Nik try not to put Sleep Token in his thumbnails challenge level impossible

Crazy how much metal has evolved. I certainly feel that Mick Gordon had a HUGE impact on the way metal is produced/perceived now, as crazy is that is to say. I’m so excited to see how this genre continues to evolve.

Fun! MeTaL! THINGS!!!!!

meshuggah and periphery deciding to make the sound that people would use and manipulate for the next 16 years be like: 🥶

You can hear alot of nu metal and metalcore influences in todays metal, its like reliving my childhood all over again except im in my 20s

I remember when Melissa Cross brought out the dvd called Zen Of Screaming in 2005, i bought it thinking it would be crazy vocal techniques, but it just turned out to be regular singing lessons and warm ups, one embarrasing sing lesson later my growls got deeper, my vocals became better, i had better breath control and i could hit more ranges. The history of metal vocals evolving im pretty sure starts with Melissa Cross the GOAT

Nu metal, alternative metal and metalcore from the 2000's made me the man i am today but i also love modern metal and new fun metal shit that comes out today. Its okay to like both eras

I am someone who came along at the very end of Gen X (46) I have said this many times, "You ether evolve with time, or you will get left behind". Most people from my era cannot and outright refuse to say that. I love some bands from the 80's, 90's and beyond. Crue got me into metal, and now I listen to everything from Slipknot, Bad Omens, Sleep Token, Slaughter to Prevail, and many more! Keeping an open mind is paramount to discovering new music!

Nik: what era of metal you like the most? Me: all of them.

I’m stuck in 2000-2000 nu metal phase. Love the old 578 but the new stuff too.

Nik you inspired me to play guitar today I just learned walk by pantera and the solo thanks for inspiring me also to get into metal

Nik, you have to react to Starset's "new" song 'Brave New World.' Starset may not normally your style, but this is a shocking level of *heavy* for them. I'm a fan of theirs, and this caught me totally off-guard and blew my mind. The riff is literally terrifying. You will *not* be disappointed.

Drummers started doing jazz and metal. Dave Lombardo and Gar Samuelson: did ya'll forget about us? 😂

This is one of those debates I think is just void and pointless because it’s literally all just down to personal taste. I like modern metal and really struggle to get in to a lot of older stuff, mostly pre 2000s. Just never happened for me. Me arguing with someone who has the complete opposite taste is pointless and a waste of time because there is no objective answer

I grew up as a Warped Tour kid, it's crazy to see how things have evolved. I feel like metal isn't as "raw" anymore, it's cleaner and more produced, like you were saying. There's a hell of a lot of variations now though, so everyone can find something they like.

I don't know about all this "...and then guitarists/drummers/vocalists started getting better". While modern metal is definitely an incredibly skilful genre utilising a wide range of new techniques, I think crusty old shredders in the 80s definitely weren't worse. I'm sure if you gace Paul Gilbert a 15 minute thumping lesson, he'd have invented Tosin music before Tosin. I don't think "better" is the standard or the right word. Just different. I still listen to Judas Priest from the 80s, and I was listening to Polyphia a minute ago. It's all good.

Actually "What the fuck is Mirar?!"

My main problem with mainstream metal nowadays is that the production can get so obnoxiously clean, that it just stops being heavy, like, it stops being organic, I'm not asking for the music to sound like it was recorded through an old radio, but i do want my music to sound like it was actually made by human beings with passion for what they are playing

I still remember hearing Bullet With A Name for the first time playing WWE: Smackdown vs Raw 2007 and being absolutely blown away

I have never gotten to a nik video so quickly.

I started with old school Slayer and Pantera in my early teens (90's), with a transition into Industrial Rock (NIN, Skinny Puppy, KMFDM, SWANS) and then full experimental noise beat when the drugs kicked in; Einstruzende Neubauten, Download, Autechre, etc. I hear many of those industrial ideas in modern metal, and that evolution makes sense to me

This is a good analysis. I always tell people how much technology shapes music.

Metal in 2024 : Fun MeTHALL things !!!

We need a metal version of bowling for soups 1986

I’m just really enjoying this era even as someone who also grew up with that nostalgia trip you mentioned. From LP to BFMV and everything that fit in between back then, to how my tastes have expanded these days. I truly love how VAST Metalcore itself is in general with bands from Northlane to something that is just a more modernized version of Metalcore in Bury Tomorrow. Sprinkle in the crazy off the board stuff BMTH keeps putting out and I feel like I’ve been eating good.

electronic music and metal began way earlier than Linkin Park. In 80s, Ministry, NIN, a bunch of 80's prog.metal bands used electronics in their music too

I see that 1 million plaque in the background.Congrats on your KZfaq accomplishments Nik!

When you were talking about your music discovery path it was like you were speaking for me hahaha

"Everything's awesome cuz we still have F***** Breakdowns!" I exhaled out of my nose on that one.

I literally couldn’t believe the production change, so quickly, in metal between 2010 - 2015 even. You’ve made so many damn good points in this video, as much as some people will hate on that. I remember I tried to get a metalcore band off in 2010, wrote several songs that were decent enough but then we all got full time jobs with different schedules then that was it. It just faded. I then tried again in 2014 but could only get me (bassist/guitarist) and our main vocalist from the last band , but not the lyricist. So I had to now be the main lyricist. We teamed up with a great unknown producer in my city who I was friends with between different crowds and he just worked with me and my buddy for barely any time before he produced a 80% programmed killer track for us to write and lay down vocals on top. It was actually astounding how little we effed around with just a few ideas and he just went to work and produced this great track as a demo, literally primed for a vocal recording. I was hoping for more input instrumentally tbh. Technology has now made it so that rock/metal producers can be hip-hop producers and that’s exciting and scary. I see both sides as a fan and an incredibly low rank musician a long time ago. The changing world of music technology just means the fans need to be more supportive in smaller genres and spend less time bitching about the stuff that catches more main stream attention and also be thankful for the insane level of variety available when you just dig a little bit into the wonderful and vast genre of metal

It makes me sad when bands don’t actually record the instruments, but rather let a machine do it for them😢

YES WE WANT THE METAL 2004 2024 SONG

Didn't know mirar was getting big. You love to see it

Nik - guitar solos aren't a thing today Adam de Micco - can you see me ?

My metal journey started with Metallica, Slayer, Tool, Linkin Park, Disturbed, and then went into Killswitch Engage, Dream Theater, In Flames. Then I went into power metal like Blind Guardian, Nightwish, Within Temptation. Now I do metalcore as my big genre with Ice Nine Kills, Asking Alexandria, We Came as Romans, and Alt metal like Smash Into Pieces. Just discover Versus Me, who are metalcore, and Sick Century who I am not quite sure how to catagorize. I just like metal period. Is best music.

The titles vibe: Son, there comes a time in every future metalheads life when he craves harder rock. Sure ot might only start with black sabbath but over time you listen to thrash, hardcore, death metal, black metal, grindcore esc. Just know, these changes are completley normal. Oh how do i know you are a future metal head? its all in the genes.

honestly I love genre blending and complex music so it's a great time for me but I also like discovering other styles from older times when I wasn't listening to a lot of music or wasn't even born yet

Gotta love that the thumbnail is literally SlipToken

my metal journey really started with the classic thrash and death metal of the 80s so that stuff will always have a special place in my heart, but i think the era that speaks to me the most is late 90s/2000s metal because of how experimental and fun everything got. i also think this is why i am now Really enjoying all the newer metal that’s been coming out, because it feels like another rebirth of the genre. i’ll always respect the classics but what’s been done since then is so sick

love seeing your posts on the same music we might have in common. You rip dude!

I've said it before on many of your videos, and honestly I was a hater for a lot of newer stuff that was 'mainstream' metal on Octane or Liquid Metal where yeah, some was cool but I knew there had to be something deeper going on. I found this page and my love for br00tz and all things core was reignited once I could watch a few N.N. videos and pull up Spoopifoo and add all this shit to a playlist and from there recommendations on that platform will give you endless options of what you never even knew existed, and not it's your favorite band, genre, whatever. So, big props to you for being honest and fair across the board and not 'gatekeeping' the genre, especially with how much influence you wield nowadays. To your second point about how the music 'sounds', my old band recorded an EP over the course of about 2 years, in the early 10's, and at that time working with the engineer and producer, I realized just how GOOD music can sound when recorded properly and since then I've become a little snobby when the music 'isn't' pristine and perfect, as you said in this video. I want to be able to play it at god-tier levels on any set of speakers or my car or headphones and it sound PERFECT. And frankly I'm glad we're there, and even more glad Spotify and other platforms are working to give us lossless audio, which is going to be another game changer, as 1411k vs. 320k is a WORLD of difference, even if you don't realize it yet. 5 years ago I never thought a band like Polyphia or Bad Omens would top my Spotify lists but here we are, and I'm all the happier for it.

Thank you dying wish for keeping 2000's metalcore alive 🤘

Okay i like metal.

anything that makes me headbang makes me happy no more overthinking

I’m a much newer metal fan, being introduced to metal through bands like A7x or Slipknot through my brothers, but as I’ve become more into newer metal it’s a lot easier for me to really live in it in comparison to the 2000s metalcore that I wasn’t around for. Because of the fact that I didn’t live through those bands I am not as fully connected or likened to that type of music. Ofc I love all types of metal but being younger allows me to really live in the current scene.

Music is sound, sound makes me happy. No more no less

I just won't ever accept that music was better back then just because of 'lack' of good production. We live in an age where I can record a whole song with drums, guitar, voice and bass and full production with just a laptop, a mic and a guitar. That's huge, and as much as I appreciate records like The Cleansing for their rawness, I love recording crap at home

This is a great video!

It’s all good. I’m only 23 but grew up listening to it all too, love everything now and then

We need more early 2000's era Metalcore revival. OSDM revival scene has been awesome, same with the Black-Death scene. I like production variation in what I listen to, why bands like Black Cilice (cavernous lo-fi BM) get played right alongside the new Ulcerate or JFAC or TBDM, some of my projects I still mic my amp because that's the sound that's needed. Sky's the limit in a lot of ways.

Meanwhile, I'm over in the power metal corner, blissfully unaware of these things. Seriously, though, there is nothing wrong with picking up newer production techniques. Saxon and Judas Priest put out some great albums this year, and they're trucking along like it's still 1982. Thanks to the internet, music genres have certainly gotten diverse, but there will always be those bands that still do the things you love. You just have to look for them.

Aba Simpson: I use to be with it! Then they changed what IT was! And now what IT is, is weird and strange! And it will happen to you too!

I've been playing music of some form for 44 years. It's exciting to see my beloved metal evolve, and even more exciting to see these young pups doing things on their instrument that would have Eddie Van Halen's jaw drop. I've never gotten good enough to be anything but a hobbyist, but these new players are phenomenal.

Listen to hardcore, this is the best time now more than ever. Sick riffs, sick breakdowns, and so many good bands out there.

I think the fact that i've seen this video yesterday, i dreamed with nik with a bass in an slavic film. The most funny is that Nik was actually very happy and couldn't stop flexing. Strange dream but, it was sooo weird and funny 😂

I definitely agree with everything you said, but to me the 90s and 2000s will always be my favorite 🎶

yes love that you cited justin bonnits and andy cyzek

You literally named every band in order that got me hooked into the metal world

i love how there's so many variations of metal today for everyone to enjoy. idc what anyone says - if you like oldschool metal, go ahead, listen to them & find new bands that have that sound and if you like the newer style, then good for you. we don't need ppl's validations to have fun

i like the little Justin plug with the vocal videos

Nice perspective tbh

I always describe to people that growing up in the 2000s gateway mainstream metal was KSE, August Burns Red, and the Asking Alexandra stand up and scream debut (the bible of 578 0-0-0-0-0 ) I don't listen to metalcore anymore but it was a great gateway into hardcore and other types of metal that I listen to now!

When guitars became keyboards and fart noises….

I feel you bro 🔥🤘

it's more global too, with a lot of bands from all over the world able to share their love of Metal music

Always a pleasant surprise to see the last two remaining metal bands on Earth on a reaction channel

Good thing in metal is you can always discover something new.

Good talk 🤘

yeah a 2004 vs 2024 would be SICK

5-7-8 era still my favorite.

"Everything's awesome 'cause we still have fkn BREAKDOWNS" 🙌🙌

I've been listening to Vision of Disorder, Botch, Earth Crisis, and all that sort of stuff stuff lately. Some early cores and metals 🤘

Im surprised you haven't made a video about Graspop yet? All the better bands i learned from you played there. Slaughter To Prevail, BMTH, Architects, Electric Callboy, Brand Of Sacrifice, ERRA, While She Sleeps and so on. It was a banger of a festival

There will never be anything like the new wave British heavy metal in the 70's, like the thrash wave of the 80's, the groove and death metal of the 90's, the Nu/Alt metal of the early 2000's, the myspace deathcore movement, etc. Each era brings it's own emerging music styles and it is up to the listener whether it is good or not. Personally I think there is good music to be found every single year as long as you are okay with doing some digging, but even in the mainstream there are fantastic bands like Loathe, Archspire, BMTH, Sleep Token, Spiritbox, Knocked Loose, Lorna Shore and so many more that are pushing the boundaries of music whether people like it or not.

metalcore, powermetal and partially nu metal are by far my favorite metal subgenres because of the mix of heaviness and relatively clean vocals

I enjoyed this because your rant/breakdown sounds just like me, only I’m way older than you, 53. Metal lives! 😎🤘🏾

A Dai Zero Kan metal cover could go hard too.

Early 2000s Metalcore got me into Metal (shoutout to NFS Most Wanted), but I find more joy in Modern Metal and combining 50 genres into one song. That shit's fire

Listen Dissonant Death Metal and Avant-garde Black Metal. This is real modern metal, composición is madness and production clean

Metal is metal, we all enjoy it one way or another. If I had to choose favourite time, I'd say the 10s but realistically I appreciate everything.

I've got a question for the community! I got into metal living in Germany and I kinda got the feeling that the shift Nik is talking about (metalcore getting more synth parts and becoming crab core) happened years later here. I remember making the argument that metalcore is what 'heaven shall burn' does and this whole crabcore stuff needed a different term. But it was around 2010... Nik talks (in other videos) about this shift happening way earlier. Did it really take this long to reach Europe or is it just me??

Honestly both are fantastic, without classic stuff we wouldn't have our modern sound now. In a way they need each other, With out the classic sound a modern sound wont get formed cause theres nothing for it to grow and evolve off of, without the modern sound metal would just be the same as it was 20, 30, 40 years ago at that point you kind of get bored of the same foraged sound. It's nice to have places to grow and change up the sound of a genre.

Nic... What do you note as THE original breakdown, if there was a 'big bang' of breakdowns? 🤘

making access to information alot easier (with internet etc..) also makes it that music knowledge and ability is no longer gatekept by rich people who could pay for real music classes and such. which is also why there seems to be more prodigies and such in music. The market overall got better technically imo.

I like new metal and old metal.

Half of Bring Me the Horizon songs in new CD have references to old stuff, pop and metal. I think we have more creative before. Today it's a race to fill dopamine of ADHD metal heads using breakdown (no complains).

Nik has been yelling at us a lot more than usual..."WTF IS MIRAR?!" Dude, we look to you for the answers lol

Nik nocturnal needs to do a “how to write a Breaking Benjamin song”

Love the gray hairs. Looks cool and mature

You forgot to mention Darkest Hour lol

00:35 Captain Marvel as good old mcu? lol even the memes are downhill

The now music is great. There are some great collabs coming out. I'm more motivated to go concerts more than ever. It also helps that I'm older and actually have money.

To me the 2000s style of metal will always be better because I have a very defined taste and there are things that I love and things that I dislike a lot. What I mean by that is that I can easily find bands from that era that fit exactly my niche without going into the stuff I dislike so much. I can find a metalcore band that did the 5 7 8 riffs, played solos, had an aggressive thrashy feel without using synths, rapping or nu metal riffs in their songs. Now every band tries to do everything and to me personally that is a negative. This is why I rarely get into the popular bands of today but again this is just my opinion.

According to my spotify favorites, it's the 2010s

"Yaaaahhh Slaaayyeeerrrr!" - Nik Nocturnal

END video PLEASE. END is an American metalcore supergroup composed of singer Brendan Murphy (Counterparts), guitarists Will Putney (Fit For An Autopsy) and Gregory Thomas (Shai Hulud), bassist Jay Pepito (Reign Supreme), and drummer Matt Guglielmo (the Acacia Strain)

Yea, I definitely need a good production. I don’t want a sterile sound, but trying to listen to a record that seems like it was recorded by a broken cassette recorder placed under underwater is criminal😅

Nik, have you ever looked into the blackened metal band Worm Shepherd? I just listened to their Ritual Hymns album for the first time and I thought it was really epic. Give it a listen I’d love to see your reaction to it.

"Everything's so produced nowadays...." -Meanwhile the first Van Halen album only had the guitar on ONE side

1993 311 got me into hard rock/metal