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As an ardent fan of heavy metal (and all of its respective subgenres), it’s seeming as though the genre has been losing its edge, influence, and general presence in music culture.
Sure, there are bands out there still carrying the torch of the genre, like Slipknot, Five Finger Death Punch, Lamb of God, and a handful of others – but the flame from that proverbial torch has seemed to have dimmed over the years.
The times are obviously a far cry from 80s and 90s when bands like Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, and Testament were fighting for the crown of the kings of thrash metal; or even the New Wave of American Heavy Metal from the 90s and early 2000s that spawned the rebirth of MTV’s “Headbangers Ball” (and three awesome double-disc compilation albums bearing the namesake, too).
So, what’s the cause of all this? Is the general public just all moshed-out? Perhaps – but what likely isn’t helping are the bands who started out making some cutting edge heavy metal who later abandoned the genre for more commercial sounding pop or regular rock music.
Check out the latest episode of The Breakdown to see whether it’s time to Make Heavy Metal Great Again.
This piece was written by Gregory Hoyt on May 27, 2022. It originally appeared in RedVoiceMedia.com and is used by permission.
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