The start of the millennium was great for the Rock group, Train as they won Grammys, sold albums and hat a plethora of hits; and then it stopped…and then it started up again a decade later. That may be a good thing for as successful as they were at their career’s beginning, Train is not exactly a band that considered an influential act, and likely one that has to enter on the strength of sales and awards.

As one of the leaders of the Post Punk revival, the Rapture drew rave reviews and harkened many to the sound of twenty five years previous. That there is the problem for a band like this to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as no matter how good they are, many of the original Post Punk bands of the late 70’s and early 80’s are still not in. How can the Rapture ever expect to enter the Hall unless that happens?

The Black Eyed Peas got their start as a three man outfit who were a decent (though not commercially successful) Alternative Rap group. They added Stacy Ferguson, embraced Pop elements and became International superstars. Unfortunately, this was a group did not evolve; rather they devolved and literally sold their soul for the sale of record sales. They may sell a lot more records, but this does not look like a Hall of Fame band to us.

On paper, System of a Down has all the intangibles that should make them a Hall of Fame inductee. They have acclaimed records, Grammy Awards, a legion of fans and a unique sound. The band successfully merged Metal, Rock, Experimentalism and the Middle East and should make the Hall of Fame’s influence quotient. Yet, there are bands like this that Cleveland tends to ignore, and something tells us that System of a Down could be one of those groups. We hope we are wrong, but they have to knick another album out if the park to make sure.