In a few hours, we will draw the curtain on 2018 and launch into 2019. Before the hours countdown, 2018 did present us with a number of noteworthy metal recordings and albums and it is imperative that we examine the depth and context of these records and albums as we move on to 2019. In 2018, we were treated to several delightful metal sounds from numerous new artists and legendary artists like Judas Priest, who is regarded by many as the pioneer of metal music. Priest’s contribution to the art of metal music has been immense over the years and it was particularly interesting to see that they further helped redefine metal music even in 2018. A wide range of artists delivered quality albums this year.
The opinions shared in this review are deduced from the general feeling amongst metal music lovers. This review is intended to capture the complete run of metal music in 2018 and this means it features excellent, average, fair and poorly done metal music to create a true retrospective view as we head into 2019.
2018 in metal music was a period where fans and well wishers were treated to a lot of tours from metal music’s biggest acts. The tours for most of these artists were arranged to boost patronage for most of the albums released in 2017 or to set the ground ready for the launch of their new albums that will be used on tours next year.
2018 also gave room to a lot of metal music debutants who aimed to capture the spotlight and demonstrate that they are a force to reckon with in years to come.
Like Judas Priest, there were a handful of metal music veterans who contributed to the immense success of the music genre in 2018.
Metal music has suffered a gradual descent in commercial music rating and this can be tied to the break out of new sounds and the less exploration and focus on the metal music genre by top industry resources. Despite this drop in rating, live metal music events have largely remained popular amongst lovers of metal music through live metal events.
A foray into the current U.S. and Global Top 50 charts on Spotify – which features the highest-streamed songs in 2018, did not return a single active rock or metal track. This confirmed that metal music was heavily relegated to the background and did not break into the mainstream corridor in 2018 like Hip-hop and pop music did with their momentum. Country music was next on the scene and even the most active and popular rock music playlist on Spotify had less than 5 million subscribers.
Away from online streaming channels, metal music was also conspicuously missing on Top 40 radio. The noticeable absence of metal music did confirm its lack of prominence amongst listeners. 2018 can be likened to the calm before the storm, because 2019 is beginning to feel like a new dawn for the metal music genre. Numerous A-list metal music acts such as Slipknot, Rammstein, the legendary Megadeth and (hopefully) Tool will return with new albums. The prospects of all of these releases within a year is even more mouth watering because the metal music scene has been deprived of new projects from these big artists.
Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones, Evanescence, Papa Roach, Bring Me the Horizon and several other metal music acts are billed to drop new projects in 2019.
2019 does hold many promises for the metal music genre and the massive anticipation of these projects by metal music lovers could just serve as the needed impetus for metal music to reclaim its rightful place on the music scene.
As we talk about 2018 in retrospect, we can only urge every rocker and metalhead to get ready for the massive invasion of metal music on 2019. 2019 will surely be a pleasant and adventurous ride.
~EY