Death metal raged, black metal burned, and good old-fashioned heavy metal continued to sell tens of millions of CDs during the 1990s‹yet the public spotlight moved elsewhere. In the dull eyes of the mainstream, metal was dead. Popular culture in the Prozac-gobbling era of Bill Clinton could scarcely have been less committed to anything. Attitudes in this prosperous and gentle time tended towards moderation and self-restraint‹two of metal¹s admitted weaknesses. Though metal still reigned in Europe, Americans were lulled into thinking they no longer had need of dissent. "People are getting a little too much into political correctness now," Slayer's Jeff Hanneman told Tales from the Pit. "That may be why people like to say metal is dead, because metal is about freedom and saying what¹s on your mind -- not curbing your thoughts."

The cancellation of the long-running Headbangers Ball video show in 1995 was a crushing blow. As MTV purged Poison and other heavy metal ills, the entire glam metal party began to feel like an unwelcome 1980s hangover. In its place romped Green Day and the Offspring, leaders of the squeaky-clean wing of the still-active hardcore punk scene. Stepping up to represent several generations of dyed hair, Green Day's child-safe Dookie sold a whopping 8 million copies by 1995 and dominated magazine and newspaper music coverage for more than two years. Punk's importance to rock and roll was finally being acknowledged, though the music was now being delivered by sterile new messengers. "I hope they took that money and invested it," says Richie Stotts of the Plasmatics, "because they had some good hits. I had no problem with it. Green Day wrote pop songs. Were they trying to be anything more than what they were? It was like the Knack‹it was fun!"...