Discovering music isn't like learning math where you have to systematically grasp certain principles in a discrete sequence before understanding the more complicated stuff. It's art, and anybody can jump in and out of any style or aspect of it at any time and still potentially appreciate it as much as anyone else, albeit with varying interpretations and perceptions. But that's the beauty of it. If we all got into underground metal through the same sequence of bands and styles, we'd be a pretty boring, assembly-line group of folks. So to that extent, I'd say no it doesn't matter.
However, I don't think things really operate on such an open-ended level most of the time. Genocide roach's example of a non-metalhead hearing Negura Bunget and questioning it as actual metal brings up an important point. Most people unfamiliar or new to metal (and this probably applies to most styles, I'm just using metal for the purposes here) go in with certain pre-conceived notions of how it's supposed sound and what's it all about, notions instilled by friends, family, pop culture, etc. These probably include obnoxious power-chord heavy guitar tones and riffs, wanky musicianship and guitar solos, and in-your-face imagery and themes about gore, Satan and the typical type of extreme ideas that would piss off your parents. As a novice to the music, you'd probably first steak out bands who reinforce that kind of perception, and while a band like Negura Bunget is certainly metal, they don't really possess any of these qualities to a strong degree. Rather, they are more like the end product of a genre that evolved through time away from initial influences that were probably more strongly rooted in those pop culture stereotypes. While there's no reason someone not into metal at all couldn't get into a band like them, it could be argued that they may have more difficulty appreciating and understanding the roots of the sound if they're not familiar with bands who may have influenced them like Darkthrone, Burzum, Celtic Frost, etc.
