Heavy Metal - what is 'cool'

[ChristmasisComing]

I haven't a clue what to get my 15 yr old step nephew for Christmas - he is apparantly into Heavy Metal, but I know nothing about it except that some is 'cool' but others are definitley not! My brother knows little more than I (!). I would like to get him something appropriate - can any one please give me some clues?

Thanks

led zeppelin? jimi hendrix? get him some good classic hm!

Quote from my very cool 15-year-old niece who likes rock, alternative, indie, goth, all that kind of stuff.her favourite bands are:

"slipknot (occasionally), korn, nirvana, ac/dc, anti-flag (i love them - they are amazing and they are only 19!!), the clash, ramones, rancid, trivium, tiger army, the zutons, foo fighters, deftones, bullet for my valentine, afi, aiden, alice cooper, all american rejects, angels and airwaves, avenged sevenfold, blitz, cky, dropkick murphys, fall out boy, feeder, fightstar, him, hawthorne heights, jimmy eat world, the kooks, marylin manson, metallica, mighty mighty bosstones, misfits, my chemical romance, nickleback, orson, Panic, papa roach, sex pistols, simple plan, streetlight manifesto, white rose movement and many more!!"

Hope that helps.

It is your duty as the generation above to get something classic, like SEA says.

And someone like Led Zep is perfect, although if he's into his metal, he should have at least some of their music. Otherwise to metallers a seminal album is Back in Black by AC/DC. Can you find out if he has any of these and buy accordingly?

i would ask for a tip from his mum or dad as it is so easy to get it wrong.

Quick tip - heavy metal - generally not appropriate! Speaking as someone who likes her rock and metal!
First of all, is it new metal or old metal that there into? If it's old than bands like iron maiden, alice cooper, metalica etc. If it's new (er) than bands like marilyn manson (personl fav), rage against the machine, slipknot, evanescence, him, probot, even some linkin park etc.
There's a very thin line between whats classed as rock and metal, bands like nirvana, garbage, audioslave, hooberstank, placebo, foo fighters, incubus that are rock/grunge based. Then there's also all your new 'rock'/indie which is fairly light like the automatic, razorlight, jet, greenday, franz ferdanand, the kooks, the zutons etc.
Other personal favs of mine are prodigy and pendulum, there drum and base and trancy - but in quite a dark and sinister sort of way that makes them an alternative fav amoungst all your metal/rock lovers!
Another quick tip - if you do buy a cd, keep the recipt. Just incase they don't like it or it's already floating around in their collection. The alternative would be to buy like a hmv/virgin voucher for them to go and get a cd that they are really wanting.
Hope this is some sort of help.

hmmm, i'd get a voucher, most metalers have pretty extensive collections and would prefer to root around themselves for something.

Get him HMV or Amazon vouchers and let him pick.

i love rock and metal myself (am 20) and i would say that a good bet would to be to go for a greenday album or something, that kind of hits into the old and new catagory as they have been around for well over 10 years now (prob nearer 15).
if its heavy matal though, get him some metallica, (they are truely great), marilyn manson or korn (preferably the older albums). hth [fsmile)

Metal at the moment is stuff like Trivium etc, no? It is nigh on impossible to keep up with the changing definitions of musical genres and cliques unless you are firmly submerged in that 'world'.
Go for a voucher, that way not only do you avoid the look of horror on his face when you present a hardcore death metaller with a 'Nickelback' CD (or vice versa!), but he also won't end up with two copies of Triviums latest (dire) offering...(NB: if he really is into heavy metal he won't appreciate a greenday CD...)