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.
