I love a good metal gimmick. Growing up as a metalhead in the early 2000s, I was treated to all manner of colourful characters; if it wasn’t Slipknot, Mudvayne, Coal Chamber and Wes Borland making nu metal look like some kind of twisted carnival attraction, it was Cradle Of Filth taking corpse paint mainstream or Rob Zombie making horror-metal bangers.
It was great! And in 2025, it feels like metal is more stacked with gimmicks than ever: Ghost making a career out of costumed, subversive naughtiness; Babymetal looking like superheroes as they dish out sugary-sweet Kawaii metal; Sleep Token bringing masks, mystery and ultra-layered lore to the top of the charts; Castle Rat walking straight out of a Frank Frazetta painting to host live battles on stage.
Honestly? I still think it’s brilliant. Whether it’s Eddie waving a sword around at an Iron Maiden show or Ice Nine Kills teaming with killer clowns, I believe metal is at its best when it’s big, loud, colourful and fun. Don’t get me wrong, I have some limits with this stuff; when the gimmick completely overshadows the music, I’m not interested (sorry, Evil Scarecrow and Nekrogoblikon!). But as someone who spent years deciding who to put on the cover of Metal Hammer magazine, having a band that looks fantastic and has a story to tell is always going to win over four bored-looking dudes in band merch.
Some quite strongly disagree with me on this – they want their metal to be straightforward, honest and raw, covering real emotional beats and eschewing the silly dressing. I totally get it: as much as I love me some Rob Zombie, the likelihood of him producing something as resonant and impactful as a Fade To Black or a Nutshell is slim.
My friend Philly Byrne, frontman of Irish thrash metal heroes Gama Bomb, recently wrote a compelling op ed arguing that the gimmicks currently flooding the metal scene are promoting a style-over-sincerity style of music-making, drawing attention away from the metal artists that actually have something to say.
I think there’s room for both: give me the blazing eco-warrior fury of Gojira. And then give me Ice Nine Kills dressing up for a Batman video. Just make it interesting!
What do you think? Is metal a better place with a lot of gimmicky bands running the show, or is it all a bit too much at this point? Let me know in the comments.