Metal is in a constant state of flux. Scenes and trends ebb and flow with the whim of the fans and labels. But amid the era of bandcamp and last.fm that results in flash in the pan bands and instant demos, there is a thriving, rising scene of bands ready to make their mark on metal. And not by throwing in some breakdowns to dropped D guitars and wearing gaudy, ironic print t-shirts. These are REAL musicians, with talent, drive and one foot in metal's lauded past while looking into a bright, but still underground future. Bands that I predict will be (or have started) making an indelible imprint on the metal scene. It would be easy to name drop the cool, 'in' bands here, but I'm trying to keep this list as real as possible and dig a little deeper into the future of metal. Nothing chique like Kvelertak or Anaal Nathrakh (both excellent bands I might add) or anything on Sumerian Records- yawn. However, nothing to true and 'kult' that you need to fly to Romania, donate a vial of blood to purchase a band's first demo recorded on tape made from finely whittled wood from Dracula's coffin. Just bands I feel are on the leading edge on metal, released something this year and have a great future ahead of them. Of course, this list is purely my sole opinion and conjecture, so I'd love to hear your feed back and suggestions in the comments below and tell me how wrong I am. Then I will comment back with something so witty and hilarious, your soul will want to crawl back to whence it came and weep for eternity. That or I'll just call you stupid. In no particular order, here is the new spawn of metal that is ready to burst forth from the womb and leave it's placenta on the delivery table of the mainstream.