I don’t really have a perception of people that like to listen to metal, because that’s a huge amount of different people. This definitely did change. I’m not sure, if it was due to my younger age or the strength of genre stereotypes at the end of the 2000s, but at that time I didn’t even realize how much of the music I listened to was metal. I associated metal more with the stereotyped metal heads than the actual music.

Cool, now do country music.

Metal fans are absolute kittens.

performative wankers who think listening to metal makes them hard need a tanker of chlorine in their gene pool

Speaking as one, the majority are decent people but there is a minority who are openly fash and a sadly growing amount who tolerate fash bands cos the riffs are good.

I’ve been going to metal and adjacent shows and festivals for decades.

Metal fans are everything and everyone. There exists no stereotype that any one fan could fully fit.

• The lawyer with more money than sense.
• The family of 3 with their toddler wearing ear protection.
• The guy who looks like he just got done mucking a horse stall.
• The boomers who will tell you about the first time they saw Ozzy without it even being brought up.
• The smokers and the tokers.
• The guy who just escaped the office and doesn’t care what people think of his clothes.
• The visitors who are not really into the music but they love an opener or swore they would see the headliner if they ever got the chance.

For the most part, people are accepting of everyone. There are a few people who are less hospitable. Usually kids who have an idea of the culture that is not instep with reality. Typically they learn, one way or another.

A metal head is the kind of guy I want watching my back. They aren’t afraid to get knocked around a little, usually smarter than most, and they have the biggest hearts.

Of course, there are exceptions, but that’s the general vibe I get from the metal heads I’ve met.

As a metal head, it was always fun seeing other bars and clubs in the middle of the night having police and fights outside, while our dainty little metal bar only had that when those people came to our place.

Some people even came for the lack of fights, even if they didn’t like the music. Always a brotherly atmosphere welcoming to all strangers.

I think those people like to have fun and they don’t take themselves too seriously.

I don’t think that my perception of it changed in the last 30 years since I was a teenager.

There’s the old joke that metalheads are nice people pretending to be mean, while hippies are mean people pretending to be nice.

Based on experience, they tend to be people with a tough exterior but with the kindest hearts.

Metalheads I’ve known 20yrs ago vs now? Still generally lovely, kind and welcoming people. They can look fierce but I’d go to them in a crisis.

I know so many metal heads, that I would have to say: it depends on the type of metal they’re into. The one thing they really tend to have in common, though, is they have personalities very much in contrast to the style in which they dress and what you might think hearing the music. All cool people; but at first glance, depending on their preferred style of metal, they can look scary AF.

My perception is that they are people. I know lots of different people that listen to metal and have nothing else in common.

“Hey, new friends! Cool shirt”