Okay, I admit it—I'm a metalhead. Heavy metal is practically my favorite kind of music! Which is why I don't meet many people who listen to the same music I listen to. I've even met people who look at me weirdly and say, "Nobody listens to metal!" This is actually true to some extent, but not entirely. Believe it or not, there are metal bands that have fairly large fanbases—they are, in fact, famous enough to perform internationally. Of course, metal isn't mainstream like artists such as Adele and Bruno Mars, but it's actually not entirely bad and there are plenty of good qualities about it.

Let me just state for the record that I don't listen to all metal. It's really hard to find good music in general, no matter what kind of music it is. So obviously there are a lot of bad metal bands, just like you probably know some mediocre hip hop groups or some completely awful country musicians. Every kind of music has its bad artists, which is why it's such a treasure to find the artists you really like.

The problem with marketing metal, though, is that it's not exactly the most pleasant sounding music (what with all the screeching and growling), which is why it doesn't show up often in the public image. So those of us who try to find a good metal band end up searching through a bunch of generic, similar-sounding bands and eventually find the three or four decent bands.

But there are some metal bands that I think sound pretty amazing. Just so you know, these bands sound completely different from what you might think of as typical metal (you're probably thinking of a bunch of screaming Satanists with screeching guitars). For me, what makes for a good song is actually more similar to a typical radio-friendly song than you'd think. Like anyone else, I like to listen to a flowing melodic structure and a catchy beat. And believe it or not, you can actually find heavy metal like that!

In my opinion, metal is really just defined by some key elements—a pounding, energetic rhythm, and a bunch of feel-good guitar riffs that play through the entire song. I just think it seems to have a much fuller sound that way! And even though a lot of these songs still have screaming, the fact that the screams are balanced out with sung melodies actually gives an even more amazing listening experience! (Or you can just avoid the bands who scream in their songs.)

I am well aware of the fact that at I probably haven't sold you on heavy metal at this point. Trust me, I don't expect you to click away from this article and start looking for the best metal bands out there. What I'm really trying to point out, though, is that metal isn't necessarily what everyone thinks it is, and it's not all that weird for someone to be listening to it. Metalheads aren't all Satanists, and listening to metal doesn't mean they have poor taste. In fact, if you're into metal, I respect you!

So for those of you who are listeners of heavy metal, if you ever feel like you're different because of your taste in music, just remember that there are plenty of other people like you, and maybe you'll get to meet one of those people. And for those who aren't fans of metal, don't be so quick to judge the music or those who listen to it. And of course, people always listen to a bunch of different kinds of music, so if you're looking to talk music with someone you can always find out what else they like to listen to.

If you are now interested in this new kind of music, I recommend you go check out Dream Theater, Periphery, and hard rock/jazz group Thank You Scientist.