Rock and Metal Fanbase Names + Where They Came From

If you’re a massive fan of any particular musician, you may or may not identify with the name of the fanbase, if there is one.

The first instance of worldwide super fandom was most likely that of The Beatles, whose fanbase, made predominantly of women, used to gather to greet the band when they arrived to a city for a tour or any other place they knew the quartet would be at. They often screamed maniacally — hence “mania” — and sometimes even passed out.

“I saw one of them almost getting to Ringo [Starr]‘s drumkit and then I saw 40 drunk bouncers tearing down the aisles. It was like the Relief of Mafeking!” Scottish concert promoter Andi Lothian recalled [via The Guardian]. “It was absolute pandemonium. Girls fainting, screaming, wet seats. The whole hall went into some kind of state, almost like collective hypnotism. I’d never seen anything like it.”

So The Beatles didn’t only have a profound impact on music, but their fans also paved the way for later generations of musicians who would generate massive followings, especially other boy bands such as One Direction and BTS.

But what about rock and metal bands?

There are plenty of bands within the heavier music world that have also affectionately named their fanbases, or simply started calling their fans a term that someone else coined. The Grateful Dead has Deadheads, which are perhaps one of the most loyal groups of them all, Megadeth has Droogies and so on.

READ MORE: The 10 Rock + Metal Bands With the Most Diehard Fanbases

We compiled a gallery of some of the biggest rock and metal fanbases that have nicknames, and attempted to trace their origins to uncover where the names came from.

Scroll below to learn more.