People like to denigrate and demonize metal simply because they don't understand it because it challenges people and challenges and pushes the musical spectrum. I enjoy black metal because it pushes the musical envelope so to speak and it takes someone really smart to understand and appreciate metal. The first time I listened to black and death metal I fucking hated it. It takes an open, inquisitive mind.
Joel
Okay, I have to disagree. Black metal in general is based on very simple song structures and thus you do not need to be smart to understand it. Open minded, yes, intelligent, no.
This is thing often annoys me, metal fans think, that to like metal and to be involved with the scene means that you must be intelligent, nope, not in the real world.
Forms of jazz, progressive music etc. have very complex song structures that are way more challenging to the listener than metal. Since like I mentioned before, metal is often based on very simple song structures and "compositions".(progressive death metal etc. on the other hand )
I am a huge black metal fan so I am not dissing the genre in any way! Emperor's Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk is one of my all-time favourite albums, Dark Throne's Transylvanian Hunger, Dissection's Storm of the Light's Bane, Mayhem's De Mysteriis dom Sathanas etc... I grew up listening to that stuff and I still love it so I have nothing against the music.
BUT, my point is, that us metal fans should drop the elitist "I am intelligent because I listen to metal"-act. Like I mentioned earlier, I know too many redneck metal fans who totally buy into the whole "metal is music for smart people"-thing, and some of those guys are far from being intelligent.