Well yet again i find myself in this type of debate...
Music is ultimately made to suit different tastes, as is food. Not everyone likes the same food, likewise with music. But saying this song by Parkway Drive isnt music (structurally) is surely false. There is some obvious structure and talent there, and i say that not just because i am a fan of all derivatives of metal (death metal, hardcore, heavy metal, speed metal, gore grind, thrash metal, black metal, etc etc). But i feel i have to arguably state that which we all have...my opinion.
Personally, I find that some of the best instrumentalists in the world just so happen to be in metal bands. 300 Beat per minute double bass, gravity blasts, and insane blast beats are all difficult tasks. Google "Lord Marco" and watch him play a song my Anomolous called Subliminal Servitude and tell me it doesnt take talent to play that song.....
Being a guitarist, i dont even have to give examples of some of the best metal guitarists (they're freaking everywhere). Of course, some of the worlds greatest instrumentalists do not "strut their stuff" and try to show off (Eric Clapton, for example, remains fairly contained by comparison to what he is capable of), but if you are the type (like me) that enjoys people going all out and showing you the best they can do, then metal found in bands, like Parkway Drive, are for you. If not, it doesn't mean you like shitty music, you just like something more subtle.
I think there is a lot of talent in each member of a metal band than they are commonly given credit. When a guitarist is shredding, a drummer is going crazy, and a vocalist is being obnoxious, trying to assemble all that brutal chaos that into something that has musical structure is no easy task.
Now i can obviously see where all the screaming may not be someones cup of tea; it definitely takes time and study of the vocal methods to truly appreciate it, and most just cant stand it long enough to get that far...which is understood. But the metal genre has all the elements of the definition of music and is undeniably (yes, UNDENIABLY....just admit it) the genre that contains the most instrumental icons.
I am all for simplicity; just because something isn't insane and brutal shredding doesn't mean it isn't well structured, talented, enjoyable music, but i fancy brutal music over subtlety, just as one may enjoy steak over chicken.
Most hip hop artists today have their music mixed for them and they lay vocals over a track some talented drummer or computer wiz made. Now, its a talent to be able to "flow" off the top of your head, but juggling is a talent too...... and in my personal opinion neither one of those is too much more spectacular than the other. I just don't think "flowing" to a beat would be that hard with a few weeks of practice.
I justify this because i hang out with some guys that love hip hop, rap, all that jazz (no musical genre pun intended), and they are, although my friends, absolutely some of the DUMBEST people i know intellectually. They are literally stupid people; they just aren't that smart, and yet, they can "flow" like no tomorrow. So, as far as i am concerned, if my friend Heath can "flow" and he has the IQ of a fucking fork, then it must not take a lyrical genius to do it and the talent is no superb feat. But, if someone can play drums like that "Lord Marco" vid i mentioned earlier, or shred guitar like Randy Rhoads, i find that talent to be a little more challenging than "flowing."
Unfortunately, "flowing" is the mainstream nowadays, not "shredding", and so more public acclaim is associated with hip hop artists rather than metal artists. But someone like David Ghrol (ex drummer of Nirvana and current member of Foo Fighters) who can play like 10 different instruments whereas most hip hop artists cant play one, that just seems silly to pour millions of dollars into their lavish and extravagant lifestyles just so they can turn around and "flow" about it right back to you, rubbing the good life (or "thug life", if you will) YOU helped to give them right back in your face. Not to imply that there aren't some lyrical geniuses in the hip hop/rap underground, but unfortunately, that is where most of the REAL urban lyrical talent stays....the underground.
I just like to think that i would rather be able to say i can shred the FUCK out of a guitar rather than "rhyme to a beat." That just sounds more skilled to me. No matter what you say, professional rhyming just doesn't sound like a "cool" talent to me, lol. "Professional improvisational rhyming", lmao! I'd rather be the guys MAKING beats rather than fucking RHYMING to them, i believe more talent lies there.
Also, metal is generally more talented lyrically than hip hop/rap also. They cover a wide variety of topics that are far more serious than crime, sex, and money. Love, hate, nostalgia, and introspection are all very common themes of metal music. Baghhh, anyway, im off my soap box, i need to stop. This is TOO long and I'm sure no one will read this whole thing, so I'm done.