I think almost anyone can enjoy a little metal. My 70 yr old mom... she got a new car with iPod input, so when we went for a ride one day I brought my phone and plugged in. I love most music, but yes, i'm a huge Metallica fan, and I played a bunch of metallica songs, not the super fast ones, but still with heavy guitars, and she thought they were pretty good... after her ignorance all these years telling me that that music was terrible. After my surgery in '09, my dad took me to metallica show in NYC. Again, not a fan, but he thought it was a cool show, and my mom wants to go next time. I know them very well, and I'm sure they weren't just saying that to make me feel better.
About Sabbath sounding bluesy, well old school metal is rooted in the blues. Before metal, blues was the "heaviest" stuff out there. Dial the gain up a bit, speed up the tempo, some palm muting, finger tapping, trem dive, pissed off lyrics, head banging and you have metal. Sabbath was one of the first, and I'm sure every 80's band guitarist wanted to be Tony Iommi or Lemmy (bass). I think a lot of rock music with good guitar is rooted in the blues. And for you liking sabbath, they were the big band of that time, and after that you grew a bit, and the genre evolved to a point where it wasn't your style.
Some bands, may be on the cusp of old school metal/classic rock, but maybe they can fall on either side of the fence. Thin Lizzy may be a stretch, but maybe they helped inspire some 80's metal a little. I feel like metal guitar can infiltrate a lot of genres. like EVH solo on Michael Jackson "Beat it". that's a pop song with heavy guitar. Steve Lukather, I feel was almost restrained by Toto. What if he paired up with Tony Iommi, or another great heavy rhythm guitarist. A lot of metal lead guitar are pentatonic scales and other modes, from the blues. Also, I think if you really want to shred, pick up learning classical guitar.
My sister in law, always beats on me for liking metal, and metallica, even though she's ignorant of the music style. I get that she doesn't like it, and it's not her thing, but she can't discount a whole genre of music because of her taste. People listen to metal without realizing it... commercial on tv, watching sports on tv, tv shows... when thy cut to commercial, a soundbite...
My homework, is to listen to Kill "em All and Ride the Lightning. I know it's not your thing, but isolate the guitar parts and I think you will find some pretty good stuff in there. Do it with an open mind, you might be surprised what you find.
Scott
