All one has to do is peek into their lyrics, which all share the same commonality as being simplistic, recycled, and worded so that all people with an IQ under 80 and a beer buzz can relate to them.

Really, anyone that can consider AC/DC as art? Seriously, get your head examined.

Really ‘metal’ is a label that should have never been thrown on a music genre like Leave’s Eyes, Nightwish, Epica etc. It is something altogether different, and superior in my book.

Oh and about Liv Christine, she is absolutely beautiful with a capital “B”, looks, voice, personality. Her husband is one incredibly lucky guy.

you know, I don’t like Rhapsody or Hammerfall but I think it’d be hilarious to have that on, especially when you finish.

I do like some of these bands. I need some candy-coated music-stuffs after listening all day to Ignivomous, Axis Of Advance, Deathspell Omega or the like. Draining, engaging listening topped off with vapid pop-metal. Sounds like a plan. :D

although the dude with the cape in the Leaves’ Eyes band photo (far left) is quite the stud as well.

Liv’s boobies?”

Eh…. They are decent, but that face is a killer (in photos not airbrushed and covered in makeup). Ugh.

It looks like she ran a 100 yard dash in a 50 gym.

Liv’s boobies?

even if the metal genres I mentioned are offensive to fans who spend most of their time listening to far more underground (and quality) stuff, I think you could argue that these bands have all been way more mainstream than the classic thrash and death metal bands ever were in the 80s.

part of it is savvier marketing (the much more conspicuous, accessible presence of things like MTV and Hot Topic, not to mention tons of corporate-sponsored touring festivals) but it’s also just more common and accepted to listen to these bands now (not to mention granddaddies like Metallica, who went totally mainstream), with less of the social pigeonholing that marked the 80s.

of those I only like Lamb of God, a few of the early Korn albums and the first two Killswitch albums. everything else, meh.

and gordeth is right, this kind of symphonic female-fronted pop metal has never been big in the States, only Lacuna Coil (and Nightwish to a lesser degree) has gotten any real exposure.

Alan from Primordial said it best in his myspace blog :

“there is a groundswell of people moving away from the mainstream. Tired of vaccous, air brushed pop metal who want something with teeth made by real people with integrity and honesty. When did Metal become so full of fucking shit?…didn’t the big bands in the 80s and 90s belong to us? Huge bands but making some of the most important albums of the time. Slayer, Maiden, Priest, Death, Possessed, Sodom, Kreator, Megadeth the list goes on and on from the 80s. From the 90s we had the second wave of Black Metal and Death metal at the head of the 90s to seminal doom and doom/death albums…Morbid Angel to Dark Throne to Paradise Lost.

What does the 00’s give the mainstream? the horror of corseted eurovision female fronted pop stinking like an open sewer from every new rock alchemy dancefloor nightmare you ever had, myspace sports casual death metal for hairdressers and beer bong frat boy jock thrash
Where’s the anger and the fucking danger? I’ll tell you where. In the underground that’s where. Right under your nose and you’ve no excuse…it’s so damn easy these days.”

I think he’s right on the money !

so what are the popular acts of the 2000s then? most of us here spend so much time with underground stuff, I have no clue what’s actually popular, aside from Hot Topic deathcore or the remains of the US metalcore explosion and even then I have no idea just how popular that stuff actually is.

The popular acts of the 2000’s have given us nothing but vapid, plastic, bubble gum, female fronted syth pop. Its boring, its inoffensive, it has no FEELING to it. It doesn’t have that timeless quality to it…. its simply a PRODUCT. not art.
20 years from now, all the albums I mentioned plus many more will still be remembered, but this stuff certainly will not.

You should listen to Midnattsol, Liv’s sister’s band. Guys from Ahab playing symphonic stuff. It’s pretty cool.