There has been plenty of talk about the aging of metal and the lack of younger headlining acts and Slayer guitarist Kerry King appears to have pinpointed part of the issue while speaking with France's Metal XS.

During a chat, he explained, "I think a lot of new bands really get popular because of fads, and fads come and go and they never stay. Metal is certainly not a fad. Hard rock is not a fad; it's something that's gonna be here forever. Unfortuantely, in the metal community, I haven't seen the next surgence."

King went on to add, "We were at a festival in South America somewhere, and they feed you a live feed of the stage, so you can watch it like you're out front. And I was watching a band, and I went over to Gary Holt and I said,' Gary, if I was a kid and these were my heroes, I would never pick up an instrument.' They didn't compel me to wanna be them, and I think that's what's missing in younger music … There's not a vibe."

The guitarist remarked that a lot of acts look like roadies rehearsing their instruments and that just doesn't cut it. "That doesn't inspire me to wanna play guitar and be just like 'em. When I was a kid, I [looked up to people like] Ted Nugent, Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads… you know, people that are, like, 'Man, I wanna be like that guy.' And I don't see that in [new] bands. And maybe it's because I'm older and I don't know what's cool -- I doubt that -- but that's my opinion."

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