Originally Posted by Two Spirit

While the OP was over eight years ago and the question wasn't framed very well, it does hit at a very real concern for those who are more predominately into heavier music.

The responses to these kinds of questions actually irritate me. Every time a person expresses concern about the decline of Rock & Roll in the mainstream, you get these predictable responses about how you should shut up and just seek out all these underground bands online and be content with that. I sort of agree with that because you can't exactly change the masses opinion on something as arbitrary as music taste, but it feels so dismissive.

I think there's a very real need in everyone to want what you like to be popular and to have some form of representation in the media. If you think back to the late 90's and the early 00's, we actually kinda had that with nu-metal bands sharing the stage at awards shows with pop artists like Madonna/Britney Spears, rap artists like Snoop Dogg/50 Cent, as well as the country artists of the time. You really don't see that anymore, as it's mostly Pop and Hip Pop, with Hard Rock/Metal and even Country to a lesser extent being snuffed out of the entire affair. In fact, the only "Rock" bands that even share such a stage anymore are Imagine Dragons or Coldplay, which don't really qualify as rock to anyone with a true appreciation of heavier music.

Some might say that Rock just doesn't have the audience that it once had, but how much of that is organic or radio manipulation by simply not playing it? As a 22 year old male, I have a ton of guy friends that are all into at least a few hard rock and metal bands. Sure, they're not BROOTUL death metal groups or anything close to that, but it's at least a little bit heavy like Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch, or even Linkin Park. I do feel like heavy music in any form is being phased out because it's not soft enough or easily digestible as your standard pop acts. There's a lot of us out there that would definitely listen to the radio more if it wasn't filled with shrill pop stars or whiny pop rock bands.