Top 10 Worst Kinds of Metal Fans

Metal is supposed to be loud, unruly, and gloriously overcaffeinated, but some fans manage to make it feel like a courtroom with worse hair. You know the type, where every riff needs a purity hearing, every newer album gets treated like a crime scene, and every person with a different favorite band is apparently ruining civilization. If you have ever watched a harmless music conversation mutate into a trial over what counts as "real" metal, you already know why this list exists.

This is for the moments when fandom stops being passion and starts acting like a bouncer at a club nobody asked to enter. Vote for the metal fan behaviors that make you want to turn the volume up just to drown out the whining.

1. The "I Hate All Music Genres Except Metal" Fans

   People who say these kinds of things are usually pretentious metal fans. Usually, no one gets into metal by chance. People get into metal through many steps, and some songs can't be ignored at any cost.

   You don't need to solely listen to metal to be classified as a metalhead. I listen to a lot of rock and metal, but I also enjoy listening to ballads and EDM. I don't listen to EDM as much, but that doesn't mean I don't like it.

   All genres of music have their share of good and bad. It's okay if you don't like a particular genre, but don't be close-minded about it.

2. The "Linkin Park and A7X are the Best Bands Ever" Fans

   I have respect for both bands because they are pretty good starter bands for beginner metalheads, and their music isn't that bad. However, perhaps we shouldn't be too big on them either. Linkin Park is clearly not metal, and Avenged Sevenfold lies a bit more with hard rock/metalcore with some heavy metal influences than actual pure metal itself. The Stage album is definitely metal in my opinion.

   I cannot get this one. Avenged Sevenfold is a heavy metal/metalcore band while Linkin Park is mainly an alternative rock band with a great metal influence. Even if Linkin Park isn't totally metal, I cannot understand why metalheads who admit LP is their favorite band are thought to be bad metal fans.

3. The "I Only Like Metallica's First 4 Albums" Fans

   That was the best period for Metallica. The Black Album was good but dropped towards the end. Load/Reload have standout songs, but boring ones at the same time. St. Anger sucks, Lulu sucks, Death Magnetic was alright.

   Metallica's first four albums are the greatest. The three albums succeeding them were good. Death Magnetic was also a good comeback album. The band had really great songs in the '80s, so we can forgive them for making St. Anger and Lulu.

   I could vote for most of these. Metalheads are way too pretentious. They live in their tiny metal ecosystem and cannot even compute anything outside it.

4. The "Black Sabbath Isn't Metal" Fans

   This is silly. People can't deny this is a very small argument.

   The root is blues, psychedelic, and jazzy stuff for Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die. They're not always metal, but they are metal. So is Motörhead. Just because they don't claim to be and even deny it doesn't change the sound or its influence.

   More new wave bands get influence from Deep Purple, but Black Sabbath is still an important contributor.

   Is this a joke? Please tell me no one actually thinks this.

5. The "Power Metal and Prog Metal Suck" Fans

   Power metal and prog metal are among the greatest metal genres of all time. Personally, I think these two genres are better and more unique than thrash, death, or black metal.

   Most people seem to hate power metal because of how cheesy some bands can be, but not all of them are like that. Trust me.

   Prog, like any other subgenre of metal, has its own sound. People need to stop acting like their preference is final.

6. The "I Hate Rock" Fans

   Without rock, there wouldn't be metal. Keep listening to those old rock songs. They put a lot of effort into them.

   I love both rock and metal, though I listen to rock way more than metal. Disturbed all the way!

   If rock didn't exist, metal wouldn't exist. I love both rock and metal.

7. The "This Band is the Best Thing to Happen to Music Since Humans Evolved Eardrums" Fans

8. The "Electronic Computer Garbage is Talentless Noise" Fans

   Electronic music is simply a technological enhancement that we have to embrace. Remember when the electric guitar came out? People hated it and said that it was talentless compared to opera music and others.

   The electric guitar was a technological enhancement that we eventually ended up embracing. Just like that, electronic music is nothing but an improvement in technology. It may not involve as much performing skill compared to other genres, but the preparation and assembling that needs to be done is much higher than in other genres.

   I'll admit, I used to be like this (but grew out of it, luckily). I really dislike pop music, but can you just let other people enjoy whatever they want? It's not like you're gonna go to jail just for liking pop music.

9. The "Metal is the Best Music Genre in the Whole Entire World" Fans

   I now see the charm and appeal of many other genres. I like swing, big band, Y2K-era R&B, some 1960s soul, some recession-era electropop, eurodance, trance, jungle, Britpop, trip-hop, chillout, nu-metal, alternative metal, post-grunge, industrial rock, new wave, and gothic rock.

   I used to think that as a tween and teenager because I was insecure about it. I was afraid that all rock and metal bands were going to eventually go into the minimalist, mainstream, poppy territory, especially in the mid-late 2010s, with stuff on the radio, and I don't find that stuff interesting. If someone enjoys music I find annoying, they can go ahead and listen to it, but make sure that I can't hear it, including by using headphones, or I will be unhappy and block my ears or go away to avoid it.

10. The "You Aren't Metal If You Don't Scream" Fans

    There are plenty of metal bands that don't use growling or screaming in their songs but are still pretty intense. Electric Wizard would be an example, mainly just Dopethrone though. Saying that you're not metal if you don't scream is like saying that bands like Metallica, Megadeth, and Iron Maiden aren't metal.

    Have you heard of symphonic metal bands that only have operatic vocals? Those are awesome combinations of classical and metal music!

    So instrumental metal songs aren't metal? The vocals aren't the only important part. Other instruments are also important.

The Newcomers
11. ?

    The "Maiden Rules, Metallica Sucks!" Fans

    Basically every single Iron Maiden fan ever.

12. ?

    The Fans Who Play the More Extreme Genres to People

    There's nothing wrong with liking a particular metal genre, but if you're gonna get people into metal, then don't play them any extreme stuff because they'll absolutely hate it.

    Besides, playing people extreme metal is clichéd and is honestly not helping the whole metal community.

The Contenders

13. The Poser Metal Fans

    Examples, but not limited to:

    1. That kid who claims to be a metalhead, yet only heard Linkin Park.

    2. That kid who only blasts brutal slam death, blackened funeral doom, or goregrind (which isn't really metal) just to boast how "br00tal" they are. They don't even like the music itself.

    A poser is someone who wears a shirt of a band but can't name a song, or pretends to like metal.

    Don't care about poser metal. I just listen to whatever I like.

14. The "I Hate You Since You Haven't Heard of (Insert Band)" Fans

    These fans sound like the absolute worst. Hating someone just for not listening to a band is absolutely absurd. No one should hate anybody for such a small, silly reason.

    Just because I haven't heard of a band doesn't mean I'm automatically terrible. I bet some of my friends here have never heard bands like Bon Jovi or The Police, but I never got mad at them for not having heard such bands.

    If I were that kind of fan, I would hate everyone, including my family, because they don't know Opeth. But thankfully, I'm not that kind of fan.

15. The Black Metal Fans

    True, but in all honesty, it's created one of the more hilarious stereotypes in metal. The people within this group that are truly annoying are the black metal purists. In fact, most of them just troll for the laughs.

    Some of them are, umm, rather creepy?

16. The "Linkin Park are Flawless" Fans

    Okay, I love listening to Linkin Park, but even I know they aren't exactly flawless. They are a talented band, sure, but just because a band or artist is talented doesn't automatically mean they're flawless.

    Let's be real: Nobody's perfect, and there's nothing wrong with that.

    Linkin Park is probably not flawless, but it's by far the most versatile band of all time.

    Every band has a flaw, but this is an opinion.

17. The "Anti-Lars Ulrich" Fans

    I'm sorry for disliking your inspiration. Conflicting opinions are divisive. We should all respect Lars, regardless of what our opinions are.

    I'm not a huge fan of Lars either, but he still contributed to Metallica, which in turn contributed to metal in general.

    Shut up. That's all I gotta say.

18. The "Iron Maiden is the Best Band Ever" Fans

    I wouldn't say that they are the best band ever. They are one of the best metal bands, but hey, that's still subjective.

    For me, they're the best metal band, but there are lots of other bands I like.

    For the love of Lemmy, stop! You are criticizing others' opinions.

19. The Pure Evil Black Metal Fans

20. The "I Hate Avenged Sevenfold" Fans

    I can see where people are coming from saying that they're overrated, but I don't really get why some people hate them as if they're the worst band ever. At worst, I just find them boring, but nothing that would warrant labeling them one of the worst bands.

    Haha, I feel like some of this stuff is aimed at me. A7X aren't the worst metal band. Black Veil Brides have that honor. But I still think A7X are very overrated and nothing special.

    I like Avenged Sevenfold, but I like other bands too, you know.

21. The "I Only Like Megadeth" Fans

    Metallica is also just as awesome.

    Oh, don't even get me started. I like both bands, but in my opinion, Metallica is better.

22. The Stuck in the Past Metal Fans

    Oh hell... There's the "take me back to 1982" fans, the "take me back to 1986" fans, the "take me back to 2001" fans, the "take me back to 2004" fans, the "take me back to 2010" fans, and the "take me back to 2015" fans. That's just the first few categories that came to my mind.

    The problem is, while most great metal musicians are alive and kicking, some of the very greatest aren't. Many fans cannot get over that. I mean, Friedman is alive, Ozzy is (somehow) alive, and there are some musicians who are alive, kicking, and under 7,000 years old. We'd all want a time machine, but there isn't one, so we gotta make do with the greats we still have. And hope that God doesn't need yet another music teacher anytime soon.

    The worst kinds are always stuck with their favorite genre, band, album, year, or whatever.

    How many Metallica fans are the hardcore thrash fans who get disgusted from the Black Album onwards? These kinds of metal fans make all of them look bad. I'm consistently looking for tons of new bands on tons of new record labels, and I'd take that over the same-y thrash any day of the week.

23. The Fans Who Think Heavier is Better

    If it's too monotonous, I can get bored. I like melody. I'm not into toilet bowl growls, pig squeals, or frog-like vocals either.

24. The "Modern Metal Sucks" Fans

    To those types of metal fans, did you forget that around 50 years ago, metal bands were also "modern" because they were new at the time? Also, you can't expect metal to keep the same sound it did 50 years ago.

    Rock has changed a lot, so why can't metal?

    Some modern metal is bad, but some is really good. Modern simply refers to metal that's new. Jinjer, I think, would be considered "modern metal," but they're not bad in my opinion.

    Those people who say "true" metal died with the Black Album.

25. The Close-Minded Fans

26. The "Black Sabbath with Ozzy Can't Be Touched" Fans

    

    It's a shame that a lot of Black Sabbath fans hold the Ozzy days on such a high pedestal and then go and rip apart anything from Dio onwards. Ozzy's era was great, no arguments there, but there's a lot of amazing post-1978 material that many fans are missing out on.

    Heaven and Hell, Born Again, Seventh Star, Headless Cross, Tyr, and Forbidden are all overlooked classics in my eyes. Although the band's style certainly changed once Ozzy left, much of their later material can stand up to his era any day of the week. I wish more Sabbath fans would give it another chance.

    He can be touched after Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.

27. The Elitist Metal Fans

    My gosh, YES... elitists are the absolute worst. Music is supposed to bring people together, but elitism divides people.

    Elitists are just incredibly rude to others for liking something that they don't. And from what I've seen, elitists also seem to get offended really easily.