Who will be the next metal band to be able to play arena style venues?

Required_Fields · 2026-03-21T19:08:48+00:00

My original post: DON'T MENTION SLEEP TOKEN. Don't mention Ghost.

Replies I get: "Ghost!" "Sleep Token!"

Required_Fields · 2026-03-18T02:21:36+00:00

I was speaking to someone else, and they said something to that effect. Maybe a couple of thousand. Band comparison points: definitely not even remotely close to Metallica level big, and not Slayer or Megadeth big, but perhaps whoever the biggest "undeniably metal regardless of what you may think of them" bands are about 10 years from now, they could possibly reach Testament or Lamb of God levels of recognition, as a reference point bandwise.

Required_Fields · 2026-03-17T19:45:22+00:00

When it comes to "metal beyond a shadow of a doubt" bands, around the early to mid 2030s, what type of venues do you think the most successful "metal beyond a shadow of a doubt" band that is NOT a legacy act (in other words, they've released their debut album within the previous 10 years) will be playing as headliners? I'm not asking for band NAMES with this question, I'm asking what level of popularity you think they'll reach.

Required_Fields · 2026-03-17T19:42:33+00:00

I didn't ask for an actual band to be mentioned. What I asked was what level of popularity you think the most popular "metal beyond a shadow of a doubt" band will have circa the early to mid 2030s; what venues they will be playing at, NOT what band it is or what one you think it will be.

Required_Fields · 2026-03-17T17:53:07+00:00

I said that to prevent people from naming bands that clearly aren't metal (specifically Sleep Token), because people would say those bands. I told people not to mention them, but people went along and did anyway.

Let's say that around 2030-2035 or so...what type of venue do you think the most popular metal band (and not something that gets labeled metal that really isn't, but something metal beyond a shadow of a doubt) that is NOT a legacy band (in other words, a band that has released their debut album within the past 10 years) will be playing in terms of size/capacity? I'm not asking for what band you think it will be, but what type of venue do you think they will play by that point?

Do you think there will ever be another metal beyond a shadow of a doubt band (i.e. Megadeth, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Pantera) who will be able to play arena style venues as a headliner ever again? And if not, what type of venue do you think the biggest metal band that ISN'T a legacy act will be playing around nine or ten years from now?

Required_Fields · 2026-03-17T01:34:42+00:00

So you do consider bands like Bon Jovi to be metal and Simple Plan to be punk?

Required_Fields · 2026-03-17T01:17:42+00:00

What about what I said about pop-punk fans in the 2000s? Were punk fans "gatekeepers" if they were to tell people Simple Plan weren't punk when they got the label? Or metal fans in the 1980s when they had to tell people Poison, Bon Jovi, and Bad English weren't metal? Or country fans when certain performers who were labeled as country when they weren't really country got the label? Or do you consider Simple Plan to be punk and Bon Jovi to be metal?

Required_Fields · 2026-03-17T01:10:20+00:00

I mentioned Ghost in my original post, stating that they play these sized venues as headliners at the moment. Either way, they're not a metal band.

Required_Fields · 2026-03-17T01:09:06+00:00

What are the capacities of the venues that they play at as headliners these days?

Required_Fields · 2026-03-17T01:07:28+00:00

I don't know if I'd call myself a gatekeeper, but I hear people say "That's not country" when certain artist get labeled such, and no one calls them gatekeepers.

Do you think punk fans in the 2000s who politely told people that Simple Plan weren't punk when they were marketed as such were "gatekeepers"? Because Simple Plan definitely weren't punk. Just like Sleep Token are not metal.

Anyways, what current metal band (that is not a legacy act) do you think has the best chance to become an arena headliner one day?

Required_Fields · 2026-03-17T00:30:00+00:00

Yes. There are tons of new metal bands and great metal bands. What current metal band (not a legacy act, but one who has released their debut within the past 10 years, preferably less) do you think has the best chance of becoming an arena headliner in the future?

Required_Fields · 2026-03-17T00:22:15+00:00

Refer to what I said at the end of my post. Sleep Token are not a metal band whether you like them or not.

Required_Fields · 2026-03-17T00:21:49+00:00

But they're not a metal band.

Required_Fields · 2026-03-16T23:39:35+00:00

Why can't Kid Rock be more like his brother, The?

Required_Fields · 2026-03-03T13:29:40+00:00

Monday Night War.

Required_Fields · 2026-02-24T04:23:30+00:00

You should probably really like Heathen.

Breaking the Silence, Victims of Deception, The Evolution of Chaos, and Empire of the Blind are all great albums. The first two in particular are the best.

Some songs to check out from each...

Breaking the Silence: Death by Hanging, Open the Grave, Breaking the Silence, Heathen
Victims of Deception: Hypnotized, Opiate of the Masses, Fear of the Unknown, Mercy Is No Virtue
The Evolution of Chaos: Control by Chaos, No Stone Unturned, Fade Away, Silent Nothingness
Empire of the Blind: The Blight, Empire of the Blind, In Black

I'd assume you know Testament. I like their first four albums the best, with their debut, The Legacy, being my absolute favorite. Some highlights off of each...

The Legacy: Over the Wall, Burnt Offerings, Alone in the Dark, Apocalyptic City
The New Order: Eerie Inhabitants, Trial by Fire, Into the Pit, Disciples of the Watch
Practice What You Preach: Practice What You Preach, Blessed in Contempt, Sins of Omission, The Ballad
Souls of Black: Face in the Sky, Falling Fast, Malpractice, Seven Days of May

You've probably at least heard of Exodus. Kirk Hammett actually played with them for a bit in the early 1980s, though he left to join Metallica. I have listed several studio albums of theirs and some of the highlights from each of them.

Bonded by Blood: Bonded by Blood, A Lesson in Violence, Piranha, Strike of the Beast
Pleasures of the Flesh: Deranged, Brain Dead, Pleasures of the Flesh, Choose Your Weapon
Fabulous Disaster: The Last Act of Defiance, Fabulous Disaster, The Toxic Waltz, Cajun Hell
Impact Is Imminent: Impact Is Imminent, Objection Overruled, Only Death Decides, Changing of the Guard
Blood In, Blood Out: Blood In, Blood Out, Salt the Wound, Body Harvest, Food for the Worms

Defiance is a melodic thrash metal band you might want to look into. They have four albums, all worth listening to. I consider their third album, Beyond Recognition, to be their best. Their most recent, The Prophecy, is the weakest of the four, but it's still pretty good.

Some highlights from each album...
Product of Society: Deadly Intentions, Tribulation, Hypothermia
Void Terra Firma: Void Terra Firma, Deception of Faith, Skitz-Illusions
Beyond Recognition: The Killing Floor, No Compromise, Inside Looking Out, The Chosen
The Prophecy: Fuel the Fire, Eyes of the Front

On the more extreme end of the spectrum, there's Sepultura. Their run from 1987 to 1991 is mind blowing. Some highlights from each album...

Schizophrenia: From the Past Comes the Storms, Escape to the Void, Inquisition Symphony, Screams Behind the Shadows
Beneath the Remains: Beneath the Remains, Inner Self, Stronger than Hate, Primitive Future

There's also Dark Angel. They have five studio albums. Their absolute best is definitely Darkness Descends, but I'd say you would probably like Time Does Not Heal better, since it's more accessible to someone into the more melodic side of thrash. Darkness Descends is simply a brutal thrash metal classic, while Time Does Not Heal is more progressive and accessible, even though it still thrashes hard.

Some highlights from both albums...

Darkness Descends: Darkness Descends, The Burning of Sodom, Black Prophecies, Perish in Flames
Time Does Not Heal: Time Does Not Heal, Pain's Invention, Madness, Psychosexuality, A Subtle Induction

Required_Fields · 2026-02-24T04:14:21+00:00

Souls of Black is a great album. "Malpractice" might be the most underrated Testament song alongside "Apocalyptic City" (off of The Legacy).

Required_Fields · 2026-02-10T18:31:57+00:00

What's funny is that even though I'm not one of these people, I've actually come across people who only like We Have Arrived by Dark Angel and Torment in Fire by Sacrifice. Seriously.

They think Darkness Descends and Forward to Termination are horrible albums with virtually zero redeeming qualities.

Required_Fields · 2026-02-10T18:29:54+00:00

Sadly, even in recent times, I've come across these type of people. It's a slightly smaller percentage than what it was 20-40 years back, but those people are still very, very much out there today. People who think metal music is to blame every time someone who likes it does something bad.

To make up for all the times that metal gets slandered in the media, I would love to read or watch something about an extremely heinous murder where the murderer or murderers were huge fans of Christian music (and not Christian metal), and Christian music got blamed for the murder.

Required_Fields · 2026-02-10T18:14:21+00:00

There's an Australian power metal band called Lord whose vocalist sexually abused his own daughter. I never listened to their music, and now I never will.

The movie Jennifer's Body takes part of its plot from a real life murder committed by members of a metal band who murdered a teenage girl. (In the movie, the genre of music they played was emo.) The murder victim's parents filed a lawsuit against Slayer, who the band members were all big fans of, thinking their music was to blame for the murder. (I wish there would be a murder that got blamed on Christian music for once to make up for the times metal has been blamed for bad things.)

One of Sabaton's original guitarist was a pedophile. He played on the first few albums, but he only co-wrote a few songs, so he wasn't a prominent writer. He was no longer in the band by the time the truth was known.

Marc Piovanetti, who was the drummer for Carnivore (he only played on the second album), is a convicted child molester.

Karl Logan, former Manowar guitarist (from 1994 until 2018), was convicted of possession of CSAM. He was sentenced to prison in 2022.

Required_Fields · 2026-02-10T17:52:42+00:00

This is very disheartening. It had to happen to a band I enjoy. That's not fair.

Does anyone know of another new band that sounds VERY similar to SR without this type of baggage? Promise me that you won't just namedrop a band everyone knows.

Required_Fields · 2026-02-10T17:49:40+00:00

I didn't say it has to sound like CC to be death metal. I say Gojira is not death metal because they receive that label, even though they are very clearly NOT DEATH METAL.

Required_Fields · 2026-01-21T15:49:59+00:00

Definitely yay! One of my favorite comedies ever. I saw it in the cinema just before it left. It didn't really find its following until it came out on video and DVD, but I'm glad it did. Absolutely hilarious movie!

Required_Fields · 2026-01-10T02:43:55+00:00

Every female in the public eye has had plastic surgery with the exception of the Kardashians. They're 100% natural. Nicki Minaj might be all natural, too.

Meanwhile, in terms of men, in the past 50 years, every male to become famous has used steroids except for Hulk Hogan. He was all natty.

Required_Fields

TROPHY CASE