I'm not sure it would be wise to group the bands like that. Are you talking only mainsream or what? There are countless bands who play the style of the bands listed in Group 1 today.

Based on those bands though, I would go with Group 1 for sure.

Group 1 is the best.Metallica and Slayer are really good.

There are many bands that keep old school metal alive today...but yeah, I'm talking commercally viable bands.

I hear more and more of these new bands playign the same music as bands 15 years ago. Cellador and Metalium for example... do they really think they are pushing the genre forward? Like they sound great...but its been done...

Well, it all depends if you like the direction that these new bands are taking the genre. Is commercialization a good thing for metal?

These new bands are pushing the genre in a direction that I don't like. I prefer when the the bands play the same music as your listed Group 1, but give it their own distinctive style which makes it diffrent, and original in its own way. Mainstream doesn't automatically mean evoultion and originality. In many cases it just means stagnation and simplification of a genre to appeal to the mass audience. Luckily with metal, there are so many sub-genres and local bands, so that even if the commercialization level rises, it will never overtake the genre as a whole.

I guess it all boils down to your genre of choice though. Keep in mind that the second part of my post is solely my opinion and nothing else.

Good point Mrstickball.

Like I still marvel at old records like Rust in Peace and Ride the Lightining. Back then they did not have digital editing and correction. Most of those solos were done 1 take...

Where today, they can patch a solo out of 10 different takes and take the best one. this is why the art of being a musical "superstar" has taken a back seat. Anyone can sound like zack wylde in the studio these days.

Your listing for the pioneers is so wrong on many levels. Only Black Sabbath should be there along with others like Iron Butterfly and Deep Purple which you didn't list. Iron Maiden, Metallica, Iron Maiden, etc. should be in a group 2 that doesn't exist on your list before your "transitional period" which consists of junk like Korn. My favorite metal would be from the Black Sabbath period and from the 2nd period after that which you include in the "pioneers". I also like some early death metal like Obituary and Cannibal Corpse. Everything from Korn on is crap.

Dave Mustaine is awesome on so many levels including his vocals.  Also, you should learn how to spell his band's name corrrectly.   

You forgot Cream. They were prototypical metal. Sabbath was and is heavily influenced by them.

The only 2 bands that ever had (IMO) a good heavy tone from the 60s were The Kinks (You Really Got Me) and Cream (White Room, Sunshine Of Your Love). Of course, Sabbath had 'the' metal tone, which evolved from the old Cream and Kinks sound.

From a technical standpoint, the amps just couldn't handle, easily, metal sounds in the early days. So it's amazing as to what they did. Few bands today actually have to work to get a metal sound - anyone can sound like a metal band, but it took some balls to risk their entire amplifier rig just to get the right tone.

@mrstickball

I would add Blue Cheer to that list as well.