Heavy Metal Revisited

Have you seen Heavy Metal Parking Lot? Because you should. It captures the 1980s metal culture at a Judas Priest concert in Maryland. It's equal parts entertaining, amusing, and reflective of a time that once was involving people who probably don't remember being there.

Keeping that in mind, a then / now slide show was just published visually comparing the JP concert in 1986 to one in Missouri in 2009. It's a clear indication of how dedicated fans grow with their favourite bands and how that love for a genre can be passed on.

Now this slide show was more nostalgic than anything. If one wanted to create an appropriate cultural comparison of heavy metal then / now, the new footage and images would be from a contemporary metal show with an adolescent following. Does this HMPL 'sequel' exist? Tell me if it does. If not, someone should really get on that!

There seems to be a contemporary metal culture but it's fragmented into subgenres with different yet connected fanbases (I sound like a Communications professor, oh gosh). Some elements of 80s metal still remain (long hair, band t-shirts etc...) but it seems like Metalheads have less to rebel against now. Not that it's a bad thing, there just doesn't seem to be an aggressive counter culture in the metal community.

I'm so far out of the loop that I probably sound like a senior citizen talking about computers so PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong.