Is Rock music dead?

[Wiped]

It can't be dead when there are still millions of avid - young- fans like myself around the globe who love rock and/or metal. In fact, in the UK, metal is pretty big, in a non-mainstream sort of way. Nearly every friend of mine listens to metal or rock - for some, it's fairly mainstream-easy like Avenged Sevenfold or Trivium, but others listen to Guns n Roses, classic Metallica etc and others listen to very non-mainstream metal like Opeth (woo!), Dream Theater, Devildriver etc (I listen to a mix of those three categories really) and that being the case, rock can't be dead.

I think Guitar Hero has a lot to answer for. Honestly, nothing in recent years has put rock, indie and metal into the limelight like Guitar Hero has. It's a cultural phenomenon that has bred millions of new rock fans (although my listening to rock pre-dates GH, I know many who have got into it through GH) and introduced people to bands both classic and contemporary. Look at the success Dragonforce found after TTFAF was on GH3.

So although rock/metal isn't really radio-accepted any more, it certainly has it's place and a lot of fans. Just look at Kerrang Radio/TV and Scuzz TV (UK). There's also no shortage of good bands out there, it's just that the time of 8 minute rock songs topping charts (e.g. Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody) have sadly passed, at least for now.