Metal or heavy metal music is one of those genres that can be very confronting the first time you hear it. While it may be more normalised in today’s pop culture (thanks to plenty of pop culture references to it), the reality of the scene as it exists can still be quite easy to misunderstand.
Metal music is loosely categorised as aggressive, distorted guitar riffs and insane drum solos with loud, passionate vocals and heavy bass. There is no such thing as a ‘quiet’ metal song, as the entire genre is about lively and intense expression.
The genre is appealing to different people for different reasons. Some love it for the aggressive expression it enables, while others love it for its rebellious nature, being historically frowned upon by older generations (think of the stereotype of the teenager listening to heavy metal with a set of disapproving parents etc.)
While metal has one of the biggest fanbases in the world (probably only rivalled by hip-hop and EDM), it is also one of the most divided. It is not uncommon to see arguments online between fans of different bands arguing about what the true definition of metal music really is.