In the UK I’ve found the extremes to be on both sides, although this largely aligns with the punk movement here from decades ago.

Some metal fans are the nicest people you could hope to meet. One guy I met in a bar a month or so ago got talking to me because I noticed his Hatebreed shirt, and we got to talking about music, our kids, and life in general. I remember talking about tummy time with him, and before I left he had called his wife to ask what his daughter really liked, and rushed to give me the link so that I could buy it.

Some are also utter bells. One guy I met years ago gave me shit for liking The Used’s set at Taste Of Chaos years ago, despite it basically being an emo festival that he also attended. He apparently only went for Killswitch Engage…so spent a fuck-ton to see one band while he seethed about the rest. I met another guy in a bar a year or so ago that was a huge dick to some women because one of them wore a Sleep Token shirt. He kept asking them to say what their favourite songs were, gave them shit because they were the newer songs, and then went on a rant about how they’re not even a metal band because they “basically do pop now”.