It’s not exactly a secret that the genre of heavy metal will be facing a power vacuum in the not too distant future. While veteran acts like Metallica, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and the like continue to tour, it’s an unfortunate reality that age catches up to us all. Groups like Slipknot, Five Finger Death Punch, Ghost and more have continued to fly the flag for headbangers and have grown to headline to sizable audiences, but it remains to be seen if they can fill out arenas like the aforementioned stars of the 80s and 90s continue to.
Despite an occasional heavy band managing to top the Billboard 200 here and there, nü-metal’s peak remains the last prolonged era which saw music of the heavier persuasion reign supreme on the charts and in public consciousness. The likes of Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Evanescence, Deftones, Korn and several other others all topped the charts amid that late 90s/early 00s run, allowing them to enjoy to long and successful careers.
Papa Roach were one of those bands to reach their commercial peak during that period, notching up a 3x multi-platinum status with their major label debut “Infest“. As it stands now, the cream of nü-metal’s crop also seem primed to become the next evergreen acts once the aforementioned current kings retire from their respective thrones.
Papa Roach vocalist Jacoby Shaddix commented of that recently in an interview with Lazer 103.3, offering:
“We’re watching Metallica step into that Rolling Stones spot right now. And Foo Fighters are another one of those groups. And Korn, Papa Roach [and] Deftones, we’re like the next Metallicas. You know what I mean? That’s it. We’re stepping into that spot now. It just comes to, I guess, being able to survive the treachery of this rock and roll life. And if you can do that and still continue to create good art and good music, then we can get into that space.”
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