Do you think metal has gotten significantly more popular since you first got into it? stayed the same? gotten less popular?
Metal's popularity
- Thread starter Manbient
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About the same. The popular style has shifted from gothenburg style metalcore to deathcore while I've been into metal, but I don't think there has been a shift in the popularity. I've been into metal for three years.
Satanstoenail
My Larpstyle determines my Derpstyle
More, then less, then more, then less, then more, and now it's probably tapering off again somewhat.
no country for old wainds
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Orion Crystal Ice
Rider of the Astral Fire
well, since I got into it about 13 years ago, definitely. Lately though, not so much, well, nothing tr00 anyway - and that's not elitism, that's just the fact that 98% of stuff blowing up right now has a huge 'catch' to it which is amplified somehow in the perceptions and tastes of the mainstream that buys it. Examples... even though Blind Guardian, Firewind, and Rhapsody are also pretty "big" here in the USA along with DragonForce, they still have a certain glass ceiling because the songwriting is simply..well, better, and unreliant on a narrow crutch like 'shredding'. Death metal is always around, but a good quarter of the buying base is buying because of the 'brutality' and 'sickness', regressing the common perception of the art form as a whole on a continual basis. A lot of the better underground bands are not making the same inroads due to smaller labels and budgets, but there's also the simple fact that less people latch on to the stuff, for one reason or another.
But as I said, it's not every band, and we've still made good progress with things in general, thanks to mp3.com and now myspace...there are still tons of cool bands in the CD store at the mall that never had a chance of being there 5-6 years ago. So..
But as I said, it's not every band, and we've still made good progress with things in general, thanks to mp3.com and now myspace...there are still tons of cool bands in the CD store at the mall that never had a chance of being there 5-6 years ago. So..
that's actually not an option on the poll, but i'm sure glad you let me know
no country for old wainds
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Hatebreeder
Pizzicato Heartstrings
I think metal's popularity has been consistent from its birth until now, but it's taken many different forms in the mainstream, from hair metal to thrash to metalcore.
no country for old wainds
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a far more interesting question is 'what is it about each particular period which caused that particular sub-genre to break the mainstream', but i suspect the answer is rather less interesting than i'd like it to be.
by all means, the thread can take that direction. My main intention was to see if people thought metal had gotten more popular. For me, i thought the late 90's, early 2000's were nearly a wasteland for metal fans, but for some reason seemed to pick up around 2002-2003, and now you can run into metal fans anywhere. I forgot though when i made the poll that there's probably lots of people who got into metal during that surge, so the poll results might not show what i was expecting. I still think though it's steadily gotten more popular since then.
no country for old wainds
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oh absolutely. For a long while the internet was the only place you could find any information on extreme metal.
More popular. Though you still get your share of people getting into bands like In Flames, Children of Bodom and more well known bands, I've definitely noticed black metal in particular has been increasing in popularity quite a lot over the last few years especially - likely because of downloading/filesharing.
I dont think you understand the concept of popularity. All genres go through a cycle of growing from underground acts to more popular to bursting from too much popularity & lack of originality. Metal subgenres also follow that rule.
For example: heavy metal got big in the 80s, thrash metal was near-mainstream at the end of the 80s, death metal in the beginning of 90s.
So yes, some form of metal is(close to) mainstream, but that has always been the case from the early stone age onwards
For example: heavy metal got big in the 80s, thrash metal was near-mainstream at the end of the 80s, death metal in the beginning of 90s.
So yes, some form of metal is(close to) mainstream, but that has always been the case from the early stone age onwards
whiskey funeral
Mother North
This.
no country for old wainds said:
And this. Metal's popularity and any kind of growing fan base for bands I enjoy really doesn't bother me.
Burning In Hell
New Metal Member
Janga666
Infamous Butcher
I've been into metal since '89 so I think the popularity has gone down a lot since then. It is probably more popular now than in the early '90s when grunge blew up and a few years later when nu metal became more popular.
I'm pretty sure it's gotten more popular in the last few years if the amount of people on Last.fm who listen to bands that I like is any indicator.
Dak
mentat
I would definitely attribute this to the internet. I would have no way of finding out about 90% of what I listen to without online resources like this board or blabbermouth etc.
To most people though, music isn't important enough to dig beyond the "Top 40" spot on the dial.
To most people though, music isn't important enough to dig beyond the "Top 40" spot on the dial.
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