Y’all seem to be conflating several different types of metal. Classic metal is actually quite popular, as it includes bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath, etc. Then there’s early British metal like Iron Maiden, punk metal like Motorhead, glam metal like Motley Crue, and then thrash metal with Metallica, Anvil, Slayer, and the like. The newest is the more screamy-clashy type stuff I think most of you are thinking of when you think “metal”: death metal, nu metal, black metal, metalcore, and others.
Personally, some of my favorite music is classic metal; I like almost everything in that genre. Some of the other early stuff is pretty good on the whole, like Motley Crue, Motorhead, Metallica and Anvil. The new stuff has fun moshpits and great scenes, but I can take or leave most of the music, mostly because I appreciate something I can hook onto and groove with. Even noise music has more structure than much of the newer metal.
Dethklok 4EVR! And, Tool and A Perfect Circle are not metal.