Well, metal and hardcore is "the trend" these days with metalcore and last wave post-hardcore bands. Though neither of these genres is really metal or hardcore punk. Most "true" metalheads actually hate both genres, because they used to be good, but now are all "poppyfied" and no longer sound like they used to.Originally Posted by Chronicle
Also, metal is big in scandinavia and eastern europe.
Trance and techno also have a massive following in central europe, I personally think it's absolutely awful, but here in Belgium and Holland, people worship it.
There's also the matter where black metal, folk metal and power metal bands often sing about fantasy or mythology, which are things most RPG gamers love. Such lyrical content is extremely rare in hip hop, for example.
Metal's lyrical content is extremely versatile, it can range from gore, to fantasy, to war, to just flat out crying about your girlfriend.
It's also extremely versatile in sound, so many people who like heavy rock, can easily find their favorite metal genre.