Good for them. I can only imagine that would have been terrible keeping that under wraps on tour 20 years ago. The cultural climate these days is such that it's really not a big deal. Metal guitaring/drumming is kind of a stereotypically heteronormative activity, so I suppose it might appear unusual to some people that they're gay, but really, "nondescript middle-aged white guys in metal band" is what's going on here, and that's pretty far from newsworthy. Which I suppose is the point: gay people like things straight people like, too.

And he does have a very good point about the metal scene specifically being more open, musically and culturally than it was even ten years ago, never mind "back in the day". Especially with the younger generation(s). As regards prejudice in general, I think it's a net positive that metal is A) very international in its fanbase and outlook (and it seems more ethnically diverse than it once was as well) and B) takes a dim view of religious fundamentalism. There's certainly enough folks with shitty "jock"/"bro"/whatever you'd like to call it attitudes out there though. I don't know how it would compare if they were athletes- there's an obvious parallel there- but I'd suspect as artists and musicians they'd be dealing with people who are a little more tolerant than that, even still.