To narrow it down to five choices, I eliminated all
extraordinarily legendary bands and artists who should stay around even if it’s
just for nostalgia’s sake. For example, even though Megadeth’s last few albums
have been weak, they are such a renowned act that I couldn’t possibly put them
on the list. Plus, they really only play a couple of their newer songs live,
and are worth seeing just to hear the classics.
I also eliminated any bands from the list that I really felt
could bounce back. For example, Bullet for My Valentine seemed like an obvious
choice for the list, since their last album was abysmal. However, all of their
albums before it were relatively good, so I have to assume that the last record
was a misstep.
Additionally, the list below is fairly mainstream for a
reason. I didn’t want my readers to have to look up every band on the list.
That would be too much work.
Now, without further ado, and in no particular order, here
is my list:
1.
Avenged Sevenfold
When The Rev passed away, that should have
been it for Avenged Sevenfold. The Rev was a good drummer, but his greatest
contribution to the band was through his songwriting abilities. Sure, M.
Shadows and Synyster Gates have proven
themselves to be pretty good songwriters, but The Rev’s songs were always
special treasures on each Avenged Sevenfold record. He wrote some of the band’s
most creative and exciting songs, such as “Chapter Four,” “Almost Easy,”
“Afterlife,” “A Little Piece of Heaven,” “Welcome to the Family” and
“Fiction.” Even though M. Shadows’ songs were usually bigger hits (“Unholy
Confessions” and “Beast and the Harlot”), The Rev’s songs were usually those
that added depth to the band’s records. The Rev was never afraid to experiment
and those experimentations almost always paid off in a big way for the band.
The Rev’s songwriting, drumming, and backing vocals were essential to what made
Avenged Sevenfold such a special metal group. The band’s newest album, Hail to
the King, is evidence that the band faces a hard road ahead without The Rev.
Personally, I think they should just give up now or at least change their name
to preserve the legacy of those fantastic first five records.
2. Korn
I haven’t seen a metal band struggle this
much with identity confusion since Metallica popped (or should I say “pooped”)
out St. Anger. I was one of the few people who actually dug Korn’s
experimentation with dubstep, but then again I also enjoyed St. Anger to a
degree. Still, Korn is a band that keeps needing to re-examine itself.
The group did so successfully with Korn III: Remember Who You Are, after a
spree of lackluster albums. Now the group needs to do so yet again because the
band’s newest record, The Paradigm Shift, just sounds like a mess. Its
combination of sounds and styles isn’t original. It’s just confusing and
upsetting for longtime fans of the band. The band had some incredible early albums, but it might be time that the band members took a little break to
explore their musical side interests without having them leak into Korn
records. Then they could come back and play their older material again, and
everyone would be happy.
3. Killswitch Engage
Killswitch Engage basically invented
melodic metalcore with its first four albums. The band was a monumental influence
on so many bands that came after it. But now they are starting to lose
their momentum. The band’s fifth album was a mess in so many ways, with
melodies that made fans shudder and breakdowns that were much weaker than
usual. Then Howard Jones left the band, and the group’s old singer, Jesse Leach, returned. Leach brought some energy and excitement back into the band, but the
group’s newest album just sounds like a repeat of everything else it has done. Killswitch Engage had a good run, but they are running out of ideas, and
it has become brutally obvious. Killswitch Engage isn’t going to be gaining
many new fans nowadays, and no one is really talking about them anymore. Their
style is becoming stale and dated, and it’s time for them to disappear for a
little while, so they can preserve the integrity of a pretty memorable legacy
of records.
4.
In Flames
I have a difficult time talking about In
Flames. I worship their first five records, and consider them to be some of
melodic death metal’s finest achievements. However, with the change in style
that first appeared on Reroute to Remain, the quality of the band’s music began
to decline. I understand the band’s actions, though. They wanted a more
mainstream American audience so they ditched the melodic death metal style in
favor of a more alternative metal-based one. That would have been fine by me as
long as the band didn’t stick with it for too long. Unfortunately, the band put
out four alternative metal records, only one of which (Come Clarity) is worth
listening to all the way through. Finally, in 2011, the band decided to
acknowledge its melodic death metal fans again with Sounds of a Playground
Fading, but the album is far from perfect. Anders Friden’s clean vocals are
still pretty awful, and they take up most of the album. Plus, the electronic
moments are weird and unwelcome. Fans of In Flames have been begging for a good,
traditional melodic death metal record from their heroes. The band’s
alternative metal output isn’t going to get better than Come Clarity, and if
the band can’t do what its fans are requesting, then maybe it should just
disband altogether. Jesper Stromblad at least knew when enough was enough. If
only it was more obvious to the rest of the band members.
5. Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie’s stage shows are still
phenomenal, however his music just isn’t. His best musical years are far behind
him, and even though his new record was decent, he’s probably never going to
put out another classic metal song again. If Zombie played some old tunes from
his White Zombie days alongside songs from his first two solo records, fans
would be very happy. He doesn’t even have to tour that often. He could just
keep making movies (which he is clearly very good at), and whenever he’s in the
mood, he could embark on a short tour playing his old music. That plan sounds
much better than releasing an okay album every three to four years and
regularly touring behind songs that don’t have much spark behind them. Zombie
should just stop making records. He has enough great songs and is just ruining
their legacy by continuing to make more.
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