Another glimmer is HMV opening metal sections in every store in the UK, and from a look in my local store, metal is defined as everything from Korn to Malmsteen. Whilst flicking through the racks a couple of weeks ago, it was a surprise to see a guy wearing Kerrang issue chains and spikes & Korn shirt picking up and buying copies of TNT's "Transistor", and the new Maiden album.
Rock music in various melodic forms is coming back, but we are all going to have to accept it's going to be a variation on a theme, eg a Mars Electric rather than a DreamHunter, Heartland or Ten.
Let's not forget the amount of teenagers bands like Hammerfall pull in.granted, some will fall by the wayside, but others will remain and want to explore the whole scene further, which can only be a positive thing, and it will arrest the creeping stagnation which peoples' obsession with 1988/9 brings.