clas·sic(klsk)adj.
1.
a. Belonging to the highest rank or class.
b. Serving as the established model or standard: a classic example of colonial architecture.
c. Having lasting significance or worth; enduring.
2.
a. Adhering or conforming to established standards and principles: a classic piece of research.
b. Of a well-known type; typical: a classic mistake.
n.
1. An artist, author, or work generally considered to be of the highest rank or excellence, especially one of enduring significance.
2. A work recognized as definitive in its field.
The metal genre is filled with classics.
From Black Sabbath to Guns N’ Roses to AC/DC or Iron Maiden and most points in between, there’s more than a handful of albums that people point to as classics. (If you’re interested in my opinion, check here.) And when you look at these classics, they’re the albums that usually show up on contemporary musicians’ lists of influences. Trivium cites Guns N’ Roses as an influence; you can literally hear the Alice in Chains influence in bands like Staind and Godsmack; Zakk Wylde’s doing a pretty good job of emulating Ozzy Osbourne at this point; and so on …
But what of today’s releases? If you looked over my list, you’d notice the most recent release came out in 1992. Was that intentional? Well, to an extent. It’s really had to measure how important a release is without the benefit of time. In the fall of 1991, people were buzzing over Nirvana’s “Nevermind.” The full scope of the release wasn’t clear until years later.
When Ozzy broke away from Black Sabbath, it wasn’t the most monumental of moments. But who would have known back then that the man would continue on a phenomenal solo career and not only start up, but headline the biggest travelling metal festival in North America for a decade?
Pantera’s “Walk” was a hell of a single back in the early ’90s, but did anyone think it would become the definitive metal song from that decade? Much less, that Pantera would become bonafide legends over the course of said decade?
How could you begin to pick out Metallica’s best release until you saw the band mature and develop over a span of time.
Looking at more contemporary material: those big releases from last year, how many of them might not stand the test of time? How big a deal was Atreyu’s 2004 release “The Curse” — with it’s blend of 80’s fun, thrash mentality blended with hardcore? Well, when you see the host of bands that followed in the group’s footsteps over the next two years, does that color the perception? When you look at Anthrax or Machine Head’s most recent releases (both explosive returns to form), just how memorable will those albums become? Mastodon’s career is just beginning to take off … who knows what the band will turn out next.
These are the questions I’ll be trying to answer with this column: “The New Classics.” I’ll be looking at metal albums from the past decade … the ones I think might be worthy of being deemed a classic. The plan is to measure each album up to the band’s career, figure out why I chose that particular album something else from the group’s catalogue, and what might need to happen over the next decade or so for the album to live up to the hype.
This column will kick off next week as I delve into the New American Metal Movement (NAMM) … I hate to categorize metal, but in order to dissect this topic with some sort of order, it’s a necessity. Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Zakk Wylde, Shadows Fall, Diecast, Mastodon … who will make the cut? Who haven’t I brought up (yet)? And which album might I pick? I might be wrong, and I want to hear what you think. Maybe someone out there will cause me to second-guess something I might be over looking. As of now, I pretty much have my list plotted out — at least for this category (maybe a list of European metal is waiting in the wings) … but, much like deeming something so new a classic, nothing is etched in stone.
Stay tuned … I hope you enjoy the ride …
