“People associate it with a ‘retro’ style of music”: H.E.A.T frontman on the state of the rock genre
As acts like Sleep Token steadily grow in popularity – finding success by flavouring metal with a slew of external genre influences and experimental sounds – it’s clear many modern heavy bands no longer fit the classic rock mould. But Kenny Leckremo, frontman of Swedish unit H.E.A.T, believes there’s a charm to classic rock ‘n’ roll that the modern genre lacks.
Speaking to Classic Rock, Leckremo explains how, while he doesn’t disapprove of up-and-coming bands toying with genre, he believes old school rock should still have a place on the radio. “What matters is that we get the message to younger generations who don’t even know what rock ‘n’ roll music is,” he insists.
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“I’ll go to the gym and put some music on, and someone will come up to me and say: ‘What the hell is this?’” he explains. “And I’m like: ‘What are you talking about? It’s Survivor! How do you not know this?!’”
Asked whether rock bands have become too apologetic and lost their ability to write strong songs, Leckremo replies: “It’s not just in rock, it’s in every genre. I guess people associate it with a ‘retro’ style of music.”
But he says H.E.A.T have no shame in sticking to the tried and tested rock blueprint. “We’re not going to do some sort of hip-hop or EDM song for the sake of pushing boundaries,” he jokes. “All the old-school bands we looked up to knew exactly who they were.” He adds: “In H.E.A.T we’re not ‘apologetic’ or ‘retro’. We love that kind of music.”
Leckremo is of the opinion that “rock is definitely a little bit underground at this moment”. “It’s definitely not the centre of attention,” he says. “You’re always going to have AC/DC and Iron Maiden and Springsteen, but regular rock bands aren’t gonna have the same space in the media as your Taylor Swifts.”
However, there are bands waiting in the wings for their time to shine. “It’s exciting right now,” he adds. “There are a lot of great fucking bands just waiting to reach that big audience. And there is a big audience for rock music, it’s just about reaching through the noise.”
And, as Leckremo notes, “the more noise we can make as a community, the better.”
On the same note, Ozzy Osbourne recently discussed how he feels the mainstream is ignoring the massive popularity of metal music. The singer – who is set to perform alongside his original Black Sabbath bandmates at their final show, Back to the Beginning, next month – said: “As far as the media goes, heavy music isn’t popular.”
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