Sludge and Stoner Rock/Metal as the '90s Flag Bearers of Pure Rock 'n' Roll
 

So, I'm sure we can all agree that Three Days Grace, Avenged Sevenfold, and Nickelback are largely corporate crap, or at least tepid attempts at imitating better bands. My point with this thread is claiming that whatever flag there was to pick up for working class rock was seized not by post-grunge, nu metal, or whatever passes for alt metal since 2000, but by stoner rock and certain sludge metal bands. Even grunge was largely inspired by sludge (i.e. the Melvins).

If fans of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and Aerosmith had half a clue, they'd have abandoned Pearl Jam, Candlebox, and Creed to throw millions of dollars at groups like Kyuss, Corrosion of Conformity, Monster Magnet, Down, and Clutch. Maybe some of those groups had some success back in the day, but their almost complete lack of exposure on current FM rock stations -- that now largely live in the past and play more Led Zeppelin, Motley Crue, and Alice In Chains than any new rock -- says everything that needs to be said about where the public's focus was directed a the time.

So, like, now that the '90s/'00s are over, and those more deserving groups are no longer as relevant as they once were, what's taken their place? Are there new stoner/sludge rock bands that are picking up the torch (without being purely retro or only palatable to metal fans)? Is there something new (and not associated with indie/hipster circles) that's now deservedly "the thing" to dirty biker types in the know? Or has indie, hip hop, and EDM so completely taken over, that a new, non-****ty rock movement just isn't happening?

Firstly I wouldn't lump Pearl Jam in with Candlebox or Creed, Pearl Jam at least understood what being a classic rock band was all about and that was rooting their sound in classic 70s rock and of course adding their own experimental trinkets to it.