MetalHead

Metalhead is a popular term for a devoted fan of Death, Thrash or Speed metal music and is often used interchangeably with the term "headbanger"; since the early 1990s, however, the use of the latter term has declined in favor of the more fashionable "metalhead" tag. Metalheads are often associated with evil, satanism and brutality. There is one school of thought among the metal subculture that the "metalhead" and "headbanger" labels represent distinctive groups within it (i.e. Death, Speed, Thrash metal), with metalhead being a generic term for metal fans as a whole and headbangers representing older fans or fans of "heavy metal" styles(i.e. Iron Maiden). This idea does have some merit as older "heavy metal" fans often dress in a distinctively 'retro' fashion, favour different or more traditional bands and eschew some aspects of the culture that have developed in recent years. Younger fans delight in the use of heavily-distorted guitars, harsh vocals that are low-pitched and/or growled, morbid lyrics, fast-paced rhythms, violent themes, imagery and stage personae, and unconventional song structures. Nevertheless, both groups share common interests that go beyond a preferred musical style and together comprise a distinctive brutal counterculture.