I would have to say my criticism of the genre is the fact that its entirely to frantic, and it seems that Death Metal can't be anything but. That said, I'm not entirely sure how much this can be looked upon as a fault within the genre, but rather a change within my tastes of music. I think the entire point of Death Metal is crafting an extreme form of music. The things I found myself appreciating in any given DM band was the willingness to throw aside conventional music theory and practice. I guess its only too ironic that a supposed unconventionality within the genre is what would lead me to explore other various genres of music.
I discovered the reggae band UB40 while watching a movie of live recordings from bands in the 80s, specifically it was their song Madame Medusa. I can't speak for everyone here but I figure most people on this sub that listen to that song would find it completely unappealing. However when I first heard it I was hooked. Discovering UB40 would be my real introduction to reggae and I've been listening ever since. Beyond that I've expanded my tastes into a lot of 80s Punk/Post Punk/New Wave. Its funny, I show my old Metal friends some of the stuff I listen too now and some of them just laugh.
I'm certain that the reason why I found reggae so appealing was the fact that its essentially a polar opposite of Death Metal, or extreme metal at large. Its subtle, slow paced and has a generally chill atmosphere. There are a number of religious and drug related overtones within reggae and while those are things I don't agree with or consider myself to be a part of, I look beyond it. Thinking about it now, I would have to say the one constant through all of this is my search for a "revolutionary" idea that contrasts my current taste. At one point death metal was that revolutionary idea, then sometime later reggae became that revolutionary idea to replace the former. Who knows whats next. (better not be fucking dubstep)
When you begin to explore genres of music that are vastly different from what you're accustomed to listening to, I think it serves to really broaden your perspective on things. I'm sure everyone here can attest to having society at large assume things about you because you consider yourself a metal head, right? It goes the same for reggae or other given genres. When people hear me listening to reggae or I've told them as much I get a lot of people that end up assuming I'm some stoner beatnik, which couldn't be further from the truth. I stopped smoking weed many years ago out of personal choice... yet, people go assuming things. Making an ass out of "U" and me lol