This is not a single-answer question. Metal has always been diverse. Black Sabbath has very little in common with Judas Priest other than a hometown yet they’re both recognisably metal. But we’re in a time where metal has been around for almost five decades. In just a few years we’ll be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Sabbath’s debut album. That’s 50 years of metal. Go to a metal gig today and you’ll see a crowd ranging from 18-year-olds to fans in their 30s who grew up on Pantera and Machine Head, from fans in their 40s and 50s who witnessed the rise of thrash, to fans in their 60s and 70s who were there from the beginning. And it’s not just the legacy acts who are drawing these crowds.
That means there’s something universal in metal. It’s the perfect sound to express the emotions that it by definition expresses. But there’s no one way to do it, which is why we see so many offshoots and subgenres of metal. So given where we are with metal today, what is it going to look like in the future? I think the answer is ‘different and the same.’
I’m endlessly fascinated with the doom/stoner genre. Of all the strains of metal, that’s the one that I feel can be traced most directly back to Sabbath – particularly the albums Sabotage, Volume 4 and Masters Of Reality. There’s always been something of a scene for this genre but it’s huge now, and I feel like we’re one massive mainstream crossover release away from it really jumping up a level. Djent is in a place where it needs to evolve, but by the nature of progressive musicians, I’m sure that’s already happening. I’d love to see more of an ‘early days of thrash’-inspired scene with more of a punk element, but filtered through the intervening 35 years of influence. I hear lots of Alice In Chains harmonies now, and with bands like Mastodon there’s a clear psychedelic influence. That’s going to continue to grow and evolve.
These are all things we can forecast and summarise based on what we see around us in metal right now. But what really excites me is the stuff we can’t yet envision but that will undoubtedly rise up in the years ahead. What do you think it will be? Where do you think metal will go?
