MY OPINION - "Heavy Metal" is far from dead!!! I have yet to stray from the world of "Heavy Metal" since I was brought into it 18 years ago. NO I don't just listen to "Old Metal" (Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Guns and Roses, W.A.S.P., etc.), and I haven't listened to the radio (not internet radio) since KNAC went off the air.
For the past 10 years, while my Headbanging buddies of Jr. High and High School went along with the crowd and trends of the time, I have stood alone, Proud and EXTREMELY satisfied with the music that has been put out, from new bands and old.
You can't see "Heavy Metal" on T.V. and definitley not hear it on the radio these days. So forget what is in Billboard or who's getting awards.
If your source for "Heavy Metal" is listening to the radio and watching T.V., it is obvious (and Totally Absurd) that you would think the genre is dead. STOP watching music and start listening! I laugh my ass off when people can not mention the INCREDIBLY GREAT music of the 80's (Thank GOD I grew up then and not now!) without saying "BIG HAIR". People who think like that are just missing out on the excellent music that was the heyday of "Heavy Metal".
In the last few years there have been births of geniune "Heavy Metal" bands. NO RAP, NO DEPRESSING STORIES OF HOW SHITTY LIFE IS, NO RAP, AND NOOO RAP!!! A couple of bands that I love to brag about (the kind of music that I live for) are White Skull, Steel Attack, & Hammerfall. And there is sooooo much more PURE ROCKIN' METAL out there, you just have to look and LISTEN!
For those of you who never let "Heavy Metal" out of your soul and never followed a music trend in your life............LET THE METAL GODS TAKE YOU TO YOUR GRAVE!!!!
Black4Ever
P.S. - I gotta say it again.......if you think "Heavy Metal" is dead because you don't see it on T.V. or hear it on the radio or because it is not on the shows you watch or movies you see, in my opinion, YOU ARE NOT A FAN OF "HEAVY METAL" MUSIC!