Where do you draw the line?
Sorry, missed your post. Draw the line with what? Novelty in itself is not desirable, so putting out something new cannot be the most important thing. Even from the perspective of it inspiring someone else with actual substantial ideas and the will and skill to translate them to music. Novelty in itself does not inspire. Look at the influences of notable metal acts, it is never just the novel but always the substantial, even if relatively mediocre. It is a matter of priorities, there is no line to draw.
Creative people are never content with just following along. It takes a degree of hubris to look at what has gone before and say: I can do better than that! Try for the best and you will break boundaries anyway, if you succeed.
I was asking where you draw the line between novelty and creativity.
You are just plain wrong there though. If no one is even attempting to mutate a style or technique, there will be no evolution. Evolution does not occur in bursts of brilliance, with art transforming instantaneously from one pure form to another. Your argument reveals an idealistic naivete regarding musical evolution.
"novelty"
1. the quality of being new, original, or unusual:
the novelty of being a married woman wore off
a new or unfamiliar thing or experience:
in 1914 air travel was still a novelty
[as modifier] denoting something intended to be amusing as a result of its new or unusual quality:
a novelty teapot
2a. small and inexpensive toy or ornament:
he bought chocolate novelties to decorate the Christmas tree