To start off this post: things mentioned here may touch upon, or resemble a discourse on, racial issues. This is neither the focus nor the intention. The focus is on the possible reasons why the black population shies away from metal and the intention is to express the observations as delicately as possible without offending anyone by happenstance. The use of terms commonly seen or heard in racist language (i.e. speaking of peoples in terms of skin colour) is due to the fact that it is inaccurate to suggest that the "black" population and "African" population are synonymous, seeing as people with dark skin living elsewhere may self-identity as belonging to other nationalities/origins.
There is another irony to be found here. Other than its most obvious musical ancestor, being rock music, metal owes its existence, such as it is, largely to blues music. Indeed, Black Sabbath started out in 1968 as a blues band by the name of Earth. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin also had blues influences from his time with The New Yardbirds. Obviously, blues music has been associated with African Americans since the time of its creation, and the demographics of fans and musicians in that genre seem to be the inverse of those of metal. Perhaps the connection between metal and blues is too tenuous and seems too contrived to those who listen to either. Perhaps there is the element of the unsaid - that despite its roots in blues, metal is essentially rock and roll (itself a form of blues processed through the modern sensibilities of the typical working-class white man). Try as we might, there is no denying that for a long time, the everyday existence and experiences of black and white people anywhere they lived together have differed greatly for a long time; the improvement of the situation and progress towards equity are relatively recent phenomena. Whatever the reasons, it remains a truism to this day that few black people exist on the metal stage or in the metal crowd.
Different things must be brought into consideration before some ignoramus or individual with a parti pris jumps the gun and utters the horrible untruth: "metal is racist!" That statement could hardly be farther from the truth. However, let it be said, plainly and without excuse, that there are indeed racist bands and even underground movements within metal - as there are sexist ones, classist ones, and so on. Despite this, it remains the hallmark of a meaningful and legitimate intellectual discussion that not only rational and well-thought out, but also diverse possible reasons for something must be considered.
One such possible reason for the near total absence of black people in metal has already been brought up: the idea that metal is too distant from the familiarity and comfort of blues, R&B, and hip hop for anyone with a disposition towards those genres to enjoy. That, however, cannot possibly account for the whole reason, because there will inevitably be black people who cannot stand blues, R&B and hip hop and will actively seek other music. It would be ridiculous to suggest that black people must listen to or make those forms of music, just as it would be absurd to suggest that white people must listen to or make rock, country, or metal. At best the murky relationship between racial/national/cultural identity and musical preference can be used as a very generalized and potentially faulty guideline.
That being said, we must still ask ourselves the question of identity. Is there a sense of belonging and solidarity associated with certain types of music that links people by culture or even skin colour? This is no doubt a sensitive issue, but to not address it would be to give up on the hard questions that need answering. If the answer is yes, then perhaps there is a psychological vocal barrier somewhere in the back of a black individual's mind when they think of heavy metal that says to them "That's not for you, because you are black". This would be problematic, but if true, then at least it can be addressed and fixed as part of the racial issues that are still present in society. The simple cure would be to erase those racial ideas and make people realize that belonging to a certain culture, skin colour or history in no way prevents one from being his or her own person. If the answer is no, then we must turn elsewhere.
If it's not a problem of metal pitted against "black" music for the loyalty of black fans or musicians, then could it possibly be a case of the lyrical content of metal not appealing to black people in general, or black people not being able to relate to the lyrics? Yet at once this appears not to be a viable reason, and if it is, it is unlikely to be the dominant factor, and in no way can it be causal. The reason is that metal has largely steered away from the topics of race and skin colour in general in favour of sociopolitical commentary about war, wealth discrepancy, corruption, technology and nature, religion and personal relationships. There is nothing actively preventing black people or any other people from appreciating the messages expressed in songs that deal with those topics.
Could the reasons then be historical only? That is to say, "because metal was started by white people, it should remain a music made by white people for white people"? But this simply isn't true. There are now legions of bands from Asian countries such as Japan, China, and India, as well as South American nations including Brazil and Argentina. Oriental Asians, Hispanics, and Semites from the long-conflicted Middle-East (including both Israel and Palestine) have representatives in the metal world. So where are our African friends?
The last possible reason I can come up with is that the way society works is that metal is just so far removed from everything advertised to black people in the media and elsewhere that even if one person were to develop interest in metal, the lack of support or understanding from those around him or her would discourage further delving into the music. This is understandable, as it can happen to anyone trying to reach out for anything strange to them, not limited to questions of music or racial self-identity.
A noteworthy observation is that when black people partake in metal, they tend to do so as individuals rather than in groups of other black people. That is to say, it is more far more likely to see a black person playing in a metal band or headbanging in a crowd alone than to see an entire band comprised of black individuals or a group of black friends enjoying a metal concert together. This, of course, is also a good thing as it shows that individuality can and will triumph over herd mentality, but it also means that it remains difficult for a black fan of metal to be socially accepted - unfortunate, but, I think, the only thing I can be sure of at the end of the day.
I leave you with the only example of a metal band comprised entirely of black (or African-American, which is actually the case this time) members that I am familiar with: Black Death. But I also ask you a question: why do you think there are still so few black people participating in the dynamic world of metal?
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