I'd rather not metal be represented by a bunch of hick rednecks personally.
Oh not this shit again.
Gojira is my pick.
How do you figure them? I don't really think they would be a good choice for representing all of metal.
Yeah. They might represent a small portion of mainstream metal, but do you think they represent all of trad, doom, death, black, prog, folk, thrash, etc.?
But I stick to Gojira because to me, they are the walking (or running while setting villages on fire) definition of a metal band. And they represent everything there is to love about this genre, IMO.
While I agree on specific aspects, they definitely don't "encompass all that is metal" lyrically, seeing how generally the subject matter of their music is about spirituality and protecting the environment. Unless you count the pre-Gojira material when they were a more straightforward death metal band known as "Godzilla".
My pick goes towards two bands. Firstly, Strapping Young Lad. They have the harsh vocals, the clean vocals, the fast and heavy as fucking fuck guitar, facepounding drums and some very metal subject matter (OH YOU IRONIC POP ROCK FUCK, DON'T YOU FUCK WITH METAL). There's also a lot of humor that floats around metal (often very tongue in cheek) and Strapping touches on that perfectly. Strapping is also one of those metal bands that just sounds NOTHING LIKE any other metal band I can think of, if that has to do with this at all.
My second pick goes out to a band a little more obvious: Iron Maiden. They define, to me, what metal should be. At times it's very dark, terrifying and evil. Other times it's a bit more lighthearted and fun. And throughout their discography, they touch all the different aspects that have brought most metal together.
To me metal (and every other genre/style for that matter), don't really have a 'spirit'. They're just types of music, nothing more.
Sigz, I respect your opinion and all but I have to say I disagree. Metal isn't just about the music. There is an entire sub-culture that goes along with it. It spans out across fan-bases, festivals and even some lifestyles. If you haven't already seen the documentary Metal:A Headbangers Journey, do so now. It sheds a massive amount of light on the concept of metal being a culture within itself.