Okay, you don't have to respect the drummer, but respect other people's tastes in music. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean they "suck" or whatever. I'm really sick of reading posts in this thread that just bash another user for liking a band they don't like. Who cares? Get off your high horses and just enjoy music!
Anyways, to stay on topic I've been downloading some Testament lately, which I've not been overly impressed with. I've also been getting into some celtic metal like Cruachan. It doesn't take itself too seriously and they got some variety what with the different instruments so it's a nice break from traditional metal.
No, we do not have to respect other people's music tastes. When someone comes into a metal topic going "hey gaiz, new Avenged Sevenfold album, hurpa durpa," then not only do they not understand metal, but they probably lack taste in general. Taste shows how seriously people listen to music, how well they interpret it, and how coherent and useful their opinions are.
Then the "come on RESPECT the band, they had a member die" post was just completely illogical and blatantly fucking stupid, so there was that.
Metal Gods post was a useful dismissal, although he could have maybe left off the "really?" bit, since that smacked a bit of condescension.