In the middle of Harvard Square, Boston metal quartet RULE is set up in a corner table upstairs at Charlie’s, a kitschy bar that would have probably been filled with cigarette smoke before the Massachusetts smoking ban of 2004. They’re sipping beers, reflecting on how metal has changed since the ’80s and how bands today are failing at recreating the genre.

For one, says singer Mike Soltoff, it’s the “Cookie Monster” vocals heard on some newer extensions of the genre. “Screaming,” he says, clarifying. “It’s screamo. People don’t sing anymore.”  Continue reading →