Metal's popularity

[Manbient]

Do you guys think metal has gotten more popular over the past 10 years, less popular, or stayed the same? Feel free to share your experience.

 

[JeffTD]

About the same... maybe a bit more thanks to bands mixing more mainstream acceptable elements of music with it, but I don't think it's grown a huge amount.

 

[J the TyranT]

you're crazy if you dont think its gotten bigger.

Bands like Lamb of God are in mainstream video games like Guitar Hero... Dethklok is a popular cartoon selling out at 3000 seat arenas....

In 98.... the BIGGEST bands were still as big as they were... but the scene as a whole? Not even close.

No Headbanger's Ball [it was between eras]
No Uranium [it is what it is]

etc etc etc

Entire stores in the mall are dedicated to the scene... yeah, its emo kids mostly, but they DO carry and support all the Shadows Falls of the world... as well as Jagermeister getting behind it with some larger tours, also

 

[Ben Johnson]

If you want to include all that hardcore/screamo stuff, then yes, metal is bigger.

 

[Gnash]

Some bands that used to be considered "underground" back in the day are just now blowin up. On the other hand, why the fuck is it ok now for Chimaira or Soilwork to open for Killswitch engage? Why isn't a band like fucking Six Feet Under headlining big tours? I still think the wrong fucking bands still get more popularity. It's so fucking hard now to do this with downloading. There's no profitable format to sell an album with now. Overall I think metal is definately more popular with the masses today than it ever has been. It's just weird to see grade school kids wearing Metallica or Job For A Cowboy T shirts.

 

[Torniojaws]

Well, being in Finland it's a bit different. Ever since the 80's, metal has been mainstream music around here

 

[jesus69lol]

If you want to include all that hardcore/screamo stuff, then yes, metal is bigger.

What this guy said. Plus the fact that for whatever reason that shit is selling like mad right now...yeah more popular.

 

[abyssofdreams]

In Germany, its popularity rises each year by at least 2-3%. Still no heavy stuff on the radio but we currently have like 20 huge festivals each year just for metal and its subgenres. There where only 2-3 when I started listening to metal back in the late 90s.

 

[Manbient]

I'm from Canada (Alberta), and around here nobody ever listened to metal when i was a teenager. I'm 25 now, and i was quite into metal by the time i was 15-16. I remember always looking for other people who were into the kinds of metal i was and never finding anyone, except the occasional metallica fan. There were quite a few fans of bands like limp bizkit, korn, and the like, but not people into metal the way i know it. I started to notice this change a bit around 2002 or so, and many more online forums could be found, and by the time i was in college i started to see people wearing metal shirts a lot more often. I also noticed a big change in the CD's that you could find in stores too... actual extreme metal cd's with growls. We also started to get metal shows here from international bands shortly after that, which before about 2003, we only really got Strapping Young Lad I think metal has gotten a LOT more popular than it used to be.

Just curious for those who have been a fan since the late 90's or early 2000's... did you find some of the same things as me? for eg: were metal cd's available in stores when they weren't before? did you start getting more concerts? Thanks to those who reply. I had a friend tell me i was crazy for thinking this, and i really want to see if it's just me, or if these changes were real

 

[deanbailey]

Most people from the past would say "Metal has gotten less popular due to growth of scene bands taking over with the select few great band leading the way" and probably vote less popular.

Where most post-1990 kids would include the scene band movement as being metal and would vote "about the same".

If you take aside the opinions of what IS metal and judge just from statistics you would say "More Popular" as there is an increase of interest in the genre in the past 10 years regardless of sub-genre's.

As much as I hate scene bands I would vote for "More Popular" but I accidentally clicked on "About the Same" and cannot change it lol

[/Self-Debate]

 

[slashvanyoung]

In Germany, its popularity rises each year by at least 2-3%. Still no heavy stuff on the radio but we currently have like 20 huge festivals each year just for metal and its subgenres. There where only 2-3 when I started listening to metal back in the late 90s.

Yeah, but as far as festivals go, the market is already over saturated and already above the maximum for the actual demand.

When I look at this evolution of some sort of oligopoly with Wacken and its minions growing even bigger and the death of once established festivals like the Up From The Ground... it makes me a bit sad.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Metal in the US was on a respirator 10-15 years ago.

 

[ApolloSpeed]

In Texas, way way less...... HipHop has taken over like mad money since white women found out about it in the late 90's - early 2000s!

I noticed it around 2003-2004, a huge steady decline in the Dallas, Houston, East texas, and Shrevport Metal scene...... today Metal in these areas are barely holding on by a thread. Emo Metal or that scene kid metal is about all thats pulling crowds these days!

 

[slashvanyoung]

In Texas, way way less...... HipHop has taken over like mad money since white women found out about it in the late 90's - early 2000s!

I noticed it around 2003-2004, a huge steady decline in the Dallas, Houston, East texas, and Shrevport Metal scene...... today Metal in these areas are barely holding on by a thread. Emo Metal or that scene kid metal is about all thats pulling crowds these days!

So you're basically saying "real" Texanian metal died with Dime?

 

[hoehlentroll]

Lamb of God

is no metal. metalcore is no metal!!! though I like both!
but even if you take metal at itself it's gotten bigger, at least in europe. don't know about usa though

 

[J the TyranT]

is no metal. metalcore is no metal!!! though I like both!
but even if you take metal at itself it's gotten bigger, at least in europe. don't know about usa though

let's not choose to be dicks here and split hairs due to preference.

Lamb of God is fucking metal, and that's it.

 

[Metaltastic]

Lamb of God is metal, I've never heard them play a breakdown - too bad they also bore me to tears

 

[hoehlentroll]

let's not choose to be dicks here and split hairs due to preference.

Lamb of God is fucking metal, and that's it.

but let me put it that way: the borders between what is metal and what not are changing from person to person!
some might say even limp biskit is metal uke:

 

[Pot]

metal is more popular...however i couldn´t care less about that, never did never will

 

[J the TyranT]

ok.

lamb of god is a swing band