaces" just smacks you in the face.
Blackwater Park ? I agree to place Opeth, Pain Of Salvation, Mastodon and Gojira higher than Queensrÿche. All these bands composed fabulous albums during the 2000s ! (In fact, at the end of an exceptional sepultura concert in 96, I remember thinking that the original "non-fusion" metal was dead. It was the apex for me...)
If the 90's are known for anything in metal it's the explosion of creativity and new genres. Lots of new forks in the road.
The only place where it "died" was in the mainstream consciousness. There was still plenty of metal in the mid 90s, it was just underground, so you had to look harder for it.
Count me among the fans of The Gathering. I worship "How To Measure A Planet ?" and "Souvenirs". Art Rock.
