I was always aware of the extreme sub genres that followed metal, even when I was 13 and listening to stuff like Type O Negative, Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden and Megadeth. It wasn't until I hit high school and left all my middle school friends behind that I found solace in the more extreme genres. Everyday at high school seemed like an eternity and everyone felt obliged to remind me that because I was Canadian I was somehow beneath them. This went far beyond the joking around of adolescence and became pure disgust. Luckily at this time I found bands like Strapping Young Lad, In Flames, Dark Lunacy, and Opeth to help alleviate the pains that high school caused me. It was more for cathartic reasons at the time, however it slowly became something I genuinely wanted to listen to, even when I was perfectly content with what was happening around me. So to answer the question, I would say I was introduced to extreme metal when it seemed like everyone wanted me to believe I was not as good as them for the fact that I was from a different place.
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