Are These Bands ‘Real’ Metal?

We’re obviously big fans of rock and metal music here, but where do you draw the line between the two genres? Some bands play a blend of both, but if you dare call an artist that gets played on the radio metal, you might feel the wrath of the gatekeepers.

TikTok creator Opal in Sky has boldly made a video addressing whether a certain group of bands are metal because they’re some of the ones people debate about the most. After mentioning each band, he explained why they should be considered metal. The first example he highlighted was System of a Down.

“I think you just got confused just like the rest of us the first time you heard them, but they are metal,” he argued.

Other groups mentioned in the video are Korn, Disturbed, Slipknot, Bullet for My Valentine and Avenged Sevenfold. Toward the end of the clip, he asked who else people consider “not real metal,” and wrote, “How elitist are you?”

Check it out below.

“Nobody hates metal more than a metalhead,” someone commented on the video.

READ MORE: Are These Bands Dad Rock Now?

Some other viewers commented some groups that they don’t see as metal, including Ghost, Five Finger Death Punch and Sleep Token. A few others jokingly commented that Slipknot is K-pop, likely because their song “Custer” has gone viral on the platform for being played to K-pop dances.

TikTok has made quite a few rock and metal songs go viral over the last couple of years, with Ghost’s “Mary on a Cross” being a prime example. The track recently became the band’s first-ever platinum single in the U.S., four years after its release, because of the platform’s reach. Elitists may not like when their favorite songs reach a massive audience, but it’s obviously a good thing for the artist in question.

Are These Bands ‘Real’ Metal?