Metal Resurgence - Balls To The Wall, No Bullshit Rock

Metal is in the air. And not in the horrific lead pollution way. Over the past few years and months, the popular music paradigm has once again shifted.

Whether it be a current act or a time-tested favourite, metal bands are once again reigning supreme and across the board - ticket sales, album sales, you name it.

Examples of this are everywhere. In a matter of weeks, equally feared and respected industrial metal act Ministry will be returning to our shores. This isn’t the first time they’ve been here in their decade-spanning career, it will, however, be the first time for a headline tour. Australians have called upon thrash metal legends Kreator to return, this time with their 14th studio album which, believe it or not, scored the highest chart entries of the band’s career (including a #30 Australian debut) and UK goth metal mainstays Paradise Lost have announced their first ever run at Australian stages.

Though busy touring their 15th studio album throughout their homeland of Germany and Europe, such was the demand from Accept’s Australian fans, they managed to squeeze in one Australian show for Melbourne.

Metal is back big time. It’s not exactly a new obsession, more a way of life - and metal is drawing in a new passionate younger audience fully committed to gut churning loud balls to the wall rock!

On the live front, touring promoters such as Metropolis Touring and David Roy Williams are announcing metal tours at an increasing rate. Having brought metal acts as diverse as Machine Head, Sepultura, Queensryche, Sevendust, Kataonia, Enslaved, Drowning Pool, Eluveitie, and Hellyeah! to our shores, these guys are not easing up. Without major festivals to offset the costs of a headline run, this speaks volumes for the demand for metal shows. There’s more metal than ever before and Australian metal fans can’t get enough.

According to online metal database, Encyclopaedia Metallum, Australia has a disproportionately large amount of metal bands per 100,000 people. But metal is better for you than just providing an excuse to headbang and drink beer. The Atlantic’s City Lab and the Martin Prosperity Institute found a link between the amount of metal bands in an area, and “economic output per capita; level of creativity and entrepreneurship; share of adults that hold college degrees; as well as overall levels of human development, well-being, and satisfaction with life.” So now you know why Australian cities always list amongst the most liveable in the world.

Just take a look at the charts - apart from the great debuts for Kreator and Opeth (#7), the new Stone Sour album can be found near the pointy end of the chart, Korn landed in at #5 last year, Lamb Of God smashed their way to #2 and Disturbed took out the shiny disc attached to a plaque by taking out # 1 .

Metal is back and here to stay.

Buy tickets for Ministry and Filter here.

Buy tickets for Kreator and Vadar here.

Buy tickets for Accept here.

Buy tickets for Sebastian Bach here.

Buy tickets for Paradise Lost here.