Thrash didn't even take off until a couple of years later though :P My personal favorite era was the late 80's/early 90's when the thrash bands started getting heavier and death metal was on the rise.
Whether it peaked in '83 or not, I'd still say that most metalheads are older. That is at least consistent with what I see at all of the shows I go to.
The person I have the highest assimilation score with is someone who I've never talked to in my life, and I only accepted his friend request(really recently) because we had a few mutual friends.