The Next "Iron Maiden"?
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Original post
Posted by Doc G., 29.10.2008 - 04:50
Iron Maiden is just an example name, the greatest example I could find. Iron Maiden is one of those few metal bands that acquired mainstream success/mass appeal while still retaining the respect from the more elitist of metalheads. No one gets called a "poser" for being an Iron Maiden fan, yet they are waaay bigger than almost every band everyone deems as "sellouts".
So the more descriptive question is this: Who will be the next metal band (lets say bands that have formed in the last 10-15 years), that acquires mass appeal globally, while at the same time still holds respect from more elitist people?
Not such an easy question to answer. Due to the fact that the music business has completely changed since Iron Maidens prime, it's doubtful any other band in metal will reach the level of Iron Maiden again, so lets say the next mainstream band that everyone would be proud to be waving the "metal flag". Some possible answers that went through my head: Children Of Bodom - No, sure they are possibly one of the biggest metal bands to come out in the past 15 years, but once again they don't get much respect from the more learned of metalheads. Opeth maybe?
The reason I made this a topic is because I have no idea! In 25-30 years, Whats that one metal band thats not going to be known for selling out (*cough* *cough* Metallica *cough*), the band where all the kids are going to be wearing shirts of and referring to as "classic"? Any ideas anyone?
| Hrothdane Posts: 489  |
Written by Kennoth on 22.06.2010 at 16:45 Oh I agree. I can't understand those people either, but they do exist unfortunately.
---- Despair is death, and I'm not interested in dying. Member of the True Crusade against True Crusades
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15288  |
It won't ever happen again. it cannot happen again, as a result of the way metal has grown into increasingly more sub-genres and sub-sub-genres and as a result of the demolition of the music industry. (they actually bought music in the 80's. now people think they deserve it for free. think a band will get development opportunities and adequate tour support now?) most of the suggestions have been downright laughable.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| Cyroth Posts: 274  |
Written by Ellrohir on 22.06.2010 at 14:02 Disturbed is a band that could reach the peaks of IM,not musically speaking,but as the topic says,international know and liked,maybe loved even... The downside is they don't play more pure heavy metal,and they play hard rock,even nu metal,as I read some time ago Damian,the vocalist said "we play more hard rock than heavy metal" or something along the lines
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| Kennoth Posts: 2502  |
Damian? His name is David Draiman 
---- *insert something deep and profound*
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| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493  |
I never could get into Disturbed. I just don't get what's so great about their sound. Now, if we're talking about the real Disturbed, that's better. =P
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| Cyroth Posts: 274 |
Written by Kennoth on 22.06.2010 at 18:49 darn it,I was pretty sure I was going to butcher his name >_< sry about that
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| Xim Rocker of Worlds Posts: 273  |
Disturbed is criticized by a lot of underground metallers, and especially metal elitists. Same deal with Rammstein. Not that I don't like those bands, I'm wearing a Rammstein shirt right now actually. Also I wouldn't call Rammstein a straight-forward metal band. Sure they have significant metal influence, but they've got a lot of other influences to. I think the next "Iron Maiden" would have to be a band that nobody would argue that they're metal.
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| Cyroth Posts: 274 |
I was going to say Within Temptation,but then I reminded myself of the album "The Heart of Everything" that isn't that metal...maybe,if the next album will be more metal,they might have a chance...or it is a bad proposal just because the band is female fronted and the idea is to be in the spirit of metal with some more sweat and manly manliness at the vocals
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| Kennoth Posts: 2502 |
How about Katatonia? I don't know if anyone mentioned them before but... First of all, they're very popular among elitists. Hardly will anyone have something wrong to say about them (their first death/doom editions made sure they're metal enough) Nowadays, they've becoming increasingly accessible to wider audience, witnessed by the impressive 22 million plays on last.fm (surpassing a bunch of metalcore and deathcore artists on their way), though staying true to their atmospheric, depressing doom-like style. Probably their shifting to clean vocals also played a major role in this too.
---- *insert something deep and profound*
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| Zuzuz0r Posts: 507  |
Written by Kennoth on 29.06.2010 at 20:40 Their actual sound is quite accesible, but somehow I see it hard for them to become the next Iron Maiden, they get way lesser crowds at shows than Opeth or Dream Theater(being a band with almost the same time playing), and those bands get way lesser crowds than Iron Maiden. I don't know if their Alternative Depressive Rock sound could attract metalheads, being that most metalheads would consider this kind of sound like "not so metal" and most of them prefer the already estabilished metal bands. Also, most elitists prefer their old Doom/Death sound than their actual sound. Another band I thought a couple of years ago that could be the new Iron Maiden, was Sonata Arctica(band which I used to be a really big fan), but seeing that the Euro Melodic Flower Metal trend is dying slowly, I see it hard, also they started to lose fans when they changed their sound(which I think is better than their old sound). They even attracted plenty of non-metal fans.
---- If this grand panorama before me is what you call God Then God is not dead.
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| Kennoth Posts: 2502 |
Written by Zuzuz0r on 29.06.2010 at 21:07 Well...true, those two bands probably have larger audience, but as expected take a lot more shit from the 'underground' listeners. I wouldn't call their sound as depressive rock. It's actually pretty hard to pinpoint their genre. While not as near as heavy as their first two albums, I still firmly believe that they're still metal in sound. Even in their latest editions, there is still growling present (not from the lead singer, obviously). I do agree that some would consider them too mellow, but let's face it, Iron Maiden is nothing heavier than most bands proposed in this topic (quite the contrary).
---- *insert something deep and profound*
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| tea[m]ster Au Pays Natal Contributor Posts: 5266  |
I think Mastodon is on its way...their blend of metalcore, speed, and prog has the ingrediants for huge appeal and success. Not to mention their quirky personalities and the overall aura of the band.
---- rekt
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| Metalmunky17 Posts: 8 |
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| CzirjakMan Posts: 36  |
I dont really see a widely acceptable answer to this- some bands may be really poplular but not metal enough (Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, etc..) other really popular bands in the metal community could never be popular by anyone except metalheads (Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, In Flames, etc..). Slipknot perhaps, but they've sold out pretty bad. Agree or disagree, but I can see Five Finger Death Punch filling this position- they've moved thousands and thousands of albums in their fairly recent existance, but still retain blistering rhythms, intense solos, and brutally honest vocals (yells, screams, and singing) from a great frontman surrounded by world class musicans
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| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493 |
Written by CzirjakMan on 08.07.2010 at 08:45 Children of Bodom are actually pretty popular. And you're definitely right about A7X and Disturbed not being metal enough. Seriously though, you must be kidding about 5FDP. Always seemed like pretty generic groove metal/modern heavy to me.
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| Doc G. Full Grown Hoser Staff Posts: 9718  |
Written by [user id=107022] on 19.07.2010 at 05:57 I'll assume since you have bands like Ozzy and Korn in your favourite bands list you are joking, but I'll address this question anyways. Popularity does not dictate quality. The whole point of this question was to address that point entirely; what band can achieve mainstream popularity while still retain underground appreciation?
---- "I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck." - George Carlin
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| Doc G. Full Grown Hoser Staff Posts: 9718 |
Written by [user id=107022] on 19.07.2010 at 22:10 Well, like I said, that's the whole point of the thread. First of all, Iron Maiden was pretty much as popular as Lady Gaga is, from what I understand. Secondly, a band like Darkthrone won't do it because it's not quite melodic or accessible enough. The band would have to be melodic, but still retain some artistic integrity.
---- "I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck." - George Carlin
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| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493 |
Written by [user id=101272] on 23.07.2010 at 02:54 I don't know, man, metal's pretty mainstream when you compare it to something like death rock or noise music.
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941  |
Written by [user id=101272] on 23.07.2010 at 02:54 Please tell me how a METAL band can stick to their roots and go commercial at the same time. It's impossible. Going commercial means writing softer, more accessible and mainstream-oriented music. You can't stick to your metal roots and do this at the same time. What you're saying is totally non-sensical.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
Would you care to explain?
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493 |
Written by RavenKing on 25.07.2010 at 00:52 He probably means that Iron Maiden also tried to go commercial by softening their sound, hence their popularity. I'm not very sure if I'm getting it right, but I hope so. Hence the "next Iron Maiden". Still, there IS softer metal out there, and it shouldn't be excluded. Problem is, it won't be respected in the underground.
---- Licensed under the GPLv3. Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
Written by vezzy on 25.07.2010 at 12:37 Perhaps. Since Fear Of The Dark, some Maiden's stuff is more prog and hard rock-ish than metal. The 80s stuff was more intense and in-your-face.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| CzirjakMan Posts: 36 |
Written by RavenKing on 25.07.2010 at 00:37 well Iron Maiden isn't exactly brutal. I mean think about why they made it huge in such a short time- the stong beat, powerful melody/hooks in the chorus, pop elements! But we still love them today! Think about how many metal bands embrace that style today. Quite a few right? I'm sick of bands getting bashed for being too commercial or mainstreem. Isn't there a line? There's nothing wrong with wanting to appeal to lots of people as long your not being fake. What if you actually want to make a living from writing music? You NEED to appeal to more than just a few people. Iron Maiden's sold about as many records as Van Halen. Van Halen is a pop rock band as far as I see. And it's not just metalheads that dig Maiden. So with all that in mind, tell me that you couldn't see a band like Five Finger Death Punch or Avenged Sevenfold, out there in the mainstream, staying at the top of the metal scene at the same time. There's just so much music and different styles of metal now that its harder to differenciate between popular and fake. There is a difference though 
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| Derwood Posts: 511  |
Written by CzirjakMan on 15.08.2010 at 21:13 The key difference between Iron Maiden and bands like FFDP and A7X in terms of your argument is that Maiden was able to achieve mainstream commercial success while still maintaining the general respect of the broader metal community. Even those metal fans who dislike Iron Maiden still respect and acknowledge their huge contribution to metal. Neither FFDP or A7X have that kind of respect; in fact, they are looked upon as fake by a very large number of metal fans. So no, I can't see them getting to the top of the metal scene, let alone staying there at all because they are simply rejected by a massive segment of metal fans.
---- You can't fight evil with a macaroni duck!
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| CzirjakMan Posts: 36 |
Written by Derwood on 15.08.2010 at 21:25 so then what's your opinion? My next choice would probably be Children Of Bodom, Lamb Of God, or maybe Trivium. Had Pantera stayed together it could very well have been them.
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| Derwood Posts: 511 |
Written by CzirjakMan on 16.08.2010 at 08:07 My opinion is that a phenomenon similar to Iron Maiden's success will not happen again within the context of metal. The other bands you mention have the same credibility problems in the broader metal community as A7X and FFDP, and so will any other metal band that has that level of commercial success. Iron Maiden were simply the right band with the right sound at the right time to bring heavy metal out of the underground, and they did it without any overt commercialization of their sound or pandering to current trends unlike countrymates Judas Priest who released three overtly commercial albums in British Steel, Point of Entry and most especially Turbo. When Iron Maiden did change their sound in the 90's, it actually hurt them commercially, so it has never been seen as a commercial move, rather one of a band coming off a creative peak and foundering a bit.
---- You can't fight evil with a macaroni duck!
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