Seems to me that you're dismissing the underground with a hand wave. The 80s was a pure pop era. Whether it was metal or alt/indie post-punk, almost all of the best rock then was underground (at least in the US). In 1983, Metal Health (the album) hit number one on the Billboard 200. No one is trying to define that reality away. But another album released that year peaked at only 155. That one's called Kill 'Em All. I'll leave it to my fellow posters to decide which album has the edge in quality and cultural impact. Now we're in another pure pop era. Only ONE rock album topped the Billboard 200 this year. And ALL albums sales today are dwarfed by the 80s and the 90s, not just metal. I don't know the state of metal today. I'm too gull durn old. But I'm gonna reach for A Pyrrhic Existence long before Fear Inoculum.
Interesting how you use the term real metal three times, once with double quotes and twice without. Is it supposed to be some kind of irony? And the commercial success of glam metal is always worth discussing because when the mainstream is healthy, the underground thrives. Commercial metal is the gateway drug. IF some young teen with a chip on their shoulder living out in Podunk USA starts out with Avenged Sevenfold and they end up at Agalloch; then A7X has done their job.
I'm agree. In the 70s, 80s or even 90s, people at least knew there was a metal scene. Yeah, yet Cradle Of Filth's "Dusk And Her Embrace", "Cruelty And The Beast" have nothing to envy to Emperor, Mayhem or Darkthrone albums. I was hiding my Dusk And Her Embrace CD, but I was listening on repeat ! Funeral In Carpathia, Red Roses For The Devils's Whore... Just listen the beauty of the instrumental "The Graveyard By Moonlight" ! It transcends Black Metal. 1996...
Metal is not dead, never has been. Im 30 so i cant compare to being part of the time but plenty of bands carried the torch in the 90s and 00s when everyone here complaining that it died gave up on metal. ive run an underground metal record label for 10 years now, and theres a ridiculous amount of heavy metal bands putting out quality releases. Just listen to the new Eternal Champion. Or just listen to Reign in Blood for the 7,347 time and stop saying metal is dead because you killed it by not caring
I'm in my 50s i still wear heavy rock/metal t-shirts The AC/DC highway to Hell Iron Maiden Killers/Sanctuary (Eddie killing Margaret Thatcher lol) Deep Purple In Rock Black Sabbath Iron Man Are my faves. I got others Judas Priest, UFO, Metallica, Anthrax etc I can't get them from shops except when i'm in London i order them from amazon and ebay.
I really like your reaction. No kidding, sincerely. This is the type of reaction we need to have. But even the Hellfest (in France) is going "pop". People go there for alcohol, drugs, not music. And they dress up too (wtf) ! The main scene has unfortunately the worst crowd.
It’s unbelievable how much power we let the collection consciousness of metal fans have over us when we secretly listen to certain bands just so we can be accepted or avoid confrontation.
They were really good friends. But for some of them, Metallica was just Kill'em All, Maiden just Di'Anno albums, Slayer's South and Seasons were commercial, Black Metal only norwegian ! Don't worry, I was "avenging" myself with my best sepultura albums (Beneath, Arise). When you play "Arise" to a late 80s metalhead, he calms down quickly and well.
King Weed in lead. 13 albums in 3.5 years ! Take ANY album from their discography, it will be perfect. I've never heard such groovy riffs since black sabbath ! It's that good. The dope. And they're french Beware, as a youtube comment says : The guitar is tuned in drop weed.
Opeth, Agalloch, Symphony X, Nightwish, Amorphis, Circus Maximus, Daylight Dies, Epica, Leaves’ Eyes, Edenbridge, Ghost, Haken, Mastodon, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius and Tool all offer evidence to the contrary (in my opinion).
You have great taste in music, but I will respectfully disagree. There have been great Metal albums since and I suspect that the last great Metal album will be recorded long after I have gone (I am in my 50s).
Yeah, even Slayer was way too heavy/fast for me. I could deal with some Anthrax...they at least were always big on melody.
I really want to get into all of these newer metal bands.I try at different times to listen and get a feel for what they are going for.After every angle it just has not clicked. Some live shows were fun but but not leading to anything lasting.People play me a few things and I go back to older stuff again.It’s cool if people enjoy all of this stuff.
Two bands I love Purson - The Circle And The Blue Door my favourite album of the past ten years if not twenty Although I would never call it Metal Psychedelic Hard Rock almost pop in places
You cover so much ground it's difficult to know where to start. Metal has a 50+ year history. 30-50-100 albums is too small of a number (IMO). Master of Reality, Reign In Blood, Chaos A.D., etc. set the standard. You don't compare the standard to the new album. That's backward thinking. You compare the new album to the standard. It takes a minimum of 5-10 years to put an album into its proper perspective. It's too soon to judge Ohms (2020) on an all-time basis. It's too soon for Autumn Eternal (2015). Whether I'll be listening to those album six months or a year from now isn't that important. But will metalheads still be listening to them in 2035 or 2040? Someone raised on a love of extreme and hardcore is going to find a way to combine the two (metalcore) and the industry is always going to find a way to commercialize it (melodic metalcore). If I don't like it, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's not metal. It might mean that I'm a BOF.
I was just talking to my IT guy who was wearing an Enslaved hoodie and he said he liked old school Metal. I sensed he was a young'un and said, well I saw Iron Maiden in 1985. He went, "whoa cool, not that old." So all things are relative.
Unfortunately, no But I'm speaking more towards Death Metal. I don't get it. I get having rage but .... idk, I guess it's just not for me.
Purson - The Circle And The Blue Door A little light for me, but the album is so fantastic ! Blood Ceremony is more heavy. They're metal on my favorite album of them : Living With The Ancients. Excellent answer. I can even add that I have a proof with Chaos A.D. When it came out, the fans were offended ! I worship Morbid Visions, Schizophrenia, Beneath The Remains and Arise, but these albums were "just" Perfection in their genre. Chaos A.D. IS Sepultura. Try Chaos A.D. if you get having rage ! "Don't, don't believe what you see. Don't, don't believe what you read. No !" Propaganda. In this song alone, they imagine a dialogue between the social classes. Pure genius. And there is Kaiowas... But don't forget the 21st century !
Two traditional metal albums made the top 5 of Encyclopaedia Metallum best of 2020. Wytch Hazel - III Pentecost
