Metal music in your 20s

[Jazoni89]

Metal music, in our teen years it was our bread and butter, but getting older me and countless others branched out to various genre's, and gone was the stigma of listening to various different music that plagued me in my teen years.

I used to be a huge metal fan when I was a teenager at college, i hanged out with the cool metal guys and we all shared our songs, but then time went by, and metal started to wear thin on me and i started branching out alot more to various genres, and music that i couldn't stand a few years back, i was listening to.

Now at the age of 21, metal has disappeared completely out of my mind, and in retrospect i think metal was just a way for us younger minds to be edgy, and cool, and to rebel against mainstream music.

So i've got a question for all you 20 somethings, has metal music weared thin as you go older, or are you still a die hard metaller for life, please tell me what you think.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Same situation as you. I'm 23 and the only metal I can stand to listen to now is Killswitch Engage and Nightwish. I branched out to other things like Led Zeppelin, Enter Shikari, Pendulum, Cage the Elephant, Red Hot Chili Peppers (always listened to the RHCP though). It doesn't really matter what the genre is. If I like it, I'll listen to it.

 

[Gxas]

I used to listen to a lot of metal. Now I like pop/punk. I've realized that music should be fun. Pop/punk is where I go for fun music. Though, I do occasionally go back and listen to some metal.

 

[dsmops2003]

Personally I have found myself listening to other stuff that is outside the genre. However, there will always be those bands or songs that last. I listen to it less but never stopped really. Just wait until you have a kid, haha then you get to listen to all those awesome kids songs. yay...

 

[MetalPhoenix]

25 and still very into Metal.
In all honesty I can say it's not a way to "rebel" or set myself apart from others. I love Metal. I go to concerts and festivals and get to know more and more bands and subgenres.

I do listen to other stuff (always have) but Metal is still my favorite.

 

[Outright Villainy]

I did expand immeasurably in my listening tastes, yes, but I didn't stop listening to metal.

That would be somewhat counter-intuitive, given that I try to listen to a diverse range of genres.

I don't listen to all the same bands I did before (many I think are downright awful now), but I'd still consider the giant umbrella term of metal to describe about 70% of my favourite music.

Saying metal is only there to be edgy and cool is ridiculous.

 

[Jazoni89]

Same situation as you. I'm 23 and the only metal I can stand to listen to now is Killswitch Engage and Nightwish. I branched out to other things like Led Zeppelin, Enter Shikari, Pendulum, Cage the Elephant, Red Hot Chili Peppers (always listened to the RHCP though). It doesn't really matter what the genre is. If I like it, I'll listen to it.

Similar, but not quite as radical as my change.

I went from metal all the way to drum and bass (yes..."chav music" as it's called to most Teen Metallers)

Shy FX and the like...

(I still love abit of grunge though, pearl jam and AIC are too awesome, and the Red hot chilli peppers will never stop being cool)

 

[Jazoni89]

I did expand immeasurably in my listening tastes, yes, but I didn't stop listening to metal.

That would be somewhat counter-intuitive, given that I try to listen to a diverse range of genres.

I don't listen to all the same bands I did before (many I think are downright awful now), but I'd still consider the giant umbrella term of metal to describe about 70% of my favourite music.

Saying metal is only there to be edgy and cool is ridiculous.

That's my personal opinion in retrospect, you don't have to agree with me.

 

[Calcium]

I've been exposed to many different genre's from a young age. My parents played the more classical Rock all the time in the car, some modern rock, and Kate Bush. From the music channels when I was older I heard more from other "modern genres".

I've kindof settled into liking a broad range. My favourite artists are Biffy Clyro (Rock), White Lies (Emulates 80's Rock), Depeche Mode (80's Rock/Pop), Kate Bush (???), Bat For Lashes (AWESOME is her only genre) and Ladyhawke (Electronica). To be fair I likely got some of the genre's wrong, as it's hard to classify some music with all the diversity that's out there.

Edit: And I failed to stay on topic with metal. If Rammstein is metal then yeah, I used to listen to some of their albums, but not as much as I grew older. Evanescence's Fallen album is a masterpiece even now: "My Last Breathe" giving me an emotional reaction no other song has. I didn't really listen to them until recently though - never appreciated them as a young teen.

 

[RyanBishop]

I dunno, I'm 19 and already starting to branch out somewhat... Although I can say that I will probably never stop listening to various metal bands, simply because I dig the technical side of the genre. Some of the musicians in metal bands are pretty extraordinary with their instruments. So yeah, that's kinda the reason I also like jazz these days =) Complicated music. Not generic beats made on a computer.

 

[LostAlone]

I think that those of us inclined towards metal move through various distinct phases.

Starts with commercial metal (which in my day was on mtv2, but now is on Kerrang... WTF world ?) because its easily available and gives you a taste of metal. For folks in my generation (born circa 1987) that'd be Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit and such.

Next up you start asking people in some piss poor basement metal club that doesn't check ID what whatever song is, and you get into the mainstream of whatever is generally popular where you are.

Next you find that there is simply not metal for all occasions and you look stuff that although not metal you heard one time and liked just as something to listen to when you're chilling out.

Finally, you're world expands without realising it. You didn't listen to anything really metal for a month and never realised. Thus you are a music fan, rather than a metal fan. Some people forget metal (poor sods). Others don't, but you'll indulge less frequently the older you get.

Personally, I'm 23 and I'm as much of a metal fan as I ever was really, but in a different way. I listen to almost nothing that I did when I was young (barring Metallica... can't get that out of my system... was in a tallica tribute band for most of late teens). I still like the bands (even Linkin Park and Korn) but i just don't listen to them hardly at all.

I don't think that metal is 'just a phase' tho. Just like EVERYTHING music isn't static and you aren't either. As you grow up and become a more rounded person, you aren't going to be so angsty, so its natural to move away from death-screamed music of all forms. If you actually do make it into being a genuinely 'normal' person you probably will forget it.

If you have a metric fuck-ton of emotional baggage from your teenage years, chances are you will keep with metal at least partially. I know that my 14 year old self is only a few levels below the surface, and I can still find that little hard ball of hate and self-loathing if I want to.

Also, I like to sing Fear Factory while driving. Make of that what you will.

 

[TeeBs]

Although I like metal, from an outside view the "cool metal kids" seem to be in there own little world to me. I have to say I went through my metal stage in junior high, after that all I've been about is variety.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

27 and I still prefer it.

 

[Kenny Kondom]

I dont know what everyone has heard, but liking Metal when i was in school or college made me the freaky outsider, not cool. I'd wear a leather jacket, which automatically made me a metal-head, even when i was listening to Eminem or Prodigy on my MP3.
Metal has/always will be my favorite, and i do have to disagree with some of what your saying, but i also do agree many people fall off of the 'I love metal' to climb onto the 'i will enjoy metal in more and more moderation the older I get'. It is sterotypically the 'aggressive' branch of music, and can make it hard to get a job. I think that is why some people switch... Note: some...

 

[Dieter Meyer]

I'm 17 and never branched in ^^ metal isnt quite my thing I guess.

 

[TheFPSisDead]

Metal music, in our teen years it was our bread and butter, but getting older me and countless others branched out to various genre's, and gone was the stigma of listening to various different music that plagued me in my teen years.

I used to be a huge metal fan when I was a teenager at college, i hanged out with the cool metal guys and we all shared our songs, but then time went by, and metal started to wear thin on me and i started branching out alot more to various genres, and music that i couldn't stand a few years back, i was listening to.

Now at the age of 21, metal has disappeared completely out of my mind, and in retrospect i think metal was just a way for us younger minds to be edgy, and cool, and to rebel against mainstream music.

So i've got a question for all you 20 somethings, has metal music weared thin as you go older, or are you still a die hard metaller for life, please tell me what you think.

You and me both. I used to love the metal, the screaming, the shredding.. but it just doens't do it for me anymore. Now it's all about the indie charts for me. Shit that no one has ever heard of, a lot of folk and baroque pop. I think it's just part of growing up.

 

[Pariah87]

Like LostAlone above me, I was born in 1987 and my first forays into metal would have been sometime in 2000 with bands such as Slipknot, Korn, Papa Roach.

At that point in time, metal seems like the only thing worth listening to. You're angry and want the world to know it! \m/

For some reason though, metal remains my go to genre, despite me branching out and enjoying a wide variety of music as I've aged. Granted, I tend to avoid the stuff they play on Kerrang now as it just sounds...I don't know, immature? I'll still listen to the bands of my teenage years, possibly for nostalgia, possibly because they still evoke some of the old feelings in me.

What I find interesting is how in the club different age groups have different reactions to various songs. There is a degree of overlap of course but I find that when a song such as Walk starts up, those nearing or in their 30's attack the dancefloor, when Du Hast or Between Angels and Insects begins those around my age let up a cheer and take over, and when something such as Red Flag starts up, those who are only just 18/19 take to the floor.

Now though, I've moved more into Folk or Pagan Metal, but I'll still listen to a range of music from Southern Rock, Rap, DnB, Dubstep aswell as various types of metal.

 

[Meshakhad_v1legacy]

Metal is still my all-time favorite genre. I only got into metal when I was in college, anyway.

 

[Jazoni89]

Like LostAlone above me, I was born in 1987 and my first forays into metal would have been sometime in 2000 with bands such as Slipknot, Korn, Papa Roach.

At that point in time, metal seems like the only thing worth listening to. You're angry and want the world to know it! \m/

For some reason though, metal remains my go to genre, despite me branching out and enjoying a wide variety of music as I've aged. Granted, I tend to avoid the stuff they play on Kerrang now as it just sounds...I don't know, immature? I'll still listen to the bands of my teenage years, possibly for nostalgia, possibly because they still evoke some of the old feelings in me.

What I find interesting is how in the club different age groups have different reactions to various songs. There is a degree of overlap of course but I find that when a song such as Walk starts up, those nearing or in their 30's attack the dancefloor, when Du Hast or Between Angels and Insects begins those around my age let up a cheer and take over, and when something such as Red Flag starts up, those who are only just 18/19 take to the floor.

Now though, I've moved more into Folk or Pagan Metal, but I'll still listen to a range of music from Southern Rock, Rap, DnB, Dubstep aswell as various types of metal.

Yeah i must admit that kerrang is a shadow of it's former selves, and that's one of the reasons why metal has faded in my tastes.

Dubstep is awesome, and i see that new genre really going places in the future, unlike metal which seems to be taken over by more 15 year old scene kids as time goes by. People don't like to admit it, but the metal scene is dying, especially in the UK.