Should a person be proud of being a metal elitist? I sometimes find it annoying but then I have nothing against them. And when it comes to metal, almost every person I met and who was listening to some decent metal was kinda an elitist. Maybe we are just labeled as elitist from the beginning?
Well the way I see it, is that being an elitist just means that you have a discerning taste. They have faced the fact that just because music sounds a certain way, doesnt mean that it should instantly be validated. Just like a kindergartner's finger painting doesnt have the same depth as an abstract art piece created by a professional, there is metal that just does not tow the mark when it comes to analyzing it with a higher standard for greatness. Of course, these judgments are made within a realm of subjectivity, but that does not mean they are entirely without merit. A medical prognosis from a doctor that has years of knowledge and intuition under his belt is much more valid than that of a nurse fresh out of school. Same with the judgment and analysis of someone who has far more experience and exposure to metal. Terms like 'elitist' are just labels that make it easier to explain that some people just have higher standards, either honed through exposure, or through actual practice. Some people become more absorbed in music than others, and arent content just listening to a mere handful of bands/artists that they originally grew up with. I know a lot of people who still only listen to the same stuff that they did in high school, and therefore I would say that their enjoyment of music is too casual to be labelled as anything like 'elitist'.
A beginning metalhead inherently has little to no exposure to metal, so therefore would be unable to make the type of judgment that a seasoned metalhead would make. So no, I wouldnt say that anybody who listens to metal is elitist. Making the step to exclusively only listen to a single genre (or just a select few) is merely the first step in identifying what your inclinations towards music are as a thinking individual. People who say "I listen to everything, im extremely open-minded" are usually those that have not identified with music on the same level as someone who has specialized interests. Saying, "I only listen to Megadeth and Metallica" is practically the same thing, because it is a comment based more on ignorance than it is of someone who is more learned and experienced with listening to music. I guess maybe the general public would view this person as an 'elitist metalhead', but from the perspective of someone who has been listening to metal for a long time, I think this would be an inaccurate label.
Really though, anybody who listens to music of any genre in depth would be an elitist of said genre. We are just looking at it though the lens of 'metal elitism' because mostly everyone on this forum would probably qualify. Most people I know only listen to about 5 or 10 bands at most, and a collective of popular hits that get lots of playtime at parties and social events. If you dont consider people like that as 'music people', you are probably an elitist.
Like many of you, I also listen to genres that lie outside of metal. But unlike metal, I havent explored most of them with the same tenacity and thoroughness as metal, so I doubt that my experience is refined enough to be elitist with them.
