Does anyone listen to Heavy Metal / Hard Rock anymore? What demographic?
I used to hate this music because it was loud and well, hard. It was a bunch of screaming and electrical grating— And it was everywhere, even in Christian markets. There was probably no minimal age as to who listened to it—I remember my church youth group in the ‘80s it seemed twelve year olds were blasting it from boom boxes, as were teenagers and young adults playing volleyball. They used to say that if it was too loud, you’re too old.
Maybe I’m too old now but I don’t relate to anything later than the turn of the millennium except moderate contemporary music and soft rock of today. I am actually a Folk and Classical buff with a penchant for 60s and 70s folk music. But as long as its not too loud, I kinda like the Metal of the 1980s (I know it was intended to be played loud) (Can listen to ‘70s Disco as well).
My question is, who listens to the ‘80s style hard rock and heavy metal? Does someone have to remember it from decades ago to relate to it, or is it still part of today’s music?
Admittedly, I am not much into it, or was not, except now that the times have slipped into nostalgia, I have come to like it in small doses.
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18 Answers
I listen to lots of different music. I loved the Seattle Sound/Grunge from the 90’s. Some of it is fringe hard rock (think STP.) I have all those old bands on my Pandora, but listen to them less now.
There is still a market for that music. The Food Fighters are very successful. Alice in Chains, and STP both have new/alive lead singers, and have put out great stuff lately.
In Charleston SC, we have a decent following of hard rock. A local radio station puts on annual music festivals, and they have big draws.
I still listen to some older Heavy Metal, when I’m working out. Rage Against the Machine, White Zombie, System of a Down etc, can still get me fired up.
I’m mid/late 30’s, Caucasian male,lower income, living in Charleston, SC. (For the OP’s demographics.)
I listen to cable radio on head bangers. Cracks me up. Dude needs a lozenge. Some times i listen to rock and classical music.
I wouldn’t consider Foo Fighters and STP as heavy metal. That shit was popular in the 90’s when I was in high school and my friends parents knew the words.
Heavy metal makes me think of of Slayer and Megadeath and school shootings.
I did a few years of sliding back to blues, jazz, folk. My daughter got all about the Jonas boys a few years, back, and I got through that. Then I saw One Direction on TV, and recorded them and she got way into that. I got a Def Leppard DVD, and my daughter suddenly thought they were hers, and I was too old for them. Lol.
Recently I got a longing for my old stuff. I got a bunch of dvds, because I miss the old days when MTV actually had music videos. Got some Aerosmith, Extreme (love the axe solo in Rock A Bye Bye), and Bon Jovi. I know, but it is concert videos, and he was just so – damn – pretty! Still looking for my best choice for some Molly Hatchet.
So, that is my revisit. Doubt if I get much heavier than that.
Never did care for Megadeath.
We have rock bands play in my town a few times a month. The turn out is good not great. I’m in a 55 and up community so most people going specifically to hear that music probably are interested because it’s from their high school and college days.
I still like some rock, I was never into heavy metal. Robert Plant was probably the best concert I have ever been too.
I do. I’m in my 50s. I’m particularly fan of prog, Dutch, symphonic, and goth metal. Not a fan of death metal.
Turns out I’m a fan of derivative metal genres. Like Primus and Ministry. Though I tend to associate them with more punk and industrial. But there’s a lot of overlap.
When people talk about metal, it makes me think of death metal and thrash metal.
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My nephew is a professor of religious studies at a university. He is also a specialist in Metal Studies and teaches courses on it. He loves it.
I pretty well listen to metal, specifically melodic metal. It was a taste re-aqcuired in my early thirties when regular hard rock was of extreme low quality and metal was actually becoming more diverse and musically more complex and interesting.
@johnpowell Not many school shootings in the era of Heavy Metal (1980s)—most school shootings happened after Columbine in 1999. By that point, the Goth scene had pretty much displaced the the Metal which was mostly associated with the 1982–1990 era
I has its place and time in the playlist of my life but in a much reduced quantity these days.
I adore all music genre’s, and do love some of the harder stuff like screamo, even the harder christian stuff like Stryper To Hell With the Devil. I especially like it after a stressful work day when I have the windows down, drive fast and need to release some aggression…haha!
As for demos, I’m middle class, 45 yrs old, married no kids.
@johnpowell . STP wasn’t metal. If you want to spin Core again, you have to admit that they got deep into hard rock, and a little past it…
Food Fighters also has some songs that would qualify.
I still listen to Megadeth on occasion, that’s about it. I’m 27.
^I like their old stuff. I spun Euthanasia a lot. Train of Consequences. Yeah!
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