For that matter C++ templates are metaprogramming from what I understand, and C macros are a really really primitive form of metaprogramming. Java also has reflection which is metaprogramming-ish.
I don't think the problem was metaprogramming.
For C++ templates, you get that impression and multiply by a few googols.
Now, Ruby and Python communities do claim to gain power from metaprogramming. I can say that Python metaprogramming is something completely different from Lisp's one, but Ruby's is more similar. Yet, both communities put a hard limit on the amount of "magic" you should use on your programs (where Ruby's limit is way higher than Python's), so it can not become the panacea that it is in Lisp.
Metaprogramming is one of the main selling points of Lisp, the only other being how easy it is to implement. Other languages have other features to show.
Macros and the repl were, to me, the best part of clojure.