At Sentinel Daily we’ve carved a nice little niche for ourselves, throwing the spotlight on the best new metal bands whilst always keeping a bulging, fish-eye on the past and all the bands that’ve made ‘our kind of music’ such a thing to behold. But, occasionally you have to cast forward to the future, to what awaits us all. And as the World becomes seemingly more divided by the day as those in charge seek to play us off against one another on just about every subject known to man (or woman), we decided to ask the question: What lies ahead for heavy metal? Can it act as a united force? Or is it doomed to division and destruction like everything and everyone else?

The first band we turned to for guidance on the subject was Final Coil, who’s superb The World We Inherited is one of the most forward-thinking, effective and affecting album we’ve heard in a while; Kindly, the band’s Phil Stiles agreed to field the questions…

What are some of the most exciting trends in heavy metal today? “That’s an interesting question, because it seems that trends, such as they are, come and go with such speed now, that one’s out the door before it’s really taken hold. Having grown up in the nineties, it was easy to see a strong push in a particular direction – alternative rock/grunge in the early part of the decade; nu-metal as we plunged towards the noughties. Since then, we’ve seen the battle metal trend, a thrash resurgence, and even alternative rock (briefly) come back in vogue, but never with a corresponding commercial thrust – which, I guess, says a great deal about the nature of the music industry today. Even looking at festivals, it’s hard to say there’s a concerted effort to drive a particular genre. Where, for example, you look at the line up to Reading ‘94 and all you can see are bands that dominated the alt rock scene, now festivals are trying to appeal to a broad base with everything from shiny metalcore acts to legacy bands sharing the same space.

So, I guess, you could say that the current trend is no trend. The ubiquity of streaming means that everyone falls into their own patterns of listening and, while there are some bands that still do have a degree of financial support driving them to the bigger stages (Bring Me The Horizon spring to mind), the world of metal feels more disparate and personalised than at any other time that I can remember. While this may be beneficial in some ways, as it gives a greater number of bands a chance to reach an audience, the lack of cohesion may make it harder for those bigger, headline-worthy acts to emerge in the way that they did, say, twenty years ago”.

Which emerging bands or sub-genres are you most excited about? “The most exciting bands, for me, are bands that capture some of that sense of raw authenticity that has been lost in major-label acts. Over the last couple of years, there have been some amazing bands whose single common factor is their obvious passion for what they do. Off the top of my head, the bands that have really captured my attention are mostly in the alternative realm, I guess – The Baby Seals, Shooting Daggers, Lambrini Girls (whom I saw supporting the awesome Kim Gordon), Belmondo (who made a huge impact supporting the legendary Filter), Soft Play, The Heat Inc., Lodestar (who are hardly new, but they have just reformed and anyway, it’s my list!), Modern Technology, McLusky (who have also just reformed after a lengthy hiatus), and Teiger, with whom we played earlier in the year. They’re all amazing artists and plenty heavy, although I guess few would see themselves as metal.

Then, on the more extreme end of the spectrum, Avmakt released an outstanding debut that is just raw black metal, while Thomas Eriksen of Mork also released a stunning new project called Udad. Then there’s Green Lung, who are absolutely awesome, and excelled at Bloodstock this year, Oranssi Pazuzu, who are just incredible and, while I guess they’re not that new now,   are colossally heavy. So, yeah, I’m far less interested in genre than I am in whether a band plays with passion. Every band I’ve listed have had varying degrees of success, but they all share an unquenchable passion, making them incredibly important, especially with the looming threat of AI”.

Which new bands do you think are leading the heavy metal scene in the 2020s? “This is really difficult to answer, because my answer is different depending upon whether you mean commercially or artistically. Commercially, it would appear that the likes of Bring Me The Horizon, Architects, and In This Moment are very popular, and are bringing younger audiences to major festivals. There’s nothing at all wrong with that, and I enjoy some of their music, although it’s a little too… shiny for me. But the role they play is vital because, without younger audiences coming out, the genre is doomed to die out, and there’s no doubting the power of their respective shows.

Artistically, I think there are a range of bands, both established and new, who provide a sort of creative core to metal and who regularly headline or participate in festivals. You’ve got proggier fare like Opeth, Haken, Ihsahn, Caligula’s Horse, and Devin Townsend. Then there’s more extreme stuff like Ingested, Coffin Storm, The Ocean, Hex Vessel, Mork, Avmakt, Udad – man, I’m just scratching the surface and there’s so much great stuff out there. Other names that spring to mind include Coilguns, Thot, Job for A Cowboy (their last album was stunning) – pretty much anything on Pelagic and Peaceville. I mean, I know that some of these bands have been around for a couple of decades or more, but the thing is, they’re still finding ways to both drive the genre forward in new and exciting ways and keep the flame alive – and it’s bands like those that then encourage others to enter the fray and bring their own take.

I’m skipping over lots of bands intentionally, because you’ll be aware of those acts that continue to sit mid-bill at metal festivals the world over. They may not be cutting edge, but they are the foundations on which metal remains steady, and I don’t see the likes of Machine Head or Anthrax giving up any time soon. I certainly hope not!”

How do you think technology will continue to influence heavy metal? “Technology, in many ways, is just a tool. I’m reminded of Pink Floyd getting annoyed with that sort of question back in the seventies, because ultimately, it’s not the tool that defines you, but how you use it. So, synthesizers, sampled drums, production suites – they’re all fair game as far as I’m concerned, and the influence will entirely depend on who’s using it. However, AI is an exception to the above, because to use AI is to remove not only the creativity from the process of making music, but also to remove the potential for those happy accidents that come from using technology without experience.

However, to my mind, heavy metal as a genre, and heavy metal fans, crave authenticity. And while there will be those who abuse technology to fake their way to the top, the bands that make the music that lasts are those who play from the heart, using technology to augment what they do, not replace what they do”.

What broader challenges do you think heavy metal will face in the future? “Again, I suppose the answer depends on whether you mean artistically or commercially. Commercially, for the reasons outlined above, I think that it will remain a significant challenge for what we might consider to be traditional heavy metal reaching a huge audience in the way that, say, Metallica, Anthrax, or Iron Maiden did. Those bands reflected the needs of their times, and I’m not sure we’ll see such a groundswell of support as we did with those bands. If we are to see new metal headliners emerging, my guess is that they’ll be those bands that are able to effectively capture the voice of contemporary youth – crosspollinating that with heavy metal elements – like Slipknot did in the early noughties or Bring Me The Horizon in the last decade.

Creatively, I think the biggest challenge is nostalgia. And, as I’ll outline later, AI is custom designed to take advantage of that, feeding people what they want. However, as Neil Young once posited, great art is about giving people what they need, not what they want, and I can’t help but feel that the current trend towards tribute bands and AI approximations is not only doomed to failure, but it’s also taking valuable oxygen from young artists creating something of genuine merit”.

I’ve a feeling I know the answer to this, but I’ll ask it anyway – Artificial Intelligence-generated music collaborations – evil or divine? “Absolutely evil. People compare the likes of AI to tools like autotune, which I think is a mistake. The likes of autotune (of which I’m not a fan by the way), don’t impede creativity as such, rather, they allow the tweaking of something that’s already there. You may not sing great, but you still have to have that fundamental idea of how you want something to sound before you start trying to perfect it using autotune. AI, on the other hand, removes the need for the idea. Let’s assume you want to sound like Metallica, AI (which is not actually creative, but a mass-plagiarism machine) can scrape all the Metallica content and, through the clever use of algorithms, develop a fair approximation. It will have no soul, no feel, and it won’t be original at all, but it’ll scratch that itch – and there may even be people out there who are so Metallica-obsessed that they’ll take that approximation over something new that, perhaps, requires a little more effort to enjoy.

In short, AI will almost certainly reap benefits from those who are nostalgic to the point that they’ll take an AI Pink Floyd clone over a modern band, or who are fixated enough to only want a given type of sound. It is, quite simply, the antithesis of creativity. The best thing about the act of creation is trying to do something that you initially aren’t able to do. How many people, in trying to learn guitar (or whatever instrument) to sound like their heroes, accidentally found their own sound along the way? That’s creativity. It’s messy, it’s confused, and it’s authentically human. The use of AI in music making is something to be resisted at all costs because it is actively damaging to creativity. We’re seeing the same thing in academia, where students are turning to AI rather than learning to write or research, and it’s horrifying because already there are those who can’t understand why it’s a problem that they’re turning in work that they’re neither able to do, nor willing to put the time in to learn”.

Bands are already incorporating virtual/augmented reality elements into shows – are you comfortable with this and is the end game just hologram Maiden/Metallica et cetera touring in perpetuity? “This really follows on from what I just said, and no – I think it’s awful. Bands are finite. They exist for a period of time (usually pretty turbulent at that), make music which reflects their personalities, abilities, their era, and their experiences; and then they split up. Over the years you follow a band, you’ll see them play great shows, mediocre shows, and even awful shows. You’ll either stick with them, because they mean something to you, or move on to another act that provides you with what you need. Again, it’s all part of the human experience.

However, humans are also cursed with nostalgia. We want to see our favourite band and feel like we did the first time. The fact that that’s almost impossible is neither here nor there, it’s what we crave. So, we get tribute bands (which are only one small step up the ladder of creative stagnation), and now, holograms. Honestly, I see it as a kind of sickness. Where we could be allowing new artists to progress and develop something of their own, we lose ourselves trying to recreate a bygone age. So, yeah – I have no time for holograms, tribute bands, or any of this absolute rubbish. It reflects the death of art and I am always amazed when people defend it. As an example, I love Pink Floyd and I will always have their records to enjoy (not to mention live recordings from when they were a band). However, I would never watch either a Pink Floyd tribute (no matter how good), nor a hologram, because there’s no heart, no soul, no spark, and no creativity. I want to see the *next* Pink Floyd and I want to feel the emotions that come with discovery. Tributes and holograms – it’s creative cowardice from people who crave success over creation”.

Given what you say, how can the wider heavy metal community ensure the genre’s longevity? Will there even be a heavy metal community as we know it now in ten- or fifteen-years time? “To ensure longevity, the metal community has to embrace change, and it has to be more supportive of bands that, perhaps, have a commercial edge and draw people in. I remember when Trivium first appeared – they were treated abysmally by some fans, even though they had the support of the likes of Slayer and Metallica, and I wonder how the hell they persevered through it all. This kind of gatekeeping that we see, it’s incredibly regressive and it ensures that not only is it tough for new artists to get heard, but those bands that do start out are much more likely to opt for the easiest path, rather than get pilloried. Look at the vitriol that Suicide Silence endured when they changed their sound – what young artist would see that and want to take any sort of creative risk? Yet risk and creativity go hand in hand, and, without it, a genre stagnates and dies. So, in short, if people want metal to continue to thrive, they need to be more welcoming and more open. By all means, listen to what you want to listen to. All the bands that you loved back in 1994 – either they’re still there, or their recordings are… no one is taking them away. Enjoy them and refrain from shitting over the stuff you don’t like. Hell, if people would focus just on positively sharing the stuff they enjoy rather than slagging off the stuff they hate, music would be a far better place, whether metal or whatever genre. I get that passions can run high, but yeah, people need to focus on welcoming the next generation of fans and artists both”.

So, in summary: Is your prognosis good or bad? “I believe in the power of art. I think that it’s easy to look at the history of heavy music, see how it briefly rose from the depths of obscurity to achieve a degree of commercial success and consider what has followed as something of a failure. However, I tend to feel that those bands who do achieve commercial success are the exceptions, with metal traditionally designed to cater to a more niche audience. Certainly, when I look at the scene at the moment, it’s hard not to feel overawed at how many great bands there are making great music. Bloodstock and ArcTangent are both strong examples of festivals here in the UK catering to heavier music, and they consistently have great line ups. Meanwhile, while Download tends to focus on a more diverse selection of bands – some of which are tangential to metal at best, you’ll still find huge crowds turning out to catch acts like QOTSA, Avenged Sevenfold and the like. So, yeah, I think there are plenty of reasons to be positive, even if it sometimes feels like metal’s had a bit of a rough ride of late”.

Thanks for taking part!

Final Coil’s excellent The World We Inherited is out now. Read our review HERE