Greetings my fellow metalheads! I am Jesus Manson, your friend for all things MLP and heavy metal!

This has been something plaguing my thoughts on and off again since the start of the year, and I wanted to share my thoughts with fellow metal lovers and see what others think of the matter. Since the last quarter of 2014, there have been two bands that put the world of metal in a stir, and from 2015 on have proved their worth multiple times. If you double check the title of this thread, you know I'm talking about two of modern metal's kings that have turned the last couple of years into their image: the Chicago quartet Disturbed, and Iowa's (sic) nine Slipknot. When it comes to these two personal favorite bands of mine, one of question has made its way to the forefront of my thoughts for a while now: who is the better band right now?

Before I go any further, I want to make clear that I love and respect both bands and their work immensely, being a longtime fan of both bands and worn even their newest cds out with how often I listen to their music. I have been to multiple concerts by both bands, and their "side projects" throughout the years and have not once been disappointed by the nights I spent at the shows. It's just that, with what they've accomplished in the last couple years, I'm torn between which band to view as being superior in their craft, who has earned their success better than the other, and, for lack of better phrasing, claims ownership as center of attention in the metal world. That's why I'm here, to ask fellow bronies who love all things from The Sickness to Immortalized, from Slipknot's first to fifth albums, about who they think has earned the better keep.

Now before you begin to go on and make a comment, let's take a quick overview of each band's recent years:

After announcing their hiatus in 2011, Disturbed fans grew concerned how long it would take before the quartet would return to the stage, and with a new batch of songs to play. Those prayers were answered in 2015, shortly before that year's Bronycon, when the band released the video for the song The Vengeful One, and announced the late August release of their newest effort, Immortalized. To keep my opinion short, it's not my new #1 Disturbed record, but it's still a damn good album to play, and it being the band's fifth consecutive #1 album shows the world feels similar. However, after playing one show on the day the album released, the band didn't hit the road for a tour until January 2016, but man did they approach this tour with a lot of buildup. Fans were ecstatic to see them live again, and singles such as The Light dominated the music charts, but their cover of the Hall & Oates classic The Sound of Silence was becoming more and more successful as the days passed. Since the start of this year, Disturbed have been true road dogs, touring circles around North America and the rest of the world, most shows as the headlining act with a set that pulled songs from across their entire discography. Night after night, they rocked the stage like champions, and David Draiman captivated the crowd into his control whenever he would call "My brothers and sisters; my blood..." and nail every note he sang as Dan, Mike and John rocked their respective instruments off. In short, a time without Disturbed repaid fans with a juggernaut: a band with a new fire lit under their feet that put out a phenomenal new record, their efforts becoming more successful every day, and have not slowed down on their trek around the world that lives up with the new album's title. In short, 2016 is the year Disturbed shows how they are immortalized in heavy metal.

As for the second contender of this debate, the last several years have tried the very best of Slipknot, The death of original bassist Paul Gray was unforeseen and shocking to the band, and as shown in various outlets, it took a lot for the band to hit the road from 2011-2013 and do a memorial tour in honor of their lost friend. Follow that tragedy with the departure of Joey Jordison in early 2014, fans were wondering what the band would pull off in the studio for the band's fifth effort. Well, after a summer tease and a new single, the band released .5: The Gray Chapter in October 2014, and perhaps unleashing a furious storm no one could see coming. Corey Taylor described it as a creative lovechild between Iowa and Volume 3, and the album proves that with how brutally heavy the songs can be, the melodic and aggressive tones thrown in between, and collectively being the catharsis the band as a whole needed to move forward in their career. Since then, the band has traveled the world multiple times over in their way and nothing but. Show after show they headlined alongside a multitude of rock and metal's great and growing names, and every time it's their turn to take the stage, they dominate with performances that can be immense, exhilarating, even gruesome and practically nightmare-fueling to many concertgoers like myself, fueled by the band's reborn passion through collections of all five albums' songs. Over the last few years, Slipknot has shown that they are a band with the potential to fill the slots of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Metallica as one of the greats that has brought something new and mind-blowing to the metal table, and even with everything that's been thrown against them, they show no signs of quitting. With their tour under the fifth album's banner near its end, this year and all of the band's endeavors shows there's plenty more desire from fans to see what more disasterpieces they can concoct.

So there you have it, two of metal's finest recent histories in a nutshell. Now I'd like to hear what others have to say on this matter. Do you think Disturbed's return after their four-year hiatus is as monumental as their album tries to describe them, or has Slipknot's path through grief and catharsis created a new beast no one can rival? I'd love to hear what you have to say, so leave a comment below and share your thoughts on both bands and which you think has shown themselves as the better band. (As a precaution, anyone who chooses to be disrespectful beyond reason to anyone else will have their comments deleted on the spot. Let's show some love and tolerance in metal, too. Okay? Okay.) I look forward to hear what you say, and until then, stay metal my fellow bronies! \m/

-Jesus Manson, the Metalhead Brony

I love both bands, but I think Disturbeds better.

I have to go with Slipknot since not only am I from Iowa, but I am related to his ex wife Scarlett Stone.