amp - You have a problem with identifying what real metal is, and separating it from pop-metal, which has been around since Van Halen.
You must also ask what makes metal...Metal? I would argue that putting a disco beat to a song doesn't make it entirely non-metal, if the band is smart.
And there are plenty of fantastic post-2k acts that have emerged that have talent and the right kind of chops:
Of course, I'm a big Christian Metal fan, so 80% of what's mentioned is Christian, but there's a lot of fantastic work going on in the midwest metal scene. Lots of fantastic bands coming from Ohio and PA.
Sufficive to say, the post-2k metal scene is fantastic with a lot of great bands. It's hard to look at the route of the more melodic bands like Killswitch Engage, and the awesome guitar and drum work going into modern songs, it's blowing out lots of older stuff.
IMO, my critique of older music is that most metal bands, sans Rush (which wasn't metal) had atrocious drumming. We're in an age of fantastic drummers, and more 'meat' to songs outside of standard riffs and breakneck guitar solos. If you think that's metal, then you should just go buy a wig and spandex, and travel back to the 80's with most of the older metal bands. That's not to say they're bad, but to deny the new guard's awesomeness in the underground scene is a crime. True metal has always been underground, and you can't haul off examples like Korn or Nu-Metal as being pureblood metal as being the sign of metal going downhill. Because if you want to go that route, I could cute some pretty trashy mainstream metal bands in the 80's.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
