I've only really met the guys from Cannibal Corpse, or at least a few of the members, including the guy from Origin who was subbing for Jack when he left. Anyway, no surprise, they're incredibly nice guys; everyone knows Cannibal is very humble. I recall giving Alex Webster some fan-art, and he seemed almost shocked, asking, "This is for US?" He said that the band would put it up in their practice room. Made me feel all warm and gushy inside.

^THAT^ IS actually really neat! it's not often you hear suff like that, about bands and fans actually connecting like that. That is truely awesome

I've met Damon Bloodstorm 3 times, and opened for Cemetery Urn in October. Those guys are all awesome.

The guitar player from Obeisance thought I was heckling him at a 2007 show. He had me mistaken for someone else, but he came up to me while he was on stage, in between songs, and was very rude to me. I guess he later saw footage (most of their set from that day is on youtube), and saw it wasn't me who was heckling them. He came up to me at a show several months later...tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and immediately thought "uh oh!" He said "I'm so sorry about that February show. I found out it was someone else who was giving us crap that day." He shook my hand, and we've actually become really good friends.

Toxic Holocaust played my best friend's metal festival in 2007 (in my hometown. I haven't lived there in years), so when I saw them play 2 years ago, my friend said "Tell Joel Grind I said hi!" Well, I didn't think I'd get a chance to speak with him, since they were in a huge club, opening for Gwar, but sure enough, he walked right by me. I told him my friend's name and that he said hello, and Joel said "Holy shit! You know that guy? Small world!" We started talking about all kinds of stuff, probably for about an hour. He was so nice.

I met the guys in Manticore when they played a show last year. They were extremely nice. They had recently toured Mexico with my friend's band (the same friend mentioned above, actually). He called me before the show started and said "Let me talk to Duane Morris" ..... so I gave Duane Morris my phone and let them talk for about 10 minutes. It was funny. He was super cool to me after that. I met Lou too. That guy can TALK, but it's NEVER a dull moment! He's got stories. Super cool guy.

I met Cradle of Filth in 2003, and even though it was brief, they were really nice.

Terry Butler from Six Feet Under was really cool too. I told him about the first song I learned on bass being one he recorded (Massacre- Dawn of Eternity), and he got a bit excited. We talked while he worked his merch counter, but not too many people were buying shirts. That was in 2006.

Agreed with the people who said Swashbuckle and Blackguard were awesome. I don't care for those bands' music, but I'd hang out with them again any day.

Nice: Rob from Cannibal Corpse, Roope. Henkka and Alexi from COB, Heikki/Kristian and Jukka from Norther, Phil and Nick from As I Lay Dying. The guys from Alestorm and Turisas (although I have no idea of their names).

Assholes: Janne Wireman, Petri Lindroos (although he was nice to me personally, his attitiude towards fans is fucking ridiculous).

Generally speaking most metal musicians I've met have been nice. It's only rarely you meet one who is incredibly disrespectful and gets named as an asshole. I mean you've really got to be a dick as I understand most musicians are tired and stressed from an array of fan boys... so these two really deserved it.

I've met Tom Hunting from Exodus yesterday, very nice and pleasant guy.

George Call from Aska/Omen is a good friend of my wife and is also her mother's godson. He's a cool guy.

Geoff Tate was really cool to me and my wife. My wife was wearing a tiedye shirt when we met him and he told her it was cool she came out in something like that when everyone was wearing shirts with skulls. We also met Pamela Moore and she grabbed my ass when we got our picture taken together.

The most surprising was Lars Ulrich. I got lost by some tents at Lollapalloza 96 and almost literally bumped into him getting into a golf cart. He was really cool and said "We try!" when I told him his band kicked ass (I was sixteen and a diehard Metallica fan at the time). He thanked me for the kind words and then left with a couple bodyguards in tow.

Not metal, but the singer of that band Sponge told me to fuck myself when I told him I thought their second album wasn't quite as good as the first.

George Call from Aska/Omen is a good friend of my wife and is also her mother's godson. He's a cool guy.

Geoff Tate was really cool to me and my wife. My wife was wearing a tiedye shirt when we met him and he told her it was cool she came out in something like that when everyone was wearing shirts with skulls. We also met Pamela Moore and she grabbed my ass when we got our picture taken together.

The most surprising was Lars Ulrich. I got lost by some tents at Lollapalloza 96 and almost literally bumped into him getting into a golf cart. He was really cool and said "We try!" when I told him his band kicked ass (I was sixteen and a diehard Metallica fan at the time). He thanked me for the kind words and then left with a couple bodyguards in tow.

Not metal, but the singer of that band Sponge told me to fuck myself when I told him I thought their second album wasn't quite as good as the first.

Then I shouldn't tell him if I meet him that Plowed is their only good song. That's funny that he reacted that way. Candlebox, Bush and Stone Temple Pilots must get that a lot, too.

ive met Lazarus A.D and got autograph and the guys were talking to me but i was deaf cuz it was right after the Testament show..so i just smiled and turned back
they were super nice though.

All of the guys from Origin are fucking cool. Both times Ive seen them, they haven't hesitated to take time and talk to whoever for however long. Paul Ryan even discounted a shirt for me because i was broke at summer slaughter.

Karl Sanders of Nile is of course awesome, probably the happiest metalhead in existence.

Bill from decrepit-birth.

Snowy Shaw - Ridiculous player and singer. Very nice guy. Talked to him a couple of times on Facebook. Very humble, answers a lot of the questions I had in mind, and just a very nice guy.

Karl-Hannes Van Dahl - Drummer from Evergrey. Also a ridiculously nice guy. Pretty much the description for Snowy I put above.

Matt Byrne and Frank Novinec - Drummer and guitarist respectively of Hatebreed. After I saw them in 2008, they stood outside the Webster for an extra 45 minutes to sign autographs and take pictures with fans. Frank signed my ticket stub, which I have thumbtacked to my wall to this day.

Corpsegrinder - Never really talked to him, but I've heard stories of how nice the guy is. He is however responsible for one of my absolute favorite concert experiences. At Mayhem 09, I stood in the front two rows of the stage CC was set to play on. I got thrashed around, my arm almost got broken, and it was sheer insanity. After their set ends, George hops off the stage, takes his can of Coca Cola, turns to me and says "You want this?" That was the best Coke I've ever had.

Mike Smith - As with Matt and Frank, he waited for 45 or so minutes after the Summer Slaughter 09 show at the Webster to sign autographs and take pictures, although Mike was at the merch stand. I bought a copy of Blood Oath specifically so he could sign it. He surely did, and it sits on my shelf with pride.

Alex Lancia - He and I talk regularly on Facebook. He's given me drum tips and road stories, all of which are both insightful and (in the case of the road stories) hilarious.

I've never met a musician who was a cock, but I've heard quite a few stories of such. I heard once about a Deicide fan approaching Glen Benton in a bar telling him that Glen himself was the reason he got into metal. Glen responds with "Wow. That's pretty fucking gay." Needless to say my opinion of him went down a bit.

Really? He's always struck me as a pretty chilled out guy, then again I've never met him personally.

An opinnion like that will crush anyone...
George Fisher seems to be a really cool guy

If only his massive ego matched his shitty vocal abilities.

Kalmah - Extremely cool dudes even if their English isn't very good.

Norther - Come off as a bit pompous (especially Petri), however this is also due to the language barrier. Tuomas, Kride, and Jukka are the friendliest.

Kalmah - Extremely cool dudes even if their English isn't very good.

Norther - Come off as a bit pompous (especially Petri), however this is also due to the language barrier. Tuomas, Kride, and Jukka are the friendliest.

Every member of symphony X were real swell guys. Open to any question.

I met Antti Boman of Demilich today in the morning at the local record store. He must be one of the most laid back and chilled out guys I know. I had a feeling he'd look down on a kid like me (I'm fifteen) but no we had a great chat and he really seemed like some kind of god. The wisdom really shined from him. No vocal demonstration though and it's a shame the previous mohawk hairdo had to go .

Antti said there won't be any more Demilich shows because he will be working on his stoner project. But still he's an awesome dude.

Archaon from 1349 was a stuck up self important douche bag. Tried to say hello to him in a bar in Brooklyn and he was ignoring me and walked by with his head held high. I wasn't even trying to chat him up. Just say hi and I like your work with the band. Forget it now. That fat fucker can go to hell. Good band, 1349, but I can do without that asshole.

That sucks, but hey, I would expect precisely that from a black metal musician. Stage Character and all.

All of the guys in Hatebreed are among the most personable and friendly musicians I have met. They genuinely appreciate every person that talks to them, thanks them, or whatever. Mike and Terrance from Suffocation are also great guys, they are always hanging around at shows (I was at that Webster show too). Glen Benton was a nice guy and stayed around for a few hours after a show when I saw Deicide, but he seems to have quite a reputation for the opposite (as well as cancelling shows, which is why the other four times I went to see them they weren't there).

I meant I've never come in contact face-to-face. And the only way I could communicate with them was to either phone them or send them a message on shit sites like Facebook.

I met the lead singer from Lecherous Nocturne. Really cool guy. Took a picture with him and talked to him. He even thanked my Dad for taking me to the show.

Some of my experiences

DOWN were pretty cool. Was just talking to them over the barrier at the side of the stage. Shook hands with every member apart from Kirk, and one of them complimented my friends t shirt.

ENFORCER were funny. Met them while really drunk after their show at a festival. I was like "Hey shit is that Enforcer" and my friend ran over and was like "Hey uhhh, are you Enforcer" They stopped and we ranted in their face how good Swedish metal is, and one of the member liked my Mercyful Fate t shirt. Got a photo as well.

DECAPITATED were really cool as well. We snuck backstage after their show and their manager was like "GET OUT!" but their singer now just told us to come on in. Shook hands with all the members, my friend got his Jacket signed by the whole band and we got a photo with Vogg (the only original member)

The bassist from EXODUS nowadays seemed cool as he hung around the merch stall and signed many peoples Jackets. I also caught a pick off Gary Holt that night.

My friends have met members of DESASTER and Gene Hoglan as well, said they were cool.

For the bad, I was backstage at a Municipal Waste gig and Ryan Waste asked if I worked there before telling me "You can get the fuck out then"
Wanker anyway....

Mastodon are cool guys, I talked bass with Troy and found out what his Digitech Bass Whammy is for.

Gene Hoglan is a solid dudebro. I asked him how many bands he has been in and he said "all of them". There is a definite answer to that and it must be known.

Misha from Periphery couldn't chat for long but he gave me a pick that makes your dick bigger.

Mikael Akerfeldt and Fredrik Akesson from Opeth were nice guys, I got some stuff signed and got some picks.

Devin Townsend is the coolest guy ever. We talked about black metal and how we love it but can't imagine wanting to endorse violence with any amount of seriousness.

Jeff Walker is a cool guy and signed a poster for me. He's really old. I love that guy (no homo).

But that's just who I met yesterday lol. Also talked to Doc Coyle of God Forbid, Tomas Haake of Meshuggah, George Kollias of Nile, Tim Yeung of every band ever, and Navene Koperweis of Animals as Leaders.

Oh well. Thrash revival bands lack originality anyway. Why listen to them when you could just listen the '80s bands?

bill robinson. That motherfucker was BURNT OUT... he even had a sign that said something to the effect of "please allow me to rest my voice so i don't wear it out" but he kept talking to me, even after i asked him if he needed me to stop talking. i thought that dude was fucking awesome, and it made it that much greater during the show. he also jumped into the pits with us, i went insane during that. bill robinson is a homeless, pot growing, hippy looking saint.

According to this site, 21

Paul Gilbert: Fucking awesome guy. I waited like 1 hour and a half, but it was totally worth it. He's a bit quiet/shy, but he's definitely willing to talk to fans!

Therion: Christofer Johnsson is such a great and humble guy! I got to talk to him like 30 minutes, it was so surreal, he told me a bunch of stuff I didn't even ask him haha, he told me about his son, his house, vegetarianism, etc. Nice guy!!!!

Abbath: Down to earth! Really nice guy, doesn't take him self too seriously.

Fernando Ribeiro: Very approachable. I stalked him outside the venue, haha, but he was totally cool, signed my ticket, took a pic with me, so awesome!

Hellhammer: Sweet guy. I respect him a lot for caring about fan feedback.

As for the douchebags...

Les Claypool: Really, he was fucking arrogant!!!!! I was on the first row and many people were taking pictures with flash. He sent his crew to tell them to stop because it was "annoying".You're at a show god damn it, there are gonna be lights and pictures for obvious reasons.
Then I waited outside his bus with like 10 other fans and his roadie came out and say coldly "He's not coming out, he's too tired" Seriously...FUCK HIM.

And well, some friends have told me that the guys from Watain and Satyricon are fucking assholes, I wouldn't be surprised.

Nice:

Matt and Ol Drake - I live real close to Huddersfield where Evile are from (Bradford to be exact) and I bumped into 'em once at Leeds train station. Proper friendly guys.

Corey Taylor - I went to see Stone Sour recently (on a tour with Hellno and Avenged Sellout-fold), and he is such a bro. Real nice guy.

Other than that I've never met anyone else. I've heard good things from friends about all of Cannibal Corpse, Lars Ulrich (yes, Lars Ulrich) and Scott Ian

Coming from someone who somewhat likes the Load albums, what exactly makes Lars so disliked anyway? Selling out alone doesn't make someone a prick. From what I've seen, he seems like a pretty nice fellow.

Really? All of his Facebook posts make Admiral Nobeard look like a total douchebag, honestly.

I've actually never met any members of big bands, but I'm going to see Whitechapel (and unfortunately, subsequently Chelsea Grin and I Declare War) in March. I've heard from some people that Whitechapel's vocalist is a misogynist/douchebag; any truth behind that?

Band members I've met/talked to:

Juan Escobar (Mar de Grises): Seemed like a cool guy but speaks hardly any English so it was hard to keep a conversation going with him.

George Kosmas and Shaun Sykes (Be'lakor): Really cool guys (as are all the Australian metalheads I've met), very humble.

Melechesh Ashmedi (Melechesh): Talked with him about finding the balance between technicality and atmosphere in metal. Very cool guy that knows his stuff.

Jason Mendonca (Akercocke): I literally walked across the stage to get backstage to see this guy after they finished playing live (My favourite band for over 5 years). He was a very cool dude and got a picture taken with him which is what I really wanted. Hope they release a new album this year!

Justin Hartwig (Mournful Congregation): I had the longest chat with him out of all the other bands I've seen. He had a very similar music taste to me, Doom (obviously) and old school Death Metal among others. We talked about our distate for Metalcore and about a new project he plans on doing which will be OSDM which was cool. Tried to convince him and the band to stay at my place by the lake to headbang to some Obituary but the tour manager didn't allow it as they had to get up early to continue their tour. Ah well.

Igor, Thomas & Phillip (Dehydrated Goat):Have gotten pissed with these guys loads of times and they are great company if you like vulgar and sexist humor.

I've shared a few words with other bands, but not enough to judge if they are cool guys or not.

from memory, band members met/talked to

Barney Greenway and Shane Embury (Napalm Death) - both were rather nice and signed my LP

Attila Csihar (Mayhem) - was watching the support band on their Aus tour last year and he was standing next to me, no one else seemed to notice he was in the room, i got his attention and shook his hand (was very happy as he is one of my fave musicians)

Karl Sanders (Nile) - small chat with him, was a nice guy

Mick Kenney (Anaal Nathrakh)

Niklas Kvarforth (Shining) - thanked him for the set when i saw them in London and got a photo with him

Immortal - Instore Signing

Behemoth - Instore Signing

Pig Destroyer - met them after their show in Sydney in 2008, down to earth guys, Scott Hull gave me a hoodie as well

Heaven Shall Burn

Psycroptic

Wolves in the Throne Room

Monarch

Tim Hecker

Stephen O'Malley (Sunn O))), Gravetemple etc) - Went down to the Gravetemplars show in Melbourne and had a rather good chat with him after the set

Nadja

Urfe, dude, it's cool you've met so many well known metal musicians and all, but nobody really cares about your list of people you've met. The point of this thread is to share experiences on the personalities of musicians, for example how Mustaine acted like a douchey diva, or how someone from Bolt Thrower bought you a beer.

No lists. Write only if you have something cool to share.

Maybe this is a pirate thing. I was walking from my flat to a local metal bar a few weeks ago which took me past Manchester Academy gig venue. Some pissheads hanging outside the venue spotted my kutte and started yelling about how awesome it was. I ended up walking to the bar with them, and they kept saying 'you should come to the show tomorrow night'. Turned out it was the guys from Alestorm. Now, I didn't like the band at the time, and I still don't like their fucking annoying fans, but they were really cool guys, and I did go and see them the next night supporting Sabaton. It turned out later that I could've met Sabaton too if I'd not been dragged to a different bar that night by some mates who were with me.

All the guys in Enslaved are pretty awesome. Grutle Kjellson sold me a sweatshirt and told me that it would "keep me warm in the cold New England winters." Pretty cool.

Patrick from Augury is a nice guy too. Had me hold his guitar after their set so he could get off the stage.

All the guys in Swashbuckle are all really fun to talk to. Especially Admiral Nobeard.

theyre really great guys man. I KNOW THEM. I HAVE MET THEM BEFORE. YA KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

Ok new Goal. I want to meet Cannibal Corpse. I think Alex Webster was like, extremely touched when you gave him the fan-art

Edit: I have talked with the new singer of BBB (who is in fact, 10000X better than the origional Singer). The guy was nice and extremely funny. After I finished talking to him he jumped in the mosh pit while Gamma Bomb was playing and got pushed over to the ground by a 65 year old Lady with Venom Patches

I auditioned for the the role of guitarist for the Ballarat band Kaamora. I didn't make the cut, but it was great fun having a jam with the boys and they're all completely nice and polite. Had plenty of fun jamming some CC and Slayer with Dylan, the guy is a made drummer.

Wish them all the best, definitely.