Oh nice, I should get those. I think with the exception of a couple of highlights (Elevator Girl, Shanti Shanti Shanti) Metal Galaxy showed the formula straining to its limits a little bit I think/hope we'll see them switch directions a bit next time now they're growing up. Sumetal has a really great voice too. imo. I do sortof agree with your first post though, Metal did "peak" in the 90s in a lot of ways ... though there is still innovation and exciting stuff released from time to time. Opeth, Gojira for sure ....
A metal fans views of metal for the rest of their life are highly shaped by the metal scene (and other popular music and pop culture) when they were between 13 and 24 years old. The type of environment you grew up in as well ie. urban compared to rural.
In 2020 I've been listening to more Metal than the past 20 years. Mostly Doom & Black Metal boy can these kids play, compose & growl today. I'd say the whole 90's music business was a total disaster in most fields, we got CD's marketed with "76 minutes of music" & "Digitally Remastered" we got "Hootie & The Blowfish etc." bands that now fill up the thrift store bins. I think Metal has lasted since it was invented, when looting used CD/vinyl bins you rarely find anything "Metal" what you find is Hootie & The Blowfish, Alanis Morrisette & R.E.M. etc
I listened to my 6 BABYMETAL DVDs again and I think the best concert, from the classic trio with yuimetal, came from the London Box, more precisely the concert at the Forum (2014/7/7). Exceptional sound, exceptional audience. Black Night DVD from the Budokan Box is second. In my humble opinion, taking into account above all surprise, innovation, revival etc. I will say that the top three of the 21st century is as follows : 1/2 - Blackwater Park (2001) from Opeth 1/2 - BABYMETAL (2014) from BABYMETAL 3 - A Matter Of Life And Death (2006), Iron Maiden
First, thank you all for your varied opinions. Thank you so much !!! I listened again to a few albums from my Metal top 30 (1970-2014) that I developed over a period of 25 years. Indeed in my opinion, current metal is not really metal anymore. It is for bands to recreate the sounds which they liked in their youths and they often mix everything up. So Revival or Black'n'Roll, Prog Death Folk Rock... for example. So, in any poll of metal site readers on the net, out of 50/100 albums, I only find about 10/20 albums from the 2000s/2010s (and far from the top)... Can we compare Master Of Reality, The Number Of The Beast, Reign In Blood, Altars Of Madness, Chaos A.D. with a 21st century metal album ? It's not even about saying that metal is now underground, that young people are currently listening to pop, etc. Maybe it's underground for a simple reason (not at all popular)... Because metal has become somewhat elitist, it doesn't talk about everyday people's issues anymore. Even hair metal was talking about it (love, money) Either I'm old and current metal is the best metal ever / OR / I'm right and the majority of metal today is no longer metal. King Weed is fabulous (I'm french), but they're just Kyuss and Electric Wizard clones, Sleep too... Conclusion of some poor fellow who heard anyway in the early 90s, for a third in concert : Sepultura (in a mosh pit...), Metallica, RATM, Slayer (Dittohead ), Carcass, Type O Negative, Cradle Of Filth , Body Count, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Priest, Emperor , Death... So there is no reason for you to trust me !
I mostly prefer 80s to mid 90s metal too. Perhaps because i tend to gravitate to pioneers of genres. Like preferring the likes of Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk over most other electronica.
Besides not paying attention, not liking what's being released isn't really a valid answer either. As people have pointed out, there were a number of popular bands even before metal's resurgence in the 2000s. Maybe some of them only had a small following in the US. Just an example from my favorite band of the time: Iced Earth Burnt Offerings (1995) The Dark Saga (1996) Days of Purgatory (1997) Something Wicked This Way Comes (1998) Alive In Athens (1999)
You forgot Night Of The Stormrider with their best vocalist IMHO (John Greely) !!! INSANE. Listen again Travel In Stygian, but with Greely, not the remaster one from some box .. I have the original vinyl ! Best US Power Metal. It's sad to have been around Nirvana at the time.
I left out Stormrider because it was released prior to 1995 (the "mid-90s"). Although I prefer Barlow's vocals on "Stygian," I have the original Stormrider cd, ordered from Century Media back in the day, and maybe the cassette too. I just put on the cd.
Did metal die in the mid-90s? Good Lord, no. That's when it came of age as a genre and became the most creative and fascinating of all musical styles. Have a listen to incredible, experimental bands like Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Kayo Dot, Rolo Tomassi, Cruachan and Unexpect – to name just five – to hear how metal exploded in numerous different directions, delivering dazzling cross-genre fusions, from the nineties onwards.
Next to Hammerfall, Sacred Steel were part of the traditional metal revival with Reborn In Steel (Metal Blade, 1997). At the time, the term "true metal" was used in the fanzine community.
As i said, i prefer metal from between 80-95ish. But there certainly is lot’s of good metal after that.
Stranger Fruit ? It reminds me of some songs from Danzig's fourth album (Danzig 4). Zeal And Ardor is of course more modern, avant-garde, and also more concise. Heavy apocalyptic blues metal !
I don't think it died at all, but it died for me personally when I lost interest in the late 80s. Never made it to the 90s...never got into the drop D guitar sound and Cookie Monster vocals.
Definitely not. It adapted to the changing musical landscape. Some for the better, some for the worse.
