Well, in Belgrade the scene is not half bad, although it's widely disliked among the non-metalheads. There are some core/nu scenesters but they form bands rarely and are usually talked into listening ''trve'' elite stuff, elitism all the way. I'm in a band myself and there is a sweet studio which records your full rehearsal (2 hours) for only 500 RSD (arround 5 €) so self-releasing demos and gaining publicity through friends isn't hard.
But recording albums in a recording studio is quite expensive so not many have that privilege. Making gigs on the other side is easy enough for kids like us since the clubs/bars are very supportive.
There are some excellent festivals in Serbia and the ex-Yugoslavian countries (Metal Days in Tolmin, Slovenia had a sick setlist this year) and the gigs in bigger clubs are not rare (e.g. Immolation, Marduk, Sinister, Hypocrisy). And also there's the Belgrade arena where Slayer came two months ago, which was remarkable.