Exposure to Metal

[theodyssey]

I am the friend Farley mentioned in the first post. It all started albout 4 years ago when i listened to korn and limp bizkit (not metal). Anyway, someone gave me a bunch of stolen cds (didn't know they were stolen) and among them was the black album, so i really got into that. Anyway, i had to give them back, but i instantly went out and bought it... looking back, i should have downloaded it just to piss off lars, but that was before the whole napster thing... anyway, after collecting all the metallica albums, i ran across a little song called "mercyful fate" on garage inc which is a medly of mercyful fate songs. That kicked my ass, so i bought "the beginning" by mercyful fate and "the graveyard" by king diamond (i did my internet research). Anyway, about three years ago i was really into mercyful fate and king diamond (still am... fucking rule) and would play them for anyone who would take the time to listen, but most people were turned off by the shrieking vocals. from there, i found iced earth right before the release of "horror show" and bought that in the first week it was released, and THAT kicked my ass hard for many many weeks until i went onto the metal blade website and listened to a TON of bands. I got into a bunch of death metal bands like god dethroned and dies irae and bought some of their shit, but still loved the melodic stuff. After that, i put my death metal craving on hold while i bought more power/prog metal and made everyone who would give me the time of day listen to THAT stuff. Anyway, that was the beginning. One i got together with sabrina we just both went fucking nuts with everything. After about 2-3 years of actual metal listening, my collection stands at 192 cds, some promos, about 7-10 cd singles, some vinyl, tons of posters, a few drumstics and a russel allen signed ciggarette pack (thanks again... you know who you are!!!!)

 

[the_satanic_rabbit]

King Diamond and Mercyful Fate will always be in my top 5!!!
Hell jyeah buoooy, props to ya

 

[theodyssey]

Man, i have only met 2 other people into king diamond and mercyful fate... one was my ex sabrina and the other was this dude who i haven't talked to in a long time. Everyone else seems to think he's too cheesy... HAIL TO THE KING!

 

[Hyoukinmono]

I guess I'll describe the times I was first exposed to my "turning point" metal bands over the years.

UFO, Scorpions, Judas Priest: When I was about 14 (1977), a guitarist friend played these bands for me, and I was blown away. I had already been listening to stuff that was fairly heavy (for the time), Ted Nugent, Deep Purple, etc., these three bands that I had never heard of almost killed me. That's when I got addicted to it all.

Iron Maiden: The same guitarist friend went to live in London, and when he came back he had a compilation album that had an Iron Maiden tune on it. I thought it was pretty cool, but when he came back again with their first full-length release, I thought that I had found the ultimate band. I listened to it over and over for months.

Yngwie Malmsteen: I was in a record (vinyl in those days!) store in Fuji, Japan in early autumn, 1983. The owner of the store said that she had just gotten a release by a band called Alcatrazz, and that the guitarist was supposed to be some kind of guitar hero. She put the record on and I stood there for the whole 40 minutes or so with my jaw on the ground. I had a new idol.

Helloween: I was sitting in my apartment in Amagasaki, Japan in about 1988, watching Sony Music Television, when a video came on by this band called Helloween. The song was "Halloween." Part way through the song I got so excited that I jumped up and watched the rest of the video standing. I listened to very little else for quite a while.

Angra: Their debut, "Angels Cry," was sitting on a shelf in a CD store in a train station in Ichikawa, Japan. I pulled it off the shelf, read the description on the packaging, and decided to give it a try. My best ever impulse buy.

Blind Guardian: Recommendation from a CD store employee in a different CD store in Ichikawa, Japan. It was "Somewhere Far Beyond," right after it came out. It was also the first time that I was okay with rough vocals...Except for Motorhead, but that's a whole different thing!

Rage: I read a review of "Missing Link" in the Japanese HM mag Burrn! and decided that it sounded pretty cool, and bought it. It wasn't long before I had all of their stuff.

Symphony X: I saw an advertisement in Burrn! for the debut release, and thought that it sounded promising. Right around the same time, a friend called me and basically shouted at me that I had to hear Symphony X. I followed his orders (he had never steered me in a bad direction before) and got a new favorite band.

In Flames: I struck up a conversation with a guy in a CD store, who was looking at a Blind Guardian CD. In the course of the conversation, he recommended In Flames. I got "Colony" that day, then "Clayman." It was the best buy I ever made on the recommendation of a complete stranger.

Those are the main ones. Most of the other bands that I have listened to over the past 15 or so years have been ones I found in reviews in Burrn! or have purchased based on the packaging. (In Japan, most CDs have a description, etc., on the packaging.) Recently, most of the new things that I really like have been things I have found out about on the internet (Opeth, for example).

Unlike a lot of people that have gotten into metal, I was never influenced by Metallica or KISS. I only liked Metallica's "Kill 'em All" (which I still consider to be Megadeth's first release), and have always thought that Metallica was boring and unoriginal, and I thought KISS was technically inept (though they had some fun songs).

 

[Cyclopssss]

BTW, you guys GOT to get the Led Zeppelin DVD...if is AMAZING!!!!

 

[Macy]

Yes, I'm waiting for my dad to buy it!

I credit my beloved Father for the music I'm into now. He's one of those people who thinks music should be heard LOUD so there is no escape from him. :Spin: I wasn't really aware of it, but I think in a subconscious way it made me open to heavy music, bands like Led Zep, Stones, Queen, Pink Floyd etc. Of course, he isn't into today's bands, but the same way that I listen to "his" music, he sometimes listens to "mine". He totally flipped when I showed him "Operation:Mindcrime" ("that's the best thing you've listened to so far...") and he thinks it's interesting to see how his generation has inspired today's bands, like the links between Star One and Deep Purple, Hawkwind etc. No chicken without the egg, so to speak.

 

[Benzine]

The one song that got me into metal was Pantera - I'm broken. I remember seeing the video on MTV2

 

[legofarley]

Zeppelin kicks ass! is the DVD worth shelling out 50+ bucks for?

 

[Cyclopssss]

Damn! 50 bucks!!? I bought it for 33 Euro's! But at 5 and a half hours of live Zep, at GREAT picture quality and sound...I must say it's worth every damn penny of that. It's like a magical trip through time starting with Royal Albert Hall in '69 and ending at Knebworth '79...it really shows the band at it's peak.There are two versions of 'whole lotta love on it, but quite different, and a version of 'Since I've been loving you' from Madison Square Gardens that is worth buying it alone. Together with 'How the West was Won' it is truelly Zep at it's Best!