Metallica: The most popular metal band to have ever existed
just put out a 3D movie no one asked for. Metalheads can’t even rely on
Metallica to put out a good record anymore. Just when the band had finally
slightly redeemed itself with Death Magnetic, they put out Lulu. Now all
hopes and expectations are out the window.
Megadeth: Really guys? Super Collider? That record speaks
for itself. It’s a piece of trash. I want United Abominations and Endgame
Megadeth back.
Slayer: Fans probably would have accepted the band with Gary
Holt just permanently replacing Hanneman, but getting rid of Dave Lombardo
was too much of a slap in the face for Slayer fans. Lombardo is essential to
the band, and without him and Hanneman, what hope does Slayer have of putting
out a decent record?
Black Sabbath: Without Bill Ward the band just feels incomplete.
The newest record is still good, but something is missing, and I think
many other metalheads will agree with me on that point.
Sepultura: REUNITE WITH THE CAVALERA BROTHERS ALREADY! This is getting ridiculous.
Slipknot: The world could really use Slipknot, but Corey
Taylor is holding his crew back from putting out the comeback record that fans
are all dying to listen to. The motivation for the record is there for everyone
but him, and it’s driving listeners insane. System of a Down is experiencing
something very similar with Serj Tankian’s lack of desire to fully recommit to
the band, despite the excitement of the rest of his bandmates.
And those are just examples of what’s wrong with some of the
active bands. Iron Maiden and Judas Priest are taking a really long time to
release new stuff.
Meanwhile, you have heavy metal icons such as Phil Anselmo,
Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie trying to get back in the game, but still coming
short of reclaiming past glory.
Taking a look at newer popular heavy metal groups, Avenged
Sevenfold basically just released a covers album, Device sounds exactly like
Disturbed, Hellyeah has never released an original record, and really Stone
Sour? That’s your attempt at rejuvenating heavy metal? Your last double album
was good, but not nearly as exciting as promised.
Oh, and I haven’t forgotten
Five Finger Death Punch, who hasn’t released a memorable record since the debut,
yet is still managing to get major headlining gigs. Then there’s Trivium, who wrote a tribute record to Metallica a while back and now seems to be doing so for
Disturbed, further tarnishing their good reputation.
At least mainstream heavy metal has Anthrax, though, right?
The band's last album was pretty great. Hopefully Rob Caggiano wasn’t the only one
keeping them in check.
Look, I’m not trying to just shamelessly bash popular heavy metal
groups. What I’m trying to point out is that a lot of metal’s most beloved bands
are lowering their standards and not thinking out their records. It’s easy to
have fun and put out a metal album. It’s hard to put out a record that is of
high quality, and it’s even harder to put out one that sounds original.
I think with fame a lot of bands have become lazier and/or
less inspired. Megadeth’s new album is a good example of both of those
characteristics. Super Collider sounds like an album made by a band going
through the motions, and that’s just not alright. I have a lot of respect for
bands such as Rage Against the Machine and Tool, who are bands that
collectively took a step back when they didn’t feel motivated. Taking a break
to explore other musical outlets can sometimes be exactly what a band needs in
order to sound fresh again.
Deftones is a great example of a band that is just always
out to impress their fans, no matter how famous they get. They threw out an
entire album because they felt they had a bigger statement to make. They
followed their artistic vision and look at how that turned out. Diamond Eyes
was incredible, and worthy of the praise it received.
Some of these famous bands, such as Avenged Sevenfold and
Trivium, just have no idea where to go. They lack direction, and a directionless
band can never and will never be able to put out a memorable record. These
groups either need some fresh blood, a producer to give them direction (who
isn’t David Draiman) or maybe just a break.
It’s also not alright to keep rehashing the same album. The only metal band who can do that and still be accepted by both critics and their fans is Mötorhead, but they've earned that right.
I think what heavy metal really needs is some new
blood. There are a lot of exciting new things happening in the heavy metal
underground, but nothing is happening in the heavy metal mainstream. There
hasn’t been a new hugely successful metal band since Avenged Sevenfold. To
clarify, I’m not talking about the Lamb of God and Machine Head level of success. I’m not
even talking about super cool, "scene" Asking Alexandria success. I’m talking
about rock star success. The kind of success that allows people to include
“Synyster Gates” and “Slash” in the same sentence.
I think the world needs a new figurative Slipknot. When
Slipknot came onto the scene, people freaked out. The group had nine members,
chaotic live shows unlike anything else and had music that balanced aggression
with exciting creativity. In other words, people need mainstream metal that
sounds fresh and hasn’t been done before.
Kudos to Ghost for trying, but the over-the-top-Satanic band
just doesn’t have the exciting music to coincide with the cool gimmick. They
will never be as big as they could be because of that, even if it is nice to
hear Blue Oyster Cult-influenced metal suddenly get a little bit more popular
again.
Heavy metal needs a band that can get the masses freaking
out again. A new boundary needs to be broken. A new anger needs to be
unleashed. A new group needs to step up, and just take the world by storm.
The question now is, how much longer will it take for this
new band to appear? With the music industry constantly evolving and heavy metal
becoming more and more multi-dimensional, one can only hope that the next big
thing in heavy metal is only a couple of years away. Until then, the wait
might be difficult with releases like this:
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