Different people just see things differently. Some people just get bored of it and move on to more mellow stuff. Some move on to high speed techno and trance. I think this current generation of metalheads will be less inclined to move on as previous generations have, because there is a lot more diversity in metal now than there has ever been. The internet has made music once inaccessible to almost all to now being readily available. And the metal archives gives us the most complete library on the internet at an instant.

Heh, I don't think I'll ever understand the appeal of most country music. I mean, I'm fine with rockabilly and it's various offshoots, I'm fine with Southern rock, I'm fine with those awesome Ennio Morricone film scores, but that singin' cowboy shit is just beyond irritating. Maybe it's something you need to drive a truck to understand...

I don't know, I think it actually may be the opposite (meaning, more inclined to jump to another genre). A lot of people use the argument that they won't ever get bored of metal because it's "so diverse." I can understand that perspective, but I think that's almost become quite a generic comment lately, and also one that often seems to ignore defining characteristics of genre. I mean, even if I were only able to listen to one genre of metal the rest of my life, whether black metal, thrash or traditional heavy metal, I think it still would be pretty much the only thing I listen to. When I look at a lot of the metal that gets a lot of attention these days, it seems to be folk metal and basically anything with a more progressive/depressive/technical *add adjective here* moniker under it. It also seems that the people who are often fans of such bands tend to stick pretty exclusively to it and often don't have much interest in old school bands. So how can people supposedly appreciate metal's diversity if they don't appreciate where it came from? It brings me to wonder whether these people actually like metal at all, which may sound silly but I think its a legitimate question. By this I mean that those sorts of sub-genres tend to bring in elements that are easier to digest for those who don't actually enjoy listening to heavier music. The girl next door who can barely stand even Iron Maiden, Bathory or Morbid Angel, but spends her days listening to After Forever or Turisas because it's all oh so pretty. Do these people understand what elements actually make up the genre, and if they do, do they even like those elements or are they attracted to the more digestable aspects that surround it? I guess in my mind, if you can't even appreciate the old school stuff on some level, then can you really be said to like metal at all, or are you just attracted to the attributes that are more reconcilable with other, more mellow or mainstream genres of music? Do they hear and like the metal elements at all?

It may sound silly at first, but I think there might be some merit in it. I don't think I'm really expressing myself as clearly as I like but hopefully its enough.

I'd challenge your other point about the internet as well. The modern world is one of instant gratification, and I think that is one of the factors that causes this so-called "musical eclecticism" that so many young people today participate in. I think those who participate most in that culture of instant gratification are more inclined to genre-hop, and it often seems that they often don't actually listen to the music they discover. They seem to hear something melodic or something brutal or something technical, and that surface sound seems to be what attracts them rather than the actual meat of the music.

Anyways, to answer the topic's question. I'd be really surprised if I ever stopped listening to metal or even if my passion for it lessened at all. Most of the interests I have I've had since I was quite young, and its hard to lose a passion for something you truly adore and that's an integral part of who you are.

I've been listening to metal for the past 20 years, without growing tired of it. The fact that my girl also loves metal, and that my 3 year old kid likes Bolt Thrower helps a lot. At least, we never stopped going to shows on a regular basis.

Of course, my tastes have broaden across the years, and I also fails to find young bands that are as exciting as when I first got into Death Metal. But I think I'll never stop listening to metal.

I also have a 60+ retired friend who goes to every metal shows he can and makes reviews for a webzine... Quite a nice way to grow old !

I an fully certain that I will not ever lose my interest in metal. I will be one of those 70-year old people going to gigs (even though that's 50 years from now).

I also think that people thinking "I will lose interest in metal/it's just a phase/I'll grow out of it" are the only ones who ever will lose the interest. On the other hand, almost everyone thinking such will end up losing it.

Did that make sense?

I can't see myself losing interest in metal anytime soon. Ever day i find new bands and buy new CDs /Vinyls / Tapes and as I'm getting older my love for metal just seems to keep growing and growing. As does my collection as I've got older i just seems to be more open to trying new metal bands to hear something new and each day i hear more bands and each day my love for the music just keeps growing with a unlimited amount of bands and gem releases out there. I've been busy finding bands for the past 10 years and I've still got loads of great band to find and a long list of bands to check out as of yet. So i can't see this journey ending anytime soon....

I think it's impossible to start to become bored with something while still saying, "but I still love it! I think!"

I still love it! I never will lose interest in Metal and Rock. My love with this music only increase day by day. For 12 years i've listened to all bands of Metal. I will not ever lose my interest, and never too growing tired or bored of it.

Im not too worried..the only big age related problem with listening to metal is maybe getting deaf when im a senior! Which would be horrible.

I can say that my interest in metal changes only in terms of "favorite style at the moment". However, I've been listening to metal since I was 11 and I don't see a "cooldown" in my interest of listening to metal down the road. It's exactly the opposite, every day I try to both find new bands and listen to the classic ones.

I'm not sure if it happened with age, or because I quit playing musical instruments, but ever since metal has sounded much different to me. I used to eat up plenty of bands from every metal genre, and felt a strong connection and passion for the music, but now most material sounds just bad to me. Every once in a while I fill find an album that blows me away, and of course I still like metal, but I just can't see music being such a big part of my life anymore, and don't get anything out of it more than a bit of entertainment. Come to think of it I think it's music as a whole more so than metal itself which I feel different towards, but who knows.

:shrug

I don't fear losing my love for metal, but I do fear forgetting metal, be it because of job, family, etc.And there is always the risk of auditive problems, but i'm not worried with them.

I think I'll never lose my love for metal, the problem is if still will have time to enjoy it with the coming of a certain age.But I'll surely love metal until my death.

I was reading this old Wild Rags Newsletter I have (from April 1990) and I found this commentary that is very appropriate to this thread.

I think a few people have answered this question in a way I'd react to this:







I think, the point is either there's something there that you truly connect to, or it's "just a phase". It depends on where you are in life, really.

I'm 32, and I think I can safely say this. I've been listening to metal since the mid 80's (we'll say '86 - '88, when I first started getting tapes). So, forward 20+ years, and I still have an overwhelming majority of my recordings firmly in the metal realm (90% - 95%+).

The funny thing is, I was told during my teen years that this music, and my "aggression", would be things I'd grow out of. I'm in my early 30's, and I'm further into metal than anyone back then could have even imagined.

There's a weird thing with cycles in life, though: twice in life, I've "lost interest", as in, set all metal aside and listened to nothing, as nothing really interested me at that point. And oddly enough, both times it took hearing something on a whim that put me headfirst into a "rediscovery" of sorts: the first time, it was Slayer and the second time, Unleashed.

I think, if it's a phase for someone, it'll be over in five years or less. If it's been more than five years, chances are you're a "lifer" (or whatever you want to call it). And that's definitely not a bad thing...

I'm taking a class in media studies and it was taught that the musical taste a person acquires before about 21 will remain the core taste of the individual for the rest of his/her life. Exceptions do occur, but the pattern is very statistically significant.

That being said, I'm turning 19 this week and I know that I cannot lose interest in metal. How many alcoholics get sober because they lose interest in booze? To shake an addiction that is consistent for years, a person needs to actively try to give it up. I feel compelled to appreciate metal, and with the joy it brings me, why would I want to fight my craving for it? Maybe I would if I was stranded on an island with no metal, but the odds of that are slim.

Anyway, the fear of losing interest in metal is illogical. If you do lose interest in metal, you'll be happy with whatever the new thing you're listening to is and be glad you're done with your old music. Your younger self would, hypothetically speaking, dislike you; we figure in reality, though, that your younger self is no longer existent, conscious, or even relevant.

At age 24, and having been into heavy metal since I was 12, I would say that there's very little chance of it not being a part of my life when I'm in my 30s or older. The only thing that's changed is that I've opened my mind to a lot of different styles of music, as I was almost exclusively into metal at one point. These days, I find myself greatly enjoying new wave, avant garde, experimental, fusion, ambient, noise, etc., but I always come back to metal in the end. It's spoken to me on a deeper level than any other music, even music I consider superior to metal, such as freeform jazz or classic cinematic orchestral music.

Absolutely not. Not only have I not lost interest in metal, I still love a lot of the same bands I did 20 years ago when I was a kid.

People who consider metal a "just a phase" were never that into it to begin with.

I'm 28 and have been into metal for 14-15 years or so, although I didn't get into underground metal until I was 17 or so. I find that my tastes have changed over the years, I'm certainly more open to other forms of music than I was when I was younger. But i think that's only natural. Some of the earliest metal I got my hands on was White Zombie and Metallica's black album. I listened to those albums almost religiously when I was 14 years, now I can't listen to those albums at all. Same with a lot of the groove metal rubbish I spent my mid teens listening to. I just have no toleration for that stuff anymore, which I odd considering for a few years in my teens it was all I listened to. But I think this is just natural maturation process.

When I was 17 I got into extreme Metal, first with Doom and working my way in from there to Black, Death, non Big-4 Thrash, Power, etc. I still have not tired of the albums that exposed me first to underground metal. So I still haven't "grown out" of the stuff that allowed me to get into real Metal.

I can see how women might affect your tastes but I've been married for a year and a bit and my passion for Metal has remained unabated. We've known each other for 5 years or so and dated for about 3 years before we got shacked up. She and I have very little in common musically, we both like Pink Floyd and Radiohead but that's about it. Over the years she's gotten me into stuff like Joy Division and Muse but she hasn't really taken to my stuff. This usually means that when she's around I tend to put lighter stuff on (classical, jazz, ambient, neofolk, etc) but use the headphones when I'm onto heavier stuff.

Maybe I'm lucky because my wife doesn't object if I'm off on my own. She "lets" me go to Metal shows and has no problem with it. Similarly, if she wants to see Depeche Mode I'll take a rain check and she'll go which means I can get sloshed and play Sodom real loud!!!

Daaamn heinouskilling I took you for the same age range as me (22). When I was 13 I would have logged here and been like "I LOVE CRADLE OF FILTH BECAUSE I AM A VAMPIRE AND I CUT MYSELF AND DRINK IT." You're going to be so ahead of the game when you're older.

Am I aging? I don't know. I used to listen to almost exclusively metal but now I am exploring other genres a lot more. Metal is like an old friend who I never tire of but recognize that it's ok for us to spend some time apart. I imagine it will be that way for a very long time; I don't burn myself out on it and my tastes have somewhat "matured" over the years so there's no reason I would suddenly get sick of it all.

As am I. I'm 34 going on 35 in December and still digging deeper and deeper, unearthing some absolutely amazing bands that I need. It's like an addiction, but an addiction that gives back with an ultimate aural reward. The only downside is the fact that it can seriously damage my wallet as I collect and not download.



My father told me the exact same thing! Except for the country music thing. He said "It's just a phase; You'll grow out of it". It's been over 20 years and counting now, and it's not going anywhere. He still asks if I'm listening to that "heavy metal stuff" . He always gets a bit of a shock when he sees my collection.

And like you said I too only fear deafness.

33 years old here and I've listened to metal for 21 years. My tastes have expanded the last few years, but I don't foresee myself losing interest in metal anytime soon. However, I do find myself in phases where I exclusively feel like listening to lighter music (but even most of that is rather intricate, dark, and/or psychedelic).

I'll always like metal as long as it progresses and doesn't stagnate. If it does, I'll always like the old stuff...but everything would come to halt after discovering everything.

I think everyone gets these phases. There are a lot of times I get a bit burned out on metal and so spend a few days or weeks listening to more punk or electronic or other such things. But I always come back to metal soon enough.

Life is too short to get enough of metal.
Life is too short to get enough of metal.
Life is too short to get enough of metal.
Life is too short to get enough of metal.
Life is too short to get enough of metal.

Well, I'm almost 27, starting lstening to extreme metal when I was about 13; besides a few years missed, and gettng into the darkpsy trance scene, metal has, and will be, a part of my life until I die. If anything, as I've aged I have begun to apprecite more styles of metal; two years ago I detested power metal, until I finally "got it" via Sonata Arctica. Whilst my main loves are black, drone and doom, I can appecate most genres and love how I can always choose a song to match my particular mood...

I grew up on metal from the early days of ac/dc, van halen, ect., and kept at it until I graduated high school in 1991. At that time I started to get bored with metal. It seemed like there was no direction anymore and it was just about being heavier than the already heavy band. I didn't know about the black metal scene in Norway. I felt like metal was getting done for and that all they could do was try and get heavier and heavier. About that time, grunge hit and I got into that. I moved away from metal for about 10 years. I don't regret this time. Grunge opened my eyes to all kinds of other music. After the initial wave of grunge I also got into hip-hop, classic rock, jazz, punk, new wave, whatever, ect. But after my journey of listening to all these different types of music I came back. There is just something about metal. I love it. The heart and soul, the underground of music expression. It is the best form of music.