The Metal

Is Hip Hop dead? Has the genre once considered ‘Black CNN’ (yea boyee) become a bloated money machine? With copious amounts of ‘Lil rappers who imitate their way up the chart, commoditizing the lifestyle through clothing apparel and ringtones, it’s hard to see the innovation Hip Hop once projected. If this is true, what’s the next Hip Hop? If we add up a few clues, could we be heading towards a renaissance of…Metal?

Entertain me for a second.

First it starts with The Osbournes TV Show (Ozzy Osbourne / Black Sabbath) and The Gene Simmons Show (KISS) as a peak into the lives of the aging rocker elite. Mostly to juxtapose the hardcore legacy against the comedic everyday life of both men and their families. Next, make a few documentaries like ‘Heavy Metal Parking Lot‘ and ‘A Headbanger’s Journey‘ to pick up the journalistic slack. Then take Metal’s number one fanboy, Jack Black (of Tenacious D), and make him a movie star. Black goes on to star as a teacher who uses rock’n'roll as his main teaching aid in ‘School of Rock’, which will no doubt create a new legion of headbangers and rockers. Now, head down to your local stadium night club to witness classic metal bands on their reunion tours. Not convinced yet, take a look at the insane amount sub-genres Metal has spawned in the last 30 years. Then, find the youngest kid you know and ask them what Guitar Hero and Rock Band are. While we’re on the subject of videogames, keep an eye out for ‘Brutal legend‘, an upcoming action title where the main character is a roadie. Don’t think any of this speaks to your inner metal? Then you probably might need to watch an episode of Metalocalypse, an animated series that follows the fictitious Death metal band - Deathclock (warning: not for the soft). Metal may not have taken over the radio (I don’t believe it ever did) but there is evidence that it exists by proxy through Alice Cooper. If this isn’t enough proof that power chords have found a way back into our hearts, what would it take? A Led Zeppelin reunion? Oh wait.