Metalheads

[Triste]

Just Wondering....
How many of you are honest to god metalheads? I don't mean you guys whose first experience with growling is OPETH or you teenage angst nu-metal fans (don't get me wrong...I think your feelings are valid as well). I'm talking about underground metal. I mean you people who've seen the progression of metal for years and can hear the difference between black, thrash, death, doom (and all of the little subgenres in between). People who know that no matter what other music they listen to, they will always return to the comforts of metal.
And before someone gets their panties all in a bunch, let me explain where this came from. I just noticed that it seems like a lot of the people who post here are relatively new to metal so I wanted to find out who here is part of the horde.
\m/

 

[Lina]

I was not raised on metal and have not seen it progress. So I guess I'm not a metalhead. However, I do know the difference between "black, thrash, death, doom (and all of the little subgenres in between)."

However, IMHO, being a "metalhead" often (not always) means having too much angst/agression for no reason, wearing too-tight black clothing, having long hair, and just typically copying this behavior from a sibling or parent. None of that means you appreciate Opeth any more than a metal newbie. We're all here for the same reason. In fact, I'm leery of people who've never explored outside the confines of one musical genre.

But if you're asking the question strictly out of curiosity and not to divide us into who's "true" or not, then I apologize.

:unbunching my panties:

 

[SentencedToBurn]

well ive been into metal since i was like 12 or 13 by listening to pantera and fear factory and stuff (hey fear factory soul of a new machine was pretty hard stuff back then to me) and then i got into the extreme metal scene like 15 and 16. Im 17 now so maybe im not a "true metalhead" but hey im not that old. Its like im not gonna be in second grade and be like "opeth fuckin kicks god damn ass" So in about 5 years ill be a real metalhead if you want to say that. that way i will have listened to it longer. i would call myself a real metalhead. i listen to the music and i play the music.

 

[huevo]

I got into metal with Metallica during their AJFA stage, in my late middle school years (14 or so). Their music went south and I started looking for new bands. A good buddy of mine introduced me to a little gem called The Jester Race. After this I became addicted to the whole Gothenburg scene, while branching out, listening to different forms of Black/Doom/etc.

I know all the genre's, but i'm really more of a hippie than a metalhead. There's a darker, more conteplative side of me which draws me towards this music. But I don't look anything like it. When i tell people i listen to death/black metal they say "holy shit, i thought you're the kind of guy to listen to the Greatful Dead." I don't mind that one bit, it's just who I am.

better to live an eclectic lifestyle than to limit yourself to a single mode of thought, isn't it?

 

[Confessor]

Well you have to make the difference between 'metalheads' and 'metal listeners'. Im a mix of both id say.
A metalhead would be more like the guys of Manowar: they wear their fancy leather clothes and shit every day of the week, they worship Thor the true essence of true metal and they ride their motorcycles with their women. Hahaha thats a bit extreme but i think u get my point. A metal listener would be like most of the people in here i guess.
Ive only been listening to metal for 3 years, but i think i know alot about it now. I could get in a conservation and debate shit better now then if it was 2 years ago because i have loved and lived almost only of metal since. I like metal, i wear black clothes, i have long hair, i play guitar, i like chicks and i like cars. Does that make me a metalhead?
Hmmm maybe. hahaha

!su nioj

NP: Dismember - Dismembered

 

[MetalManCPA]

Well:

Led Zeppelin
Black Sabbath
Blue Oyster Cult
Iron Maiden
Deep Purple

and not picking up a record because I heard how great they were - I was old enough to remember when their 1st albums came out

Slayer
Exodus
Anthrax
Metallica
Death
Celtic Frost
Armored Saint
Fates Warning
Flotsam and Jetsam
Motorhead
Overkill
Pantera
Whitesnake
WASP

when they 1st came out

and others like:
Death Angel
Exciter
Gravedigger
Helloween
Hallows Eve
Stromtroopers of Death
Lizzie Borden
Loudness
TKO
Tokyo Blade
Chastane
Impaler
Mercyful Fate
Raven
Pretty Maids
Powermad
Trouble
Metal Church

Then through the late 80's glam rock - you know, the Poison's, Warrant's, etc. - with the underground bands like Possessed

then, to the music mentioned throughout UM - from Opeth & Nevermore, to Dimmu Borgir, etc.

Yeah, I'm a metalhead - definately a metalhead - and it's not about the looks - I never looked the part - I just listened and followed the bands

 

[benny]

I haven't been listening to metal for 10 years yet or anything so I guess I am not a true metalhead. I do have long hair (because I like it that way not because it makes me more metal looking) and wear band shirts but when I get home I still put on stuff like Tenhi, Kansas, Nightingale, etc. I can't stand a lot of metal bands these days, I am very picky when it comes to music. I did start listening to metal when I was 13 and it is usually what I listen to most of the time. I guess I still have a lot of time and work before I can live up to Manowars name

 

[BillowOfZeal]

I would say i am a metal head but not in the "tight black pant" sense of the word which i believe could be placed under the "red neck metal head" label (if one were to place a label). I have been into underground metal for about 7 years but what places me in a new breed of metal head, which i think the majority of intelligent metal heads today are in, is the fact that we listen to every damn style of music you can think of (more than the average Joe/Jane). We have all seen that on several of the threads here...this is where i could go on and start listing hundereds of non metal bands that several of you would all like as well, but there is really no need for that . ohh yea we can read too sorry i don't think i really got across what i was trying to say but i am in a hurry......awaiting intelligent response that fills in the blanks i have drawn
jAY

 

[_Transparent_]

i wouldnt say i was, in fact im deffinatly not. i used to listen to all the pop metal bands from about 9 (Maiden, Metallica, mega death...) because i shared a room with my older brother, haveing said that we also listened to michael Jackson (who is great, i mean was) and Nirvana. to tell you the truth though, i don't like those metal bands anymore, i respect them for who they have influenced, and i like some of the bands theyve influenced, just not them anymore. anyway as my brother moved on to rap music :feelsickface: i didnt follow, i just didnt like rap, anyway then i started liking good old rock, and its only been a few years since ive listened to metal again.
as for underground, well i like to watch unknown/unsigned bands, because they're cheap and you always get a good surprise and find a new band. i saw a band called Decimate a few weeks ago, who came on second out of 10, which i wsa pissed off about as they were the best band there. At the end i queued up to buy another of their t-shirts, and the bloke infront was from totalrock, he was full of praise and bought the cd saying he'd love to play some, yay, a result!!!

 

[yourdeadgroom]

Hmmmmmm, I guess you could call me a metalhead, been into it since I was 9 (that makes about 15 years), but only been into the underground stuff for about 6 years. I can tell all the genres, I can even tell you which country a band comes from just by listening to it, but that may have more to do with my musical training rather than being a metalhead. It's actually really interesting, seeing how each country has developed it's own personality, even over a wide variety of bands- of course, there are always exceptions to this, but generally I can tell the difference between Sweden, Norway, England, America, and to a lesser degree Finland. I've only heard 2 Dutch bands, but they both had really good female vocalists, so maybe that's the distinguishing feature?

Oh, and I have long hair. I'm always suspicious of metal bands where not even one member has long hair

 

[Tribal]

HELL YES!!!
I've been listening to this music ever since Death- Sream Bloody Gore, Destruction- Infernal Overkill, Sodom- In the Sign of Evil, Napalm Death- From Obliviation, Carcass- Reek of.., Obituary- Slowly We Rot came out. If you know those titles than you know for how long i've been into it. My cousin got me listening to kiss when I was five. I was about 14 when I got into death metal.
But I must say my other love is jazz and flamenco guitar.

 

[Morgana]

I think it doesn't really matter how long you are into metal to become a metalhead!!!

I started with bands like Uriah Heep, etc... I was 5 when I got into it and ever since I had this love for the heavy tunes!
30 years of metal! And I still don't like to label bands!!!
I only have the label good or bad...
My love to metal keeps me young...

 

[Evisceratrix]

well, the first heavy album i bought with my own money was danzig four on cassette when i was about 13. and throughout my entire life i can say i have played the hell out of some (old) danzig!!! some of my very first loves, some of which im not so proud of, include NIN, manson(portrait), black sabbath, pj harvey (the album rid of me), metallica and specific soundtracks-like the first crow soundtrack, the kids soundtrack and others...
i definately only scratched the very top of the metal surface.
(man that sounded cheesy. )
i have always liked a huge varity of music, and have a particular weakness for depressive and/or weird alternative stuff.
(like the pixies! or sebadoh!)
and ive definately gone through some weird shitty music phases, ill admit it.

when it comes down to it, i love metal most of all.

 

[Despot]

ooh, ooh, me, me!!!

 

[Hannu Mutanen]

I do not want to be a 'metalhead', to tell the truth. (Nor do I want to be a prog or jazz elitist, or a raver.) The way I see it as a definition is that even if the conviction and dedication to what is one's own - in this case, metal - is great and respectable, it narrows one's scope down so greatly that I could not possibly be comfortable in such a cultural confinement. I am still no metal listener, as my love for the best forms the style has taken is great and I would miss out on much should I not have the possibility to bang out some metal classics due to a narrow mindset. I think most of the regulars on this board are music lovers rather than metalheads, and going through our lists of favourites is further testimony to that presumption. My latest purchases include Emperor's "Prometheus", which is metal at its pinnacle, and Suzanne Vega's "Nine objects of desire", which is completely of a different world. My primary mode of thought is integration, which is apparent in my musical taste as well. However, I do love metal music very much and have done so since I was eleven or twelve years old. I would hate having it as my religion, though...

 

[Morgana]

Well one thing for sure, I'm not a "true" metalhead, because I really DISLIKE the word true!!!
What is true? For me it's very intolerant...
Something I don't want to be!!!

 

[Opet]

I went through a few different liking phases. Pop then rap then stoner music then jazz then rock then metal. Of course the one that appealed to me the most was found last. It's the way it always is with me. I had a thing for Classical for a while too. That damn Cello. I love the way they sound...violins, pianos, and...OK. Well, the point is, I looked around trying to find what I liked the most too long. Now, I guess I'll never be considered a true metalhead because it's only been a few years.

If you're going to go by time to decide it. Then no. If you're going to go by the person I am today and what I know of metal, then YES GOD DAMMIT! I am!

:unbunching my panties: -Lina

Ditto that....

 

[Vortex]

Well...

No. I look nothing like it anymore , but I sure can act like a metalhead on occasion (see Judas Priest yesterday, front row - how about that! ) . Having a few metalhead friends doesn't hurt either...which is also why I know a lot of nitpicking details about certain genres. A lot of what I listen to it metal, but I don't make a difference anymore. I can listen to a great variety of stuff in a day, or listen to nothing at all.

Metalheads are so damn selective, and I think that's what scares people away from them usually, like no one's allowed to mosh except them and then if you do people look at you strange...when people go dancing at the club, it's not like you see one silly clique having fun there, right? It's all about the same thing - moving to music, which is really refreshing and fun in all forms. I like dancing just as well - I don't like dance music in general, but you can always catch the rhythm and feel good.

 

[RETIREDTrapped]

I guess you could call me a meathead. The first metal-cd i bought was 'ride the lightning' when i was SEVEN. So yeah, i have seen the progression that many bands have made.

I have been a follower of 'Death' since Human, and a follower of Opeth since Morning Rise, so i am not 'new' to the metal scene.

I was brought-up listening to Metallica, Megadeth and AC/DC. But I listen to alot of instrumental eastern-music aswell, such as sitar and other instruments, so it isn't JUST metal that i listen to.

But yes, i am a metalhead.

 

[Soul Forlorn]

I'd say I fit your definition of "metalhead". I started listening to metal back in '83 when I was just 8 years old with Dio, Iron Maiden, Ozzy and various others. I'd say I've been heavily into metal ever since, though I don't follow all genres, only the ones I'm interested in. I'd say I know a great deal about metal and feel that I have a healthy perception about what it really is. Except for a few years during my teens I never have really fit the stereotype of what a metalhead should look like but fortunately a lot of people today can look past that. So yes, I'm a metalhead and I'm quite proud of it!