As a non-dad who is into Dad Rock, I can tell you that I've seen a LOT of bands come and go in my time, especially memorable during the 1990s. And these were decent bands that we all thought would stand the test of time. Such as The Lemonheads, Candlebox, Bush, Hole, Screaming Trees, Oasis, Weezer, No Doubt, Prodigy, Orbital, Bjork, etc... All decent bands, many of them still pushing out album, many of which still have a lot of fans. But they are not really in the limelight anymore and are not really picking up a lot of new fans. (They lose about as many as they gain.)
But the bands that have remained massively popular throughout the years are the Dad Rock bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, The Beatles, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Rush, etc... Each new generation has their own stuff, but they eventually discover how awesome some of this Dad Rock is and integrate it into their own library. So Dad Rock preservers and it's a rare event that any band gains popularity and remains massive past a decade. Bands like Metallica, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson have made it in the 80s/90s. But post 1990's the shift went towards Rap/R&B/Pop. And fuck that shit. (Sorry Black-eyed Peas fans) So many of us "Dads" just sort of gave up on new music because we couldn't tolerate Jay-Z and Diddy and Kanye. So we went into a musical coma of sorts. We opted to remain happy with our Pink Floyd for a while.
But some new stuff is slowly emerging as being likely to endure. Psybiet bands like Shpongle and Beats Antique are giving us a new generation of exotic music that hasn't been seen since Pink Floyd in the early 1970s. Daft Punk, while having been around for a long time, are now in the limelight after their massive successes with the TRON: Legacy soundtrack and Random Access Memories, so we are starting to build some faith in Pop again. But as far as dirty, guitar driven rock goes, with heavy riffs and massive talent, I'd say it's slim pickin's these days. We are just ever hopeful that Tool will release a new album soon. If you have a better suggest for some new heavy rock that kicks ass, link a song and I'll listen.