Heavy Metal's Headlining Problem: Where Will the Next Generation of Arena-Filling Bands Come From?

It's often been said over the past decade or so that heavy metal is headed for a crisis. The pioneers of the genre have hit their 70s, while the stars of the 1980s New Wave Of British Heavy Metal and thrash metal explosion now mostly inhabit their 60s.

Heavy metal is facing a crisis as the genre’s pioneers age and mainstream interest in metal contracts.

The last wave of nü-metal bands to achieve widespread success was in the late 90s/early 00s, with bands like Linkin Park, System Of A Down, and Korn. While there have been some successful metal bands to emerge in the two decades since, such as Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage, and Lamb Of God, mainstream interest in metal has largely waned.

This is due in part to the changing landscape of the music industry, with the singular apparatus of the music industry now a shadow of what it used to be. The streaming business model has also forced artists to essentially become traveling merch retailers in order to break even.

Promoters are also hesitant to take chances on unproven bands, especially when they can guarantee a profit with the surefire draw of an expensive headliner. However, this mindset is ultimately stifling the growth of the genre.

Promoter Ash Avildsen of Sumerian Records attempted to confront this problem head-on this year by booking numerous up and coming bands for the reactivated ‘Mayhem Festival’ and ‘Summer Slaughter Tour’.

“I love all the older acts that headline a lot of the rock festivals in the U.S.,” said Avildsen. “But I think it’s a bit naïve to think that there’s not an urgent need to break new headlining bands. When I think back to when I was a teenager in the Nineties, the whole new wave of big bands like Korn and Slipknot were young guys.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a wave of bands with singers that are in their twenties that can really headline festivals. I feel like we’re finally there with a number of bands, [and] I think Mayhem can really help elevate this era the same way that it had elevated bands 10-15 years ago.”

However, his booking gambles didn’t entirely pay off, as the Veil Of Maya-headlined ‘Summer Slaughter Tour’ suffered from middling attendance at a number of shows, while the Bad Omens and Parkway Drive headlined ‘Mayhem Festival’ also turned out to be a bit softer than he likely had hoped.

There were of course external factors that contributed to the fate of those endeavors, including stiff competition and an unfavorable economy. In fact, the problem of low attendance wasn’t even confined to the metal world, as multi-platinum artists and established festivals were also forced to scrap their plans this year, and next year seemingly isn’t immune.

Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson has also spoken at length on the matter, stating last year of the problem metal bands face in breaking out, “the big corporations took everything over, and they’re interested in making money, so they propagate the big headliners, but they don’t bring on the bands that create the drama to create the fanbase, to create the dedication to bring it up.”

While Avildsen‘s attempts to elevate new talent to top billing were all-in gestures, the UK are opting for a more conservative approach. Rising British alternative metal outfit Sleep Token have been named as a headliner for the closing date of next year’s ‘Download Festival’. However, the festival is also relying on some old favorites in Green Day and Korn to headline the other two dates of the fest.

Sleep Token being given that headlining spot hasn’t been without controversy, despite the band clearly being able to headline large arenas in the UK and Europe. Andy Copping, founder of the ‘Download Festival’, however feels confident in the band being able to rise up to the occasion, jumping to their defense after some concertgoers decried their booking.

In a recent discussion with NME, Slipknot percussionist M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan was asked how he felt about Sleep Token being given the nod to headline next year’s ‘Download Festival’, a festival which Slipknot themselves have headlined numerous times over the years.

“They have their niche and they must be doing their business well,” replied Crahan. “The old me might have torn it down, but the new me, the real me, is just like ‘Hey, it’s always up to the fans’. The fans let the business people know what to do. The fans speak and the business people listen.

“They must be very popular, and you’ve got to remember that there’s not a lot of good music out there. There just isn’t. In my opinion, these days there are so many horrible bands right now. I’ve seen Sleep Token, I’ve watched them for a bit and I’ve downloaded their stuff. They have their niche and they have a fan base.

“It doesn’t matter if it has divided [Download fans] because that means 50 per cent are getting what they want. I no longer