Too often I hear people say that Metal is dead and, to be honest, they have a point. I, for one, believe that there are certain subgenres in Metal that ought to be dead but tragically are not. Death Metal seems to not be doing itself any favors by banging on, and the worst culprits are the bands that refuse to die (looking at you: Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, At the Gates, Morbid Angel, Immolation, Suffocation, Vader, Decapitated, and others). Then there are the subgenres that have (d)evolved or been co-opted by those from without. Black Metal has been disfigured and/or bastardized by those with deep roots in the genre (Alcest, Nuit Noire, Satyricon, The Kovenant) and those with no understanding of the genre whatsoever (Krallice, Bosse-de-Nage, Lonesummer). Then there are those things that should not be like Djent and whatever-the-fuck is going on with Metalcore right now, not that it was ever good.

The decision to call it quits at the right time is always a controversial one and it seems that only Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David ever got that decision right. And it also appears that the only way to stay together and remain fruitful is to constantly reinvent your sound (Katatonia, Paradise Lost, Opeth, and only Doom Death Metal Bands apparently). And thus change in and of itself is not a bad thing in Metal. Heavy gave way to Speed which gave way to Thrash which gave way to Death, but the more modern takes on Metal, even when good, seem to miss the boat on the scene they wish to represent. Drawing from the most commonly used Metal “techniques” such as blast beats, tremolo and shrieking might seem to yield Metal but mastering that alone does not a Metal band make.

I always seem to be the bearer of bad news when I enlighten people about what is and isn’t Metal. Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana and even Black Sabbath (gasp!) were never Metal bands, but why? The simple answer is the “riff.” The riff is what makes Metal music Metal. Metal is a guitar-centric musical style that is built upon a solid rhythmic structure that is guitar and drum heavy with little to no bass required (but delightful when prevalent). That is why so many bands in Metal have two guitarists and, sometimes, no bassist. But why is “Welcome to the Jungle” not a metal song and “Aces High” is? Slash is a stellar guitar player but if you slow down a GNR song you’ll get a Blues song and if you slow down a Maiden track you’ll get something more along the lines of a Baroque piece (see Nylon Maiden by Thomas Zwijsen), not the best Classical period but good stuff nonetheless. But it isn’t just the breaking away from pentatonic scales that sets metal apart, for metal certainly has some bluesy influences. Metal also heavily relies on the power chord, but it is the sequencing, tempo and phrasing of Metal riffs that make them so unique.

As my “Exhibit A” for the first ever Metal riff I bring you the main riff from “Deceiver” from Judas Priest’s “Sad Wings of Destiny” released in 1976. It showcases one of Metal’s most beloved guitar picking patterns, the gallop. Though Zeppelin came close with “Immigrant Song,” and Sabbath, obviously, came much closer though they never quite got there insofar as reaching the speed or having the chug, or downstroke, that defines the Metal genre. It wasn’t until Judas Priest that Metal was truly born. Even if Priest didn’t have the legendary duo of K. K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford’s falsetto was more than enough to spearhead the Metal movement. And once Maiden released their eponymous debut in 1980 we had ourselves the first ever, full-fledged Metal scene.

And now, what can we make of this four decade old genre? Priest is still playing, as is Maiden. Most of the Bay Area Thrash bands are still going, though not strong at all. And yet these relics are what many believe to be the closest you can come to seeing a Metal band these days, outside of unbearable local bands. What I see as a major problem is the “revivalist” Metal movement. Municipal Waste, Warbringer, Violator and Deathhammer are just a few of the Thrash revival bands which to me are not even a step above cover bands. The music of these bands is so derivative that all I can say about these bands is that they are great parrots, spitting back Thrash not exactly how you remember it but pretty close. The Black Metal revival bands might be even sadder in their desperate attempts to conjure up some of the old glory of the 90s. Watain is a poor man’s Dissection meets a poor man’s Dark Funeral, Glaciation is just a joke and I can’t think of a word offensive enough to describe what Carach Angren is trying to achieve. Death Metal revivalists are no different from Thrash and Black Metal. Bloodbath is the most perplexing for it was created by people who actually partook in the phenomenal 90s Doom Death Metal scene but it’s still garbage. So now the question becomes, is there ANY good metal still being released? There sure is but not a lot of it.

Black Metal is having quite the time with the brilliant acts of Mgla, Batushka and Obsequiae putting their unique spins on the classic sub-genre. Mgla has given Black Metal a ferocity that it has never had, while Batushka has beautified and injected Black Metal with the in vogue 8-string guitar and done so masterfully, and Obsequiae has trail-blazed a path that brilliant melodic metallers Dissection might have gone down if they had been able to. Though all three are indeed Black Metal, and Obsequiae perhaps being the most derivative, they all offer something fresh and new to the genre. In the Death Metal sphere I posit the greatness of relatively new Portal. The technicality of Portal’s music is expertly utilized in creating an air of madness instead of just being wanky for the sake of wanking. And Thrash should honestly stay dead. So, as far as traditional metal genres go there isn’t much of any worth going on, but what about new genres?

Experimental Metal, a vague term I know, is on the rise and hybridization seems to be the thing to do right now. Full of Hell are fusing Noise, Grindcore, Hardcore and Death Metal into a tornado of unintelligible swill. Dragged Into Sunlight’s modernized Death Metal has a lot of sampling and Doom influences but doesn’t have the edge of a Metal band to me – quite frankly too angsty with horrid attempts at screams. Meanwhile the likes of bands like Blut Aus Nord and Deathspell Omega continue to reinvent themselves and create music that is nearly impossible to describe – much approved, by the way. Then you have the Emo Black Metal movement lead by Deafheaven, who I’m not embarrassed to admit I actually like. Their music appeals to the 11-year-old emo kid in me and their live show appeals to the Iggy Pop and the Stooges fan in me, but you won’t EVER hear me call Deafheaven Metal, because they aren’t. Alcest is also creating some enticing music that I absolutely love and even they wouldn’t call what they do Metal. Then you have the oddballs like Zeal and Ardor and Panopticon fusing things like mock plantation hymns and bluegrass with Black Metal of all things – the music is certainly Metal but not necessarily good. Factor in the oppressive wave of stoner bands that recently emerged in the wake of Mastodon and Baroness’ success and my diagnosis of Modern Metal would have to be: not good.

There are modern bands worth listening to as a Metal fan (Mgla, Obsequiae, Batushka, Portal) and some older bands that are still going strong (Blut Aus Nord, Deathspell Omega) but as a scene there is much to be desired. The whole “pick an odd genre and blend it with Black Metal” scene needs to die. And plenty of bands that are from the Metal world have decided to move on to pursuits in other genres (Alcest, Anathema, Katatonia). Quite simply put, most of the good music being made right now either isn’t Metal at all or only loosely related to it. And while the creators of some of the most extreme music grew up listening to seemingly incompatible genres like Soul, Psych Rock and Folk music, the recent wave of Emo and Hardcore kids trying to play Metal has completely done extreme music a disservice. I think that what once made Metal so unique was the incorporation of what came before into a brand new style, but there may just be nowhere left to go. Metal as a scene is dying and those who continue to produce brilliant Metal are the last in what is an endangered species, so rather than concerning yourself with what’s going on now, go back and listen to what already happened. Don’t worry though, I’ll tell you where to start.