Stop Going On About Metal's Golden Age...It's A Myth

Ever since I first discovered Metal music in 1990 at the tender of age of 14, I've been hearing the same old tired argument about the 80's being the golden era of Metal. The problem is that this ridiculous and incorrect view has pervaded throughout the scene and has continued right up to the present day. It shows either a nostalgic view of the past or a complete ignorance of the current scene. Possibly both. Why would you want to limit yourself to the albums of your youth (if you're old enough) or to the albums you have been programmed to revere? There is a whole world of great Metal music out there and in my opinion (based on experience), it is growing stronger and stronger.

To say that new music isn't any good is utter rubbish. Every generation says the same. Your parents said that about 'your' music. To say that music was better when you were young isn't only arrogant, it is also way off the mark.

I will admit that many Metal sub-genres - Death, Black, Hair, Grunge, Alt, Thrash...and so on - first appeared in the 80's, but how often is something perfect in the beginning? Music evolves, it grows, it adapts. The bands of today have 40 years of influence to draw from and have much more access to a wider range of other musical genres to incorporate into their sound to enrich their output even more. Therefore, it also should be taken into account that genres are not so black and white these days, with many bands just playing heavy, loud, aggressive music and refusing to be pigeon-holed. Also, even bands that do play within a set genre, for example Black Metal, bear very little resemblance to the bands who started the scene.

New sub-genres appear all the time and one of the main reasons that the 80's is remembered so fondly, is that the sound and style of Metal was still something fairly fresh and new. It was almost like sonic dough - pliable and full of potential. Fast forward 30 years and of course things aren't the same.

In fact, I'd say that things are better now. We have so much more choice of what to listen to. Before the appearance of the internet, the bands we were exposed to were those promoted (mainly) by the major record labels through the medium of magazines, MTV, etc and some underground music through tape-trading (a primitive version of file-sharing, younger readers). These days bands have a whole range of options for getting their music out there to the (relative) masses, without much, if any, financial backing. There are more bands, genres and therefore, choice than ever before, so we should be embracing this and looking to the future rather than to a now dim and distant past.

Of course, this doesn't mean that we can't still respect and enjoy what the 80's gave us, but we need to dispel this myth and the attitude that we owe it a debt and start  looking to the future and supporting and embracing up and coming bands. Let's face it, the "classic" bands aren't getting younger and if we want Metal to continue, to survive and to grow, we need to start building the fanbase for the huge bands of the future. Without them, we might be looking at a future without the likes of Wacken, Sonisphere, Download, Bloodstock, etc as there just won't be bands with a large enough following to be considered viable headliners. Year after year the same tired old acts are trotted out (Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, etc), but there are very few "new" bands in said bracket (Slipknot aside). If we don't start living in the moment and celebrating the bands we have now, the future of live Metal music may consist of nostalgia bands playing year after year with ever decreasing returns. So, pick up a magazine or get yourself down to your local pub / venue and start supporting the bands of tomorrow.