Dave Evans, the original lead singer of AC/DC, recently shared some strong opinions about modern metal music in an interview with Rock111. He believes the genre has lost its authenticity and soul.
Evans said that rock and roll is all about real attitude, while metal is full of people just pretending. He mocked the theatrical side of metal, saying performers act tough on stage but go home like little kids asking their moms what’s for dinner.
He explained that older rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Free had real emotion and heart in their music. In contrast, Evans feels that today’s music is “clinical” and lacks “humanity”—the emotional and soulful connection that makes music truly powerful.
He also criticized modern musicians who focus on technical skills like fast shredding on guitars. To Evans, playing with feeling is far more important than showing off how many notes you can play. He praised artists like Carlos Santana, who can move people with just one well-played note.
Evans summed it up by saying that music needs soul and emotion. Without that, no matter how technically good it is, it becomes boring. He believes that after a few songs of pure technical display, most people just want to go home.
“Rock and roll is an attitude – a real attitude, not a pretend one. Metal is a pretend attitude… They get up there with painted faces and go, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ And they go home to their mamas: ‘Mama, what’s for dinner?’ But rock and roll is real.”
“A lot of music’s pretty clinical – it’s very clinical. You go back and listen now to bands like Led Zeppelin and Free – that’s when you’re feeling it, man. Really feeling it. This music today, it’s boring to me because there’s no humanity.”
“There’s no humanity with that music… It might be clever and dexterous and [they might] play all the chords and all that sort of stuff, but there’s no feel. That’s the humanity, the humanity of music. And those guys that do all that [busy shredding] stuff, there’s no humanity in that whatsoever. It’s just a fact. Like Santana – he plays one note… That’s the humanity in music. Not [playing a lot of notes at high speed]. That’s what you’re supposed to do at home so you can play melody. That’s scales. That’s not music.”
“But people like watching it and think that’s clever. After two or three songs, you’re bored shitless. Then you wanna go home. So humanity in music is really important. The feeling, the soul, that’s what music is about.”
