Metal Fans Debate Which Bands Have the ‘Least Amount of Haters’

Metal fans had a debate about which bands have the “least amount of haters” on Reddit.

The thread was posted on the Metal for the Masses Reddit and features a photo of Alice In Chains. The individual who posed the question noted that they don’t see Alice In Chains and some other classic bands, such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, get a lot of flak.

Of course, someone left a sarcastic comment on the thread, which said, “Nickelback has had nothing but love given to them.”

As people mentioned certain artists throughout the thread, others either upvoted the comment in agreement, or responded explaining why they don’t like that musician or band. To organize the discussion a bit, we included photos of some of the artists that were mentioned below, and the comments and responses are italicized and bulleted underneath.

Motorhead

A lot of the responses to the Motorhead comment had to do with the late Lemmy Kilmister. A couple of people noted that they’re not particularly a fan of Motorhead’s music, but because of Lemmy’s reputation and legacy, they could never dislike the band.

• “I don’t dislike ’em at all. But I genuinely just don’t like Lemmy’s singing style that much. It’s just grating at times. Though they’re one of the most important, genre defining metal bands, and they have my utmost respect for that.”
• “Never really got into them but I’ve always respected them. I love Lemmy as well. Rest in peace.”
• “I don’t even enjoy the music and I can’t hate, too badass.”

Another individual had a bit more of a detailed reason as to why they aren’t a fan of Motorhead’s music.

• “That’s generally true, but I’ve seen a lot of people say all their albums sound the same, and I agree. I find it very monotonous to listen to just one song let alone get through the discography, yes they branch out to some slightly different genres but it’s just the same thing translated to a different sub genre. It’s just boring radio rock to me, no interesting song writing. I respect them but I’m just giving some insight on what someone might dislike about them.”

On the other hand, a couple of other Reddit users flat out said they “can’t stand Motorhead.”

Black Sabbath

Though the author of the original post had already mentioned Black Sabbath as an example, someone still mentioned them, and it created a conversation. One of the most popular responses noted that fans of the band’s different eras — Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio — often have something against other.

• “My first response was SABBATH!!!! But yeah, then I remembered that they released music in the 90s…”
• “The haters are so sad to see. Albums from all eras have their gems. I’ll admit I was Ozzy only Sabbath fan but now I almost never go back to those Ozzy albums as I’m just enjoying everything Sabbath did after him that I ignored for so long.”

Someone else asserted that heavy metal “wouldn’t have been a thing” without Black Sabbath.

• “Imagine how weird metal would be now without even just Black Sabbath. It’s just so crazy to think about.”
• “I’ve always called Black Sabbath ‘boring but important’.”

Judas Priest

While many agreed with this suggestion, others pointed out the unfortunate fact that homophobic people refuse to see the band beyond Rob Halford‘s sexuality, although it has nothing to do with Judas Priest‘s music.

• “I know plenty of homophobes that will never let the Halford/gay thing go. It’s like the first thing to come up when you mention the band.”
• “When you see a singer very deliberately emulating Rob Halford, 9 times out of 10 it turns out they’re a huge bigot who would have Halford executed for being gay. It’s bizarre.”

Others admitted that they don’t like Halford’s vocals.

READ MORE: Rock + Metal Fans Name ‘Worst’ + ‘Most Annoying’ Riffs on Reddit

• “The riffs are awesome and the whole band is super influential. But the singer’s voice is so off-putting for me.”
• “Halford is like nails on a chalkboard to me.”
• “Yeah he’s very hit or miss for me. The vocals on ‘Painkiller’ are so damn silly.”

Dio

This comment seemed to have been referring to Ronnie James Dio, rather than his band, Dio. People noted his time in Black Sabbath, his voice and the subject matter he wrote about in his lyrics.

• “That is because our 2,000 year-old dragon lord ascended to the Dragon Heaven Realm in 2013 AD (Anno Dio).”
• “I don’t necessarily “hate” Dio, but I am not a fan. His voice annoys me and his personality was a bit pretentious to me. I know I am in the VAST minority but that’s how I feel.”
• “Dio the man and the singer was fucking awesome. Loved him in Sabbath. Loved his work in Rainbow. Dio, his band named after the man himself… I can’t stand it.”

Iron Maiden

The response that sparked the most buzz under Iron Maiden reads, “Jealous people hate Iron Maiden. And spouses that live with Iron Maiden ultrafans.”

• “I’m a medium-heavy Maiden fan, but my wife doesn’t like them much and didn’t enjoy the concert we went to. Not because of the music, but the general vibe of the audience. It’s funny because even though Maiden is basically power metal, the fans have this weird drunken redneck biker vibe at their shows.”
• “My wife took me to see them a few years ago for my birthday, she’s never been a fan of them but had a great time at the show. Crowd seemed to be a good mix of people each time I’ve seen them.”

A few other metalheads argued that Iron Maiden do get a lot of hate, especially because of the different lineup changes they’ve undergone over the years. A few others admitted they don’t like Bruce Dickinson‘s voice.

• “Oh, not true at all. They went through five lead vocalists, three of whom are actually important in that they appeared on the studio albums. And some Paul fans won’t shut up about how he was the only true one, while the Bruce fans (that’s most of them) won’t let up on criticising the Blaze albums. And even within the Bruce discog, you have weaker albums like ‘No Prayer for the Dying,’ which almost no fan would cite as their favourite. And you have fights with other personalities like the infamous feud between Maiden/Bruce and Sharon Osbourne, wife of Ozzy. And don’t even get me started on the ones endlessly debating which is better between Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.”
• “I respect them and love the instruments. Just Bruce’s vocals annoy me the hell out of me.”
• “I’ve seen someone saying that they’re only popular because of their mascot.”

Other Bands Mentioned

Some of the other groups that were mentioned throughout the thread are Death, Soundgarden, Darkthrone, Sepultura, Type O Negative, Cannibal Corpse, Gojira, Slayer and more.

Read the full discussion here to see the rest.