That said, while they have come out in the thousands recently for granddaddies like Priest and Maiden, the numbers of veteran rockers are not as strong as in those bands' 80s arena heydays. What *has* happened to the old guard? "A lot of the people who were into it have in some ways grown up or they don't have the same batch of friends or have jobs and families in some cases," observes Barbieri. "If it's not smacked in their face, they don't think it exists. They'll still go out and support the stuff that was cool and they grew up with. But music that is influenced by it or sounds like it or things they could appreciate seem to go ignored." From their perspective, Century Media thinks that long-time fans *can* be turned on to new things. "There are 100,000 people out there who buy Iron Maiden and Judas Priest records and they may like Iced Earth."
Converting some of the younger fans to more classic forms of metal is something which newer bands like Iced Earth may be able to do more easily than veteran bands who might be stigmatized because of their age. Jacobson points out that Amorphis take traditional elements but apply them to a modern sound. But old school fans can easily latch onto it and appreciate it because of the group's clear vocals and melodic elements.
A related point is that many younger fans today have little knowledge of the history of metal. They may love Korn, Pantera or similar rage-fest groups, but they don't know the roots their heroes stem from. "At the same time, I remember when I was getting into a lot of music, friends' older brothers and dads would tell me about Black Oak Arkansas and Iron Butterfly, and I didn't give a shit," admits Barbieri. "No one is interested in the old bands, everyone wants something from their generation, so I can understand why kids now don't care. But of course being there at that time [the eighties], being into a lot of those bands and knowing the origins, I would like people to have a greater appreciation for those bands."
In looking at the evolution of metal, it has obviously splintered off in many directions, but it seems that the metal of 80s youth doesn't necessarily correlate with the metal of today's youth. In fact, there are strong differences in musical ideology. 90s bands like Soulfly, Fear Factory, and Limp Bizkit seem to espouse a lot of rage and frustration and little else, whereas older groups often cover wider emotional terrain.
To be fair, the lack of understanding can go both ways - veteran metallers turned off by the cacophony of today and younger fans uninterested in highly melodic music but preferring moshing anthems. But it's a little more complex than that. French points out that older metallers might not be as receptive to a band like Sevendust, who play in tunings which are different than those of the blues-based bands which originally inspired the genre.
On the flip side, Barbieri points out that younger fans can become interested in metal's rich history when newer artists praise their inspirations, such as when many hip Norwegian black metallers speak reverently about underground legends Venom and Bathory. Plus many young fans can be turned onto ideas which they have not been exposed to, no matter how cliché they may actually be. "There's a lot of late 70s stuff that is brand new to a lot of people," notes Robinson. "What's up with Monster Magnet, you know? He did this advertisement at the show, and it sounded like he was copying Ted Nugent to me, but I don't think anybody else knew that. If it's done with a pure spirit, it is new if it feels new."
Runaway German success Hammerfall are proof of that. They have taken the tried and true traditions of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal and reinvented them. They even covered Warlord's long-lost classic "Child Of The Damned" on their debut *Glory To The Brave* and exposed that song to a new generation. Fans point out that their live version of Judas Priest's 1980 hit "Breaking The Law" rocks the house. And they have sold well. According to Mason, Hammerfall's sophomore record *Legacy Of Kings* doubled their debut's sales figures, amassing 150,000 units worldwide.
Larger bands championing lesser-known ones has always provided an avenue for metal history to stay alive. Metallica's drummer Lars Ulrich has kept alive the legacy of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal through covers played by his band on releases like *Garage, Inc.* and through a compilation he produced a few years back. "I look at Billboard and Metallica is up there," says Mason. "Granted they changed their sound and they are set to be the sell-out, but I appreciate the fact that they're there. It's helpful for the underground bands that at least have one band that penetrated the mainstream. If a kid listens to Metallica, he starts looking into the history of it." And could delve into the underground and a genre which *is* 30 years old, the length of time which Sabbath has been around.
Jacobson feels that bands like Korn and Pantera can offer transition for listeners to go more and more underground. Relapse not only sells their own titles and distribute and sell various international titles, but they also exclusively handle mail orders for Blue Grape Merchandising, a merchandising company which specializes in clothing (T-shirts, baseball caps, and the like) for bands like Fear Factory, Pitchshifter, and Rammstein and TV shows like "Buffy The Vampire Slayer". Thus a younger fan could order a Coal Chamber T-shirt, obtain the Relapse catalog through their purchase, and decide to check out some of the music therein, such as Amorphis, Neurosis, and Mortician. The mainstream bands can act as a gradual buffer for some listeners to get into less commercial groups.
Conversely, Connor notes that in Germany old school metal is more well-received than the new school. "It's really amazing. It's like being in a time-warp over there." But it's not necessarily a time-warp. While he remarks that German critics tend to give higher marks to veteran acts like Savatage and Dio over newer bands like Limp Bizkit and Deftones, the fact is that there's a greater appreciation for a wide gamut of styles in Europe. Good music is good music no matter time period it emerged from. It just so happens that the past is more hip right now, especially when it is being championed by veteran rockers and reinterpreted by younger artists with modern sensibilities.
"The cool thing is that in Europe, they're really into the history of the metal," notes Metal Blade Records president Brian Slagel. "All of a sudden there was this resurgence of old records we hadn't put out in years - all these bands from the 80s. All the new bands and the bands and the press are talking about the history of it, and the kids are really getting into it."
"The European scene is much healthier for metal," agrees David DeFeis, frontman/keyboardist for Virgin Steele, a long-running American band whose audience is overseas. "There are more outlets, more metal tours going on, there are more venues to play. There are more albums released on European labels that don't make it over here. Because of the strength of that scene, it has affected the American scene somewhat. We're getting more interest from these European companies that have offices in the States. They're all thinking of domestically releasing bands like us and Stratovarius. Some of it has already begun." Expanding mail order outlets through Metal Blade, Century Media, Relapse, and Nuclear Blast have made many imports available to US listeners. The New Wave Of European Heavy Metal is upon us!