Thrash Metal is Speed Metal, but my favorite Thrash Metal is:
As I Lay Dying
Metallica
As for normal Metal:
Slipknot
Mushroomhead
Mudvayne
Lamb of God
my reason for listening to metal majority of the time is mainly for the instrumentals. i love technicality,melodies and heavy riffs. i would consider myself a very happy person too, i generally don't get a downer effect from listening to music unless it was a song that i would play often in a rough spot in my life. there are probably a lot of metal bands you would like you probably haven't found them yet. i don't understand why you would think the genre is pointless, maybe you could elaborate on thatNot to make anyone mad, but i find that metal is quiet pointless. listening to it just gives the same effects as downing a red bull. No offense, i mean you can enjoy that, i just dont see any other reason to listen to it.

