I used to be into my metal and hardcore exclusively but these days i'm listening to more relaxing stuff, Sigur Ros, Willy Mason, Minus the Bear, and right now Gym Class Heroes - Cookie Jar...Tune!
I like the opposite of soft most of the time. soft could be so many different things. do yo have a favorite soft? Kenny G perhaps
Classic rock (The Doors, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple), heavy metal (Iron Maiden, Guns N' Roses), thrash metal (Metallica), doom metal (My Dying Bride), epic metal (Blind Guardian/ Demons & Wizards), death metal and some gothic metal... Although I'll never get the chance to see some of the classics, I've seen most of the metal bands live in concerts, as it was a busy summer in Romania/Europe this year.
not to split hairs but Metallica is not "thrash", not even back in the day when they didn't suck! not even sure GnR and IM qualify as heavy metal....but that's just me
If you don't believe me, ask Wikipedia: And Metallica played some good old trash for me in July, at their concert in Bucharest, Romania.