Everything is cyclical. Yes, everything. What is old will become new again at some point down the line. The same is true for metal, where classic styles are always be rehashed by new artists, sometimes decades after they first debuted.
This year, in particular, has been flooded with bands taking notes from their forefathers - particularly Black Sabbath - and bringing them back into the limelight. Take From Beyond, for example. Their EP, "One Year," was a revelation for modern metal. They managed to combine the old school psychedelic flair with a more refined, updated flow. Meanwhile, some 2,000 miles away in Rhode Island, Balam were doing the same thing on their self titled offering. Both bands have clearly defined love of what was once king, but without ever coming off as wasted hero worship.
On the flip side of this coin is the question of where metal will go from here. We have discussed it at length over the last year or so. Will the dominant styles of death, folk, and power metal continue well into the future with minor tweaks along the way? Or will new, less imaginative takes like doomwave and the dreaded mess of "core" subgenres take over and carry the torch into ridiculous new directions?
The real question is a matter of taste: do you want your music to stay the course, or change dramatically?
This year, in particular, has been flooded with bands taking notes from their forefathers - particularly Black Sabbath - and bringing them back into the limelight. Take From Beyond, for example. Their EP, "One Year," was a revelation for modern metal. They managed to combine the old school psychedelic flair with a more refined, updated flow. Meanwhile, some 2,000 miles away in Rhode Island, Balam were doing the same thing on their self titled offering. Both bands have clearly defined love of what was once king, but without ever coming off as wasted hero worship.
On the flip side of this coin is the question of where metal will go from here. We have discussed it at length over the last year or so. Will the dominant styles of death, folk, and power metal continue well into the future with minor tweaks along the way? Or will new, less imaginative takes like doomwave and the dreaded mess of "core" subgenres take over and carry the torch into ridiculous new directions?
The real question is a matter of taste: do you want your music to stay the course, or change dramatically?
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